Local News in Brief : Trabuco Canyon : Settlement Proposed in Ranch Water Dispute
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A settlement was proposed in the dispute between the Santa Ana Mountains County Water District and the owner of “Porterville,” the 300-acre ranch where 35 low-income families live in trailers and shacks.
The district has cited ranch owner Sam Porter for connecting water pipes from his own water meter to 14 trailers and shacks on the property, a violation of district rules. The district had ordered Porter, who serves on the water district’s board of trustees, to pay $33,600 to install meters on each or face cutoff of all water to the ranch.
Porter was given until Thursday to come up with a compromise plan that would satisfy the district.
District general manager J. Fred Sims said Porter’s lawyer, Susan Trager, presented a plan in which Porter would pay a $200 connection fee for each home in violation and evict all the tenants in Porterville within 14 months.
The remaining water district board members, who will receive copies of the proposed settlement today, would probably accept it “with some slight revisions,” Sims said.
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