L.A. County's Private Property War (VIDEO)

Categories: Real Estate

Kevin Scanlon
In this week's print feature, Mars Melnicoff looks at Los Angeles County's war on desert rats in the Antelope Valley. Here we present a video from photographer Kevin Scanlon to complement her reporting. All interviews by Mars Melnicoff.

For more pictures, see "Desert Rats: Scenes from the Antelope Valley."

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20 comments
Tortoiseman
Tortoiseman

  Have several meth user camps within a few miles of me and we good folks want them gone they steal,break into houses,and have no facilities. One night hears my dogs go off at 2:30 in the morning and they were stealing a prison guards A frame for pulling out semi truck engines. Even he was afraid to do anything as know his work hours. Things are disapearing off of my property and I'm tired of it. Any suggestions!!?????

Freerangevoter
Freerangevoter

If this bothers you, do a search for        AGENDA 21

AtillaDaHunn
AtillaDaHunn

When justice is denied, and man has lost faith in the law, you can no longer count on the law to restrain his actions.  The people behind this need to study the history of the west a little bit and see how this turns out.  Desperate people feel no restraint.

I'm just sayin...
I'm just sayin...

Well, as long as these LA County Officials do their jobs by strictly ad hearing to the law, and stay uncorrupted by politics, then everything should be just fine...(OOPS! Too late!)

Sprachnessmonster
Sprachnessmonster

Welcome to America..The land to flee, and the home of the slave. Just like the colonizers did, chasing the Indians off their land,  the Globalist elite that own you and me and the ground we stand on want to chase us off ours. All under the guise of the re wilding project and the selling off of natural resources and infrastructure to foreigners to pay for years of Government officials aka public servants throwing a virtual orgy of corruption, drug trafficking, illegal wars, and aiding and abetting our enemies...The number one spot held by the very people that created the financial mess we are in now. We failed in our ability to prevent this because the media ignores it..because they are owned by the same people that are doing this to us. As soon as we turn off the TV and listen to alternative sources like Ale Jones, Webster Tarpley, Alan Watt, etc., the sooner we can defeat these scumdogs of the universe. The sooner we take action, the less blood will be spilled. But, and we may be beyond this point already, once the cancer takes root, the treatment becomes messy. I believe we are already well past the point of chemo. I believe we are heading towards a not-so-civil war. We will win because 80 million Americans own 240 million registered firearms. The only question is how many rock throwing, anti-gun citizens siding with their Government Father Figures will be killed in the process. That is a glitch the Globalists are working on now. Your last day of freedom-and for everyone else in the world- will be the day they come for our guns. When they do, use it...it is our last chance. That is, assuming radiation and GM foods have not killed you yet or inflation has not starved you yet. We are in a race with time. There are only so many sheep who can be woken up. Most will accept the shearing of taxes and inflation willingly. Most will stand by and watch their neighbors converted into lamb chops as history repeats itself for a world of people who never got the education that our taxes overpaid for. Is that the fault of the teachers or the fault of the Dept of Education for standardizing the UNESCO supplied curriculum that has created a whole generation of people so mentally retarded that they actually believe anything that Al Gore spews. Think about it..If it is actually true that CO2 levels could get to a point where temperatures would raise to a tipping point of no return drowning polar bears, THERE WOULD BE NO POLAR BEARS TODAY. Why? Because 200 thousand years ago we did experience conditions beyond their hypothetical tipping point. Using their logic, I have proven to you that Polar Bears are already extinct..so why worry about them?  Why do you think they call it Greenland when it is covered in ice and Iceland is green? Because in the middle ages, when Vikings lived there, global temperatures rose so much that Greenland was partially GREEN! And that spike killed off the extinct polar bears again. So what happened to the tipping point? Ignore the fact that Greenland is white again. All of our coastal cities are now underwater...along with Al Gores new west coast homes...the ice caps have melted..there is no skiing in the Alps and Canadians no longer need sun beds!  That's it, I'm done ranting today. And next time I'll be louder..because I would rather love my neighbors than have to kill them in that not-so-civil war. And the only way I can prevent that is to let them know who the real enemy is...AND IT'S NOT ME! It is our government, The Banksters, and the multinational corporations that own it. That is the truth the people must know so the guilty can be eliminated and the innocents can remain free.  Finally, let me say this..Ron Paul is the only candidate for President that knows what I have said here...or atleast the only one that is working against those that are doing this to us. And believe me, none of what I'm saying is exaggeration...the reality is much worse. If you don't already know, you are not ready to accept it from me. But, should you try to validate my claims, you will run into the rest of the horror that awaits us if you will not wake up.   Turn off your TV...support Ron Paul...get your news from the alternative media while you still can. Doing those three things alone will convert you from an enemy of the Constitution to someone who is riding shotgun with those who love and defend it. No cryin"! Depression is just anger without motivation. And if you are not angry yet-check your pulse-you maybe dead already..so why are you still collecting un employment? :-() 

