The nonprofit Solutions for Change was slated to take over most of Green Oak Ranch at the beginning of this year. Their plan was to use the property to expand their program for homeless families and continue camp programs on the property.
But that hasn’t happened, because there are still tenants living in the Green Oak Ranch RV park.
"The evictions were supposed to take place by Dec. 1," said Hannah Gailey with Green Oak Ranch Ministry, which used to operate the ranch and is still the landlord of the RV park.
"The five remaining RV park tenants are contesting the evictions. They just don't want to leave. They have a lawyer," Gailey said.
The ministry now has to refile eviction proceedings for the remaining tenants. Until the tenants leave, Solutions for Change can’t move in.
"So the land is just locked, so nobody's using it," Gailey said. "In the meantime, we had a large homeless encampment that came in that we had to clean up."
Gailey says litigation from the tenants is costing the ministry financial damages they can't afford.
While the legal fight goes on, no events or programs are happening on the property.
Last week, organizers of the annual North County Veterans Stand Down (NCVSD) announced they were postponing this year's event, originally scheduled for October.
"We do not know when the issues will be rectified," NCVSD president Matt Foster wrote in a Facebook post.
In an interview with KPBS, Foster said, "We had to have a date set … to plan everything. We decided as a board to push it out to April of next year."
Without Green Oak Ranch, Foster said the veterans resource event may not happen in North County.
He said there is no other venue that could host a three-day camping retreat for veterans, along with resources at the same time.
"We depend on Green Oak Ranch for the environment there to calm our veterans down and to make our event the place that it is," Foster said.
During their stay at the NCVSD, veterans and their families receive many services free of charge, including meals, lodging, clothing, medical, dental, vision, veterinary care for their pets and mental health care.
Over 700 veterans attended the event in 2024.
