Video: Andrew Goff

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PREVIOUSLY: County Looks to Rein in Yee Haw, the Trinidad-Area Commune With a Long History of Health and Safety Code Violations

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Shortly after 10 o’clock this morning, a crew of Humboldt County staffers showed up outside the gate of the Yee Haw “intentional living” commune southeast of Trinidad, inspection warrant in hand, and proceeded to survey the sprawling community of “hippie-rigged” structures nestled in the redwoods to see if what progress has been made toward addressing a set of longstanding code violations.

Last week, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved a 39-week plan to abate those violations, which include a variety of allegedly dangerous living conditions, including structures built in violation of building, plumbing and/or electrical codes; improper storage of junk vehicles and solid waste; the use of mobile homes and trailers as living quarters; and non-approved water and sewage systems.

Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone was also on hand, and he proceeded to act as an ambassador, of sorts, for the commune’s 30-plus residents, who include young adults, families with children, seniors and several people with handicaps.

As Humboldt County Planning and Building Director John Ford arrived, flanked by county code inspectors, building department officials, Environmental Health Director Mario Kalson and a private land surveyor, Madrone informed them that the residents of Yee Haw would like staff to present their inspection warrant, merely as a formality.

“Thanks for coming without law enforcement to this peaceful community,” Madrone said to the assembled staffers. “We appreciate that. And I’m here to just make sure we do all stay peaceful.”

Madrone declared that what’s important at this point is making progress. “I think that’s what the goal is on everybody’s mind, including the community. I know they absolutely want to see progress because they value living here,” he said.

Property owner Charles Garth, who has allowed this loosely organized commune to exist and build on his land for nearly four decades, was not present when county staff arrived, though he showed up a couple of hours later. 

Standing in the property’s gravel driveway encircled by residents, surveyor Michael Pulley, president and co-owner of Points West Surveying, unfolded a large satellite image of the property, which abuts a rock quarry owned by Mercer-Fraser Co., and talked about the difficulty in establishing the precise property lines.

Ford, meanwhile, sought to put residents at ease. 

“Just for today’s visit, we’re really here just to understand,” he said. “Today is really about gathering data and just understanding what’s here [and] what progress has been made.” Per an agreement with residents, Ford had agreed that county staff would not be entering any of the property’s residences today.

Some of the residents told the Outpost that they’ve been working hard in recent days to clean up the property, haul out junk and get non-operating vehicles towed away ahead of today’s inspection.

Over the course of the next several hours, staff walked slowly through the property, advancing along pathways through the redwood forest to a series of living areas. Many of the housing structures have been built atop and around old busses and RVs. Others are trailers or shacks, with siding and walls assembled from a wide variety of materials. (One, dubbed “the checkerboard house,” has siding of rectangular metal shingles that, upon closer inspection, have been cut from the housing of old Dell computers.)

Code Enforcement Officer Shauna Soeth circled around vehicles and trailers with a digital camera, checking tires for air pressure, inspecting the scrap metal piled in old truck beds and asking whether vehicles were operational. Code inspectors affixed neon-yellow tags on the inoperable ones, giving Garth and/or the registered vehicle owners just 10 days to get them moved off the property — though Ford later said he expects the citations to be appealed, which will inevitably prolong the timeline.

Madrone expressed confidence that the code violations can be successfully addressed within the county’s timeline, and that Garth can apply for a rezone of his property that might allow the commune to be reclassified as an emergency housing shelter. Such a reclassification would only be allowed as long as the county’s current declared housing emergency remains in effect.

But regardless of the progress made, Madrone said that evicting the Yee Haw residents and “putting them out on the street” would do nothing to address the relevant safety issues. Specifically he noted that the Yee Haw community does not tolerate hard drug usage, which proliferates among the county’s homeless.

Kalson, the environmental health inspector, surveyed a leach field that’s connected to one of the property’s two operating septic systems. The county officials gazed up at a PG&E power pole that stands at the edge of a clearing near some of the residences. 

While the county officials did their walkthrough, several of the residents tagged along in a loose entourage while others went about their lives. A group of children played in a sunny clearing while a woman strummed an acoustic guitar and a man blew into a flute. Dogs, a cat and at least one hen darted in and out of the pathway.

During one stretch, a young resident in a wheelchair used their cell phone to play John Williams’ Star Wars bad-guy composition “The Imperial March” on repeat — perhaps as commentary on the inspection proceedings.

When the inspection was nearing its end, Garth appeared and joined the retinue. Leaning on a walking stick, he spoke softly, complaining of pain from a recent fall and saying he didn’t know whether or not he’d make it here from his residence down the hill in Trinidad.

Asked his thoughts about what the county is asking of him, Garth said, “I never really fully understand what they want me to do here anyway, and I think it changes, too.”

Asked specifically about the 10 code violations that the county enumerated during last week’s meeting, Garth again expressed confusion. 

“I don’t know what the county means, anyway,” he said. “I got fined already.”

Was the timeline unclear?

Garth insisted that the county hasn’t proven its “allegations” and said some of the code violations are “bogus.” He talked about work he’d been doing on the property’s well in 2017 when county staff inspected the place and cited that infrastructure as a code violation, along with a power line that was lying on the ground. He insisted that he’d fixed both issues within the required 10-day period and yet still got fined for the violations.

Garth also lamented the trouble he’s had with legal representation (two of his attorneys have died), and he tried arguing with a couple of inspectors before taking a seat in a forested area with Madrone.

Ford said he expects the inspection report will be presented to the board sometime next month.