ROYAL OAKS, Calif. (AP) — A dilapidated greenhouse at a Northern California nursery was home to dozens of farmworkers and their families who lived in tiny, unsafe houses with no ventilation, authorities said Friday. .
Authorities found 62 makeshift homes inside the greenhouse on a property in rural Monterey County that were made from plywood, drywall and other materials, said Nick Pasculli, a county spokesman.
“There are exposed gas lines and wiring, no proper sewage. The conditions are very harsh,” Pasculli said.
It was not yet clear if the farmworkers were employed at the Royal Oaks community nursery or simply lived there, Pasculli said. He added that some residents paid up to $2,000 a month in rent and one told investigators that he had lived there for more than eight months.
Researchers have also not yet determined where the migrant families are from, according to Pasculli, although some of them speak indigenous languages native to the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
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Authorities began investigating the property this week after receiving an anonymous tip.
The nursery owner will be fined nearly $60,000 each day his property violates structural, health and environmental codes, Pasculli said.
The landlord’s name will not be released due to an ongoing investigation, he said.
County officials were working with families to find suitable housing, and the landlord will have to pay two months’ rent for each of the 62 families living on their property, Pasculli said.
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