BARRY100
BARRY100

THE ZONING LAWS AROUND THIS NATION HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED UNDER ONE PRINCIPLE ARE NOW BEING ABUSED BY GOVERNMENT TO ENSLAVE AND FORCE THE PEOPLE INTO LARGE CITIES FOR CONTROL PURPOSES. "WE THE PEOPLE" HAVE TO JOIN TOGETHER TO STOP THIS MADNESS. WEB SITES NEED TO BE SET UP FOR JOINT COMMUNICATIONS WITH PLANS OF REACTION IN PLACE. THIS IS WHAT THE LEFT HAS IN PLACE ALREADY, SO ALL WE DO IS USE THEIR PROTOTYPE. THIS IS NOT THE ONLY THING WE NEED TO PREPARE AGAINST, RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION, GUN RIGHTS, CORRUPTION ON ALL LEVELS, TREASON, SEDITION, HIGH CRIMES, MISDEMEANORS, MALFEASANCE, RICA AND ALL OTHER ILLEGAL ACTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT. INCLUDING THE POLICE, JUDGES, AND ATTORNEYS. THIS NATION IS IN DEEP TROUBLE. WE NEED TO GET OURSELVES READY FOR THE BIGGEST BATTLE OF OUR LIVES. STARTING FROM WITHIN. REMEMBER NIKITA KRUSHEV SAID THEY WOULD DESTROY US FROM WITHIN? (COMMUNISM). GUESS WHAT, OUR LEFTY PRES IS DELIBERATELY DESTROYING THIS NATION. THIS IS NOT JUST HAPPENING IN CALIF. IT IS ACROSS THE NATION. GET READY.

Cassandra
Cassandra

This is outrageous. Code enforcement officers had to physically drive by hundreds of serious "violations" to even reach these people. This is not government for the people. It is abusive and sad. The question here is Cui Bono? Who profits? To whose advantage?

Shufei
Shufei

Check out the current plans for a "High Desert Corridor" that will run through the Antelope Valley.  This is all basically a land grab for the expansion of LA that will run along the HDC backbone between Palmdale and Victor.  These poor folks could be rich selling their parcels in 10 years, but it will be more "convenient" for the oligarchic scum to cherry pick the confiscated properties for peanuts.  Why spend an extra million or two and respect the dignity of poor and working people's homes when you can sic the county thugs on them?

Jack
Jack

 I see alot of desperados roaming the land in the future grabbing whatever they need from whoever has it.

Don Cordell
Don Cordell

We have lost our Constitution AND our Bill of Rights. I've attended one meeting of these folks on 90th St. East, and talked to them, but they feel licked. YOU CAN'T FIGHT THE GOVERNMENT.  Bull, I am an Independent Candidate for President in 2012 and IF you want to stop this happening all over our nation it is time to elect me, to preserve our rights. I am adamant that We the People must still run this nation. Do not surrender, Stand up and Fight, it's time for a Revolution, ReVote, remember that when the county supervisor comes up for reelection, As long as you comply you lose, are we American citizens or Cowards? I have always demanded my rights in this nation, and at 84 I'm still here giving them trouble. Lets ReVote. DonCordellforPresident.com

Allen The K
Allen The K

Building codes have their place: 1) To ensure that the young, elderly or infirm are living in a safe, clean environment; 2) That a structure is up to code as it impacts 1) and for those who will occupy the structure in the future; 3) That property values aren't harmed by the actions of one's neighbors.  I would call those the "Big 3" reasons to having building codes in the first place.

Problems begin when the codes (or, more appropriately, Code Enforcement) are used POLITICALLY.  That would include a neighborhood attempting to establish broad "rules" that all residents must follow (i.e., residents of Nantucket, who must get approval for everything from paint colors to hardware styles, etc.), to harass those whose property/structures may not conform to the "norms" or a town or neighborhood, or at its worst, by a few individuals who wish to exploit an area for commercial gain at the expense of some or many of the residents of that area.  We've all seen stories of cities using codes as the basis for Eminent Domain land grabs that enrich a few at the expense of many, often with results that do more harm than good.

