Betteravia Farms has applied for a conditional use permit to build a 30-unit “farm labor camp” on nearly 400 acres of land along Highway 1 west of Orcutt, vying to house up to 600 guest laborers under the federal H-2A program for temporary foreign farmworkers.
Principal Planner David Swenk told the Sun that if “all the stars align,” construction could begin by September.
“This is something that could be a strong benefit to our ag communities,” Swenk said. “It solves a lot of issues. It’ll help solve our labor shortage. Housing for H-2A workers is slim-to-none in the area. I think this is the formula that I think everybody could embrace.”
According to the project’s draft negative declaration, each of the 30 bunkhouses would sleep up to 20 workers. The camp, called Curletti Ranch, would also include three common area structures, providing residents with cooking and laundry facilities.
Swenk said the reasonable worst-case average daily occupancy would be approximately 450 workers, even though the camp could hold up to 600. The occupancy would fluctuate through the year, depending on the seasonal farm labor demands, and the facility would likely be vacant during winter months.
Curletti Ranch would be surrounded by Betteravia Farms agricultural land, where the laborers’ worksites would be. Per H-2A requirements, Betteravia Farms would provide free transportation for their guest workers to and from the worksites via buses and vans.
Betteravia Farms’ permit application comes just weeks after an arsonist halted plans for a different H-2A housing development in Nipomo by setting fire to one of the unfinished structures, according to a news release from Cal Fire San Luis Obispo.
The arson likely stemmed from controversy surrounding H-2A housing: Farmworker rights activists have voiced concerns that the program allows farmers to bring in foreign laborers rather than improve conditions for domestic workers. Community members living near H-2A housing sites have taken issue with the densely packed houses in residential neighborhoods.
On the other hand, farmers argue they suffer from a shortage of domestic laborers, which forces them to bring in and house workers from across the border under H-2A, which is the only legal program for temporary foreign farmworkers. Betteravia Farms’ plan may also strike a compromise with some frustrated community members by constructing the guest workers’ housing site on a parcel that’s miles from other residential areas.
But Swenk said Curletti Ranch’s placement has nothing to do with community objections to H-2A workers, and the camp has been in the works since long before the Nipomo fire.
“It’s right in the middle of [Betteravia Farms] properties, and great efficiencies are involved in being able to do it on ag land,” Swenk said. “A lot of people prefer to do it that way.”
Curletti Ranch will come under consideration for a conditional use permit at the county Planning Commission’s next meeting on June 1.
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 2, 2016.