84-year old Ignacio Lujano's life has been dedicated to maintaining orange groves in the city of San Juan Capistrano. Every Father's Day for nearly 40 years, Ignacio has gathered on the 42 acres of land with his children, 25 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren...where they take time to celebrate the patriarch, who has lived here for almost four decades. But this year's celebration is going to be the last. The city of San Juan Capistrano is taking over the property, and forcing Ignacio to leave.
As sad as it is to see his family tradition end, the city does have the right to move forward with taking ownership. Back in 1992, the city bought the 42 acre orchard, which was a part of an open-space initiative. Lujano, who has never officially owned the land, was put on a month-to-month contract allowing him to live there in exchange for him maintaining five of those 42 acres. The city says that over the years, Lujano has not been keeping up his end of the bargain, and the city's Public Works Department has been picking up the slack...at the expense of taxpayers.
The city told Lujano of their plans a year ago, and say they've even helped him with the process of finding a new home. But Lujano has not accepted their help, and has refused to move off the land. He has now been given an ultimatum...leave the land by August 14th or face legal action.
According to the LA Times, San Juan Capistrano has plans to transform the area into a maintenance yard for their open space operations. Here's a statement from the city:
“The City understands and is sensitive to the fact that this is change and that change is often difficult. However, the City of San Juan Capistrano owns the property and is moving forward to use the property for its intended public and open space use.”
No one likes to see a family lose their Father's Day tradition, but the law is the law. You can watch my full report at KTLA.com.
