California vineyard owner says he was fined $120K for housing employee

[Democrat Stupid]

A California vineyard owner is suing Santa Clara County after officials
fined him for allowing his longtime employee to live in an RV on his
property for years.

Michael Ballard, whose family owns Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards in the town
45 miles south of San Francisco, alleges he was fined a total of more than
$120,000 after the county said he violated local zoning laws that ban
anyone from living in an RV on public or private property, according to
the The Mercury News.

Marcelino Martinez, manager of the vineyard, which is around 2.6 million
square feet (243,000 square meters), said his family lost their lease on a
trailer they were living in years ago and had limited options for
affordable housing in the area. The Ballard family agreed to allow them to
live in an RV at the vineyards. Martinez, his wife and children have lived
there for free since, 2013, according to The Mercury News.

"I couldn't make a family homeless for arbitrary reasons," Ballard told
the newspaper. "The human impact exceeded any damage or nuisance that
their continued living in the trailer was going to create."

But in July 2019, the county began fining the Ballards $1,000 daily for
the RV, then lowered the penalty to $250 a day, the vineyard owner said.

The county disputed that it fined Ballard $120,000 and said he refused to
agree to deadlines to reduce the violations, according to the newspaper.
Officials have made multiple offers to drastically cut fines if he removes
the RV, they said.

The county was imposing "excessive fines" and violating the U.S.
Constitution with its actions against Ballard, his attorney Paul Avelar
told The Mercury News.

Ballard doesn't agree with the county spending so much time penalizing him
when it is facing greater issues.

"Just drive anywhere in the county, there are mobile homes parked all over
the place. There are encampments everywhere you go," he told the
newspaper. "The problem is obvious and overt, yet they're choosing to
prosecute us in probably the least intrusive example of this, where we are
letting someone live on private property in a private location and we're
not bothering anyone."

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/saratoga-vineyard-owner-says-he-
was-fined-120k-free-housing-employee/

[T]

Post by Democrat Stupid
A California vineyard owner is suing Santa Clara County after officials
fined him for allowing his longtime employee to live in an RV on his
property for years.
Michael Ballard, whose family owns Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards in the town
45 miles south of San Francisco, alleges he was fined a total of more than
$120,000 after the county said he violated local zoning laws that ban
anyone from living in an RV on public or private property, according to
the The Mercury News.
Marcelino Martinez, manager of the vineyard, which is around 2.6 million
square feet (243,000 square meters), said his family lost their lease on a
trailer they were living in years ago and had limited options for
affordable housing in the area. The Ballard family agreed to allow them to
live in an RV at the vineyards. Martinez, his wife and children have lived
there for free since, 2013, according to The Mercury News.
"I couldn't make a family homeless for arbitrary reasons," Ballard told
the newspaper. "The human impact exceeded any damage or nuisance that
their continued living in the trailer was going to create."
But in July 2019, the county began fining the Ballards $1,000 daily for
the RV, then lowered the penalty to $250 a day, the vineyard owner said.
The county disputed that it fined Ballard $120,000 and said he refused to
agree to deadlines to reduce the violations, according to the newspaper.
Officials have made multiple offers to drastically cut fines if he removes
the RV, they said.
The county was imposing "excessive fines" and violating the U.S.
Constitution with its actions against Ballard, his attorney Paul Avelar
told The Mercury News.
Ballard doesn't agree with the county spending so much time penalizing him
when it is facing greater issues.
"Just drive anywhere in the county, there are mobile homes parked all over
the place. There are encampments everywhere you go," he told the
newspaper. "The problem is obvious and overt, yet they're choosing to
prosecute us in probably the least intrusive example of this, where we are
letting someone live on private property in a private location and we're
not bothering anyone."
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/saratoga-vineyard-owner-says-he-
was-fined-120k-free-housing-employee/

There is no greed so insatiable in this world than
government greed.

The county just wanted the money. They could have jus
told him to get a permit or worked something out
with him.