Residents at Redlands nudist resort accuse landlord of disconnecting electricity as retaliation

REDLANDS, Calif. (KABC) -- For decades, the Olive Dell Ranch in Redlands has existed as one of the oldest nudist resorts in Southern California.

But a few months ago, many residents there filed a lawsuit against the owners, after a new policy was enacted making the wearing of clothing in public areas mandatory. Now, tensions are boiling over after some residents say the owners are retaliating against them by cutting off their power.

"I have no idea what their motivation is," said resident Nancy Roeder. "But this is harassment."

Some residents with electric water heaters now have no access to hot water. Other residents are disabled; some have medical equipment that needs electricity to function.

"I have a CPAP machine," said Roeder. "I need that.

"My partner also has a nebulizer that she needs at least twice a day, depending on how bad her asthma is."

Some residents say they haven't paid rent or utilities since the civil lawsuit was filed in 2025.

But resident Jim Ramer says he's never missed a payment.

"I've been paying, I've been paying every month," said Ramer, who also had his power recently disconnected by the owners of the property.

"I have a pacemaker that's supposed to be monitored by the hospital, and it's very stressful."

Resident Jim Hillis said he's also always made his rent and utility payments to the landlord.

"I wrote a check, mailed it, got proof of mailing from the bank," said Hillis.

"It was delivered, but she refused to cash the check."

Eyewitness News spoke with Tina Coffelt, identified as one of the co-owners of the property.

"We have pulled the meters for lack of payment," said Coffelt. "You can look up Penal Code 498, stealing electricity is a felony."

Coffelt said some residents have attempted to purchase their own electric meters to restore power, which she said is against the law.

"You're not allowed to have your owner meter. It has to be my meter as the owner, and it has to be certified by the state." Coffelt doesn't deny that she's enacted a policy that makes it mandatory for residents to always wear clothing.

"If you want to run around naked, go to a naked place," said Coffelt. "We're not doing that anymore.

"They got a notice in writing and just won't stop."

But an attorney representing many of the residents in the civil lawsuit says that kind of policy violates their civil rights.

"The reason it's against the law, is the civil rights act prohibits any business from discriminating against anyone based on their characteristics," said attorney Frances Campbell, who said being a nudist could be described as a characteristic.

Campbell said the property is a private, well-known nudist resort that's out of the public eye.

"You have to drive up a long dirt road to get there, and it's gated," said Campbell. "It's not something (a member of the public) is going to just happen upon.

"For an owner to take over and say you can't be nudists anymore means they just want them gone."

Campbell said the landlord has filed at least 23 unlawful detainers against residents to try to evict them and said it's against the law for the landlord to try to disconnect their power.

"There's a state law that prohibits landlords from, with the intent to evict, turning off people's utilities."

Residents recently called Redlands Police to report the removal of the electric meters. The officers that responded to the location told residents it's a civil matter. Ten minutes after they left, a physical altercation occurred between one of the landlord's employees and one of the tenants.

Redlands Police came back to the scene and arrested both people on suspicion of mutual combat. They were cited and released.