I think of the neighborhoods where my grandparents lived, and of some homes or outbuildings that didn't meet with the approval of the neighborhood.  Yet, nothing was done, as that land was the domain of the homeowner to do as he or she wished.  Neighbors may have disapproved, but they certainly didn't want anyone trying to tell THEM how they should use their own land.  Live and let live.  I think of the neighborhoods where I grew up, and of ramshackle "clubhouses" or treehouses built by kids for their own use.  I would hate to think of a kid who could NOT, by their own initiative and labor, build a treehouse due to some arbitrary set of rules imposed by the city.  No, the parents had the final say on what could stay and what had to go.

And then we have structures like "Phonehenge".  Outrageous structures to be sure, but doing little or no harm, and in a few cases, works of art and labors of love for the homeowner.  Yes, they are not "up to code", but all that is needed is the understanding among all parties of who will use it (to make sure the occupants have a means of escape, if necessary), what it is - and is NOT - to be used for, and what will happen to it when the property changes hands.

No one is suggesting "Phonehenge" is fully up to code, but then again, we don't expect infants or the infirm to be living within its many buildings.  It can be used by adults for sleeping, much as we did as kids with out treehouses, but is not to be a PERMANENT dwelling.  And, when the owner/builder moves or dies, it's understood the structure is to be removed.  Those are NOT unreasonable guidelines even though the structure doesn't meet the current codes.  Are we not capable of making exceptions to those rules?  Must we treat all homeowners are people who must be protected from themselves?  Is there no more middle ground, no room for compromise, in such disputes?

Get over yourselves, residents of LA!  Seek that middle ground so that EVERYONE can use their property - their PRIVATE PROPERTY - as they see fit.  There is already too much government intrusion into our daily lives; we need places as simple as a child's treehouse - or as complex as "Phonehenge" to help remind us that our homes truly are our castles, and there are times when the castle must be defended from those who would seek to take it away from us.  It's time to take the politics out of code enforcement.  Let the kids have their treehouses.  Even the big kids among us.

GRusling
GRusling

There's a simple answer to all of this. What was the "code" when the structure was built? If there was none, no code can be "retroactively" applied. That would be an "ex post facto" law and the US Constitution says that's illegal! I'm reasonably sure "LA County" is not exempted from the US Constitution. Obama has granted a lot of "waivers" but I doubt that is one of them.

Unfortunately, only the people of California can fix this problem. When a few hundred show up with their rifles to set up camp and DEFEND their neighbors property rights, maybe the local yokels will get the idea! Of course, we ARE talking about "Kalifornia" so there's room to doubt even that would have any affect...

mamakaruna
mamakaruna

Someone paid good money to 'encourage' this 'attitude.' It's perfectly legal now to pay to get the people you want in office & to pay for the laws & enforcement you wish to see.

BadData
BadData

Wow, that's distressing... Especially the guy with phonehenge, what a beautiful and creative structure.

Peter Kaye
Peter Kaye

It's not just "desert rats" (whatever that means) being targeted. Here in Leona Valley, a small community just east of Lake Elizabeth, the recipients of "anonymous complaints" are same sex couples and elderly people on fixed incomes who have acreage and no money.

Shufei
Shufei

"Desert rat" is an honorable title for the last true pioneers in the American west, living on rural freeholds or claim-homesteads on land at which most dudes would whine to spend five minutes.  Most of us proudly self-identify this way, and will fight to keep free in the face of abuse by the corporate-state.

Bob
Bob

This is only one small area of the United States. Every single state in this country is being extorted by code enforcement abuse. This is going to stop. email F.A.C.E.OFF.movement and see what you can do to change this. 

mamakaruna
mamakaruna

I suspect some Corporation wishes to acquire this land. They found SOMEONE to pay off to do this dirty work, so that later they can do whatever they want to it. The building code thing has been used as a tool by monied interests to bully & harass people out west for long enough! 

Shufei
Shufei

It's the bum's rush to pave the way for the High Desert Corridor expansion of the urban hell of LA.  We can't have all those Lexus driving propagandists for late-capitalism seeing real rural poor people in what is surely planned to be the next inland empire...  Effete mochachino shops and minimalls don't jibe well with us rural folks' DIY hovels.

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