Nobody has bothered us until last year, the 29th of June that was the beginning of my nightmare. I'm getting scared, I'm really getting scared, you know. I'm really making on what I have now. This desolate patch of desert on the outskirts of Los Angeles County is known as the Antelope Valley