MOORPARK Edison gives Moorpark nursery notice to vacate; nursery backers go online to protest

Ventura County Star – Sept. 16, 2014

by Michele Willer-Allred
The community is rallying behind a Moorpark business
owner who recently received a notice from Southern
California Edison to vacate the property, where his nursery
business has operated for more than 28 years.
As of Monday, more than 426 people had signed a petition
at Change.org, a website that allows users to launch an
online campaign, in an effort to save Performance
Nursery, a business operating on 42 acres of Edisonowned
property between Walnut Creek Road and
Pheasant Run Street.
Tom Lucas, owner of Performance Nursery, received a
certified letter from Edison at the end of July stating that
he had to vacate the 42 acres he leases from the utility
company by October 15.
The wholesale nursery grosses about $4 million in sales
every year and employs about 82 people.
“The day I received the letter was probably the worst day
of my life,” said Lucas, a Somis resident who owns three
other Performance Nursery locations.
The letter, sent by Edison attorney Jeff Renzi, said that
Edison may terminate a license upon 30 days written
notice, but was giving Lucas until Oct. 15 to “clear the site
and restore it to its original condition.”
“Should you fail to do so by that date, SCE reserves the
right to remove and dispose of any property left on the
site, and seek to recover any related costs,” the letter said.
Lucas requested a two-year extension to vacate the
property to give him time to move all the plants, but Edison
rejected that request.
Renzi provided a list of issues that Edison has
encountered with Performance Nursery over the past few
years, including a history of late payments since 2006;
interference with Edison’s access to towers, road and
property; the storage of inoperable vehicles on site; failure
to weed abate; storage of dead plant stock; and other
issues.
Renzi said Edison’s inspections also revealed “numerous
instances of flammable material stored near or under
SCE’s Transmission Lines, which, coupled with recent
brush fires on the property, create a significant danger to
facilities necessary to provide safe and reliable electrical
service to SCE’s customers.”
Keith Jajko, a longtime customer and consultant hired by
Lucas, said the business always addressed any
complaints from Edison. As an example, he said Lucas
recently spent more than $20,000 to mulch trees because
they became too tall.
Jajko said that Lucas has done weed and graffiti
abatement and has kept the property clean.
“Any problem was always taken care of. But now, Edison
is saying just get out. They have been non-negotiating
since Day 1,” said Jajko.
“My question to Edison is, if not the nursery, then what will
be here? Because, the neighbors want to know. The
neighbors say they love this nursery, it beautifies the area.
We lock the gates. We prevent vagrants. If you clear out
this property, it will be a dust bowl,” said Jajko.
Rudy Gonzales, region manager at Southern California
Edison, said there is “no pending use for the property at
this time.”
Gonzales said that once the property is vacated, Edison
will secure the property and maintain it to the best of its
ability. This includes increasing the fencing around the
property to prevent trespassers.
Gonzales said Edison understands it’s a difficult situation,
but did note that Edison gave Lucas notice at the end of
July to vacate the property by Oct. 15. He said that
amount of time exceeds what Edison normally allows
under a license agreement.
Asked if Edison would consider extending the deadline for
Lucas, Gonzales said Edison “will continue to
communicate with him and we’re open to discussions at
this time.”
David Bobardt, Moorpark’s community development
director, said his department is not aware of any plans by
Edison for the property.
Pamela Castro, a fifth generation Moorpark resident, said
the decision by Edison has upset her very much because
the nursery has donated thousands of items, volunteer
hours and use of their equipment throughout the
community. She signed the Change.org petition.
“This location doesn’t represent just a bunch of plants and
dirt to us. Its loss would represent a loss of support,
compassion, a great neighbor and great friends of
Moorpark,” said Castro.
For 25 years, Carol Kundin has lived in her Moorpark
home, which backs up to the nursery.
“Without it, all we have is a dusty ugly dirt lot. Whatever is
SCE thinking. Are they going to store ugly machinery for
us to look at? This will destroy our home values,” said
Kundin.
Jajko said Lucas has been trying to find a replacement
property, but even if he does, the nursery won’t be able to
move almost half a million plants on the property in four
weeks.
Lucas said he has borrowed more than $850,000 over the
past seven years to stay in business and can’t take on
additional debt to move. He said it would take him a year
to find a property to house all the plants and that he can’t
move them quickly enough for them to survive.
“They’ve basically put a death warrant on my plants,” said
Lucas.
The nursery is looking to see if it can place some of the
workers at the other nurseries. Even with news that the
nursery may close, employees continued caring for the
plants on Monday.
“We have these employees depending on us,” said Jajko