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

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

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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