Rural families protest Bloomington warehouse project that's forcing them to lose their homes

BLOOMINGTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Residents in one San Bernardino County rural community are protesting the development of an industrial business park that is forcing them to be evicted from their homes.

Many residents have already sold their properties to make room for the warehouse project in Bloomington; but many renters say they've been given no choice in the matter and have been evicted.

But not all of them are ready to give up just yet.

The Ortiz family, for one, has lived on a ranch in Bloomington for more than a decade, raising their kids there in the rural lifestyle that is part of their culture.

It's where 15-year-old Fatima Ortiz and her younger siblings learned their favorite rope tricks.

But their home will likely soon be gone. They recently received an eviction notice as the owner is selling the property. Heavy equipment is already moving in to make way for a 213-acre industrial business park.

"It was really heartbreaking," Fatima says. "Because this is the house that technically most of us lived in. My little sister grew up here, my little brother grew up here."

Samuel Brown-Vasquez with the group Union de Ranchos says the families are being unfairly displaced from their way of life.

"Our heritage of being agriculturists and cowboy culture is being eliminated before our eyes," he says. "Where else are you going to be able to sustain any type of this lifestyle?"

The project was approved unanimously at a contentious San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors meeting in November 2022.

There was plenty of opposition.

But there was also support from those in the business and labor communities who touted the economic development and job growth.

"This project will bring in good-paying jobs with benefits, new careers to hopeful youth and massive amounts of yearly revenue," said Jason Baez with the Laborer's International Union of North America.

The developer tells Eyewitness News that the project will bring over $500 million in total investments to Bloomington over 30 years, including $385 million in recurring revenue and $135 million in one-time benefits requested by the community.

Mike Tunney, vice president of development for Howard Industrial, said those benefits include $45 million for the construction of a new elementary school, $39 million for street infrastructure improvements and $30 million for much-needed flood control improvements.

According to Tunney, all of the property owners willingly sold their land, including the owner of the home rented by the Ortiz family. Tunney said there was also $15,000 provided to the family to assist with relocation costs.

Opponents of the project planned a protest Saturday morning. But the Ortiz family and others have already been given eviction papers and many properties have already been demolished.

About 50 homes will be flattened to make way for the warehouses, although 480 apartment units will be part of the project.

The rural lifestyle has now become the price of progress and it's on the way out in this community.