Orange County shuts down property housing men, women & children in ‘unsafe’ conditions

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County property has been shut down after it was found to be housing men, women, and children in unsafe conditions.

▶ WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

The order was served Wednesday morning to Kaleo Ministries which is home to the Hope City Refuge.

County leaders said recent inspections have found multiple violations and safety issues.

Read: Orlando’s affordable housing market sees slight improvement

Officials said despite previous warnings, the property owner has failed to bring the property into compliance.

Hope City Refuge houses some 100 men, women, and children in unsafe and uninhabitable structures such as bunkhouses and shipping containers, according to a report.

“If a fire were to occur there, there could be the loss of many dozens of lives,” said Danny Banks, Orange County Public Safety Director, “Due to the lack of safety measures that I’m talking about lack of exits, lack of fire alarm systems.”

People living there told Channel 9 they have experience, not safety issues.

Read: Horizon West to meet with Disney to discuss affordable complex

Orange County has now issued a temporary injunction ordering the property owner to “cease inviting and allowing persons to continue living in structures and buildings that are unsafe,” according to the injunction.

Channel 9 first exclusively told you about this compound in November. That’s when we first spoke to its owner Marcos Diaz and more than 120 people moved around us at their container homes.

At the time Diaz claimed he was working on getting proper permitting.

“I haven’t made it to get occupancy license now and because of our zoning,” Diaz said. “So we’re in the last phases of that.”

Read: Millions approved to assist affordable housing development in Orange County

The fire Marshal told Channel 9 that Diaz has made no attempts to fix the violations.

The county is working to help the people who the order has displaced.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2024 Cox Media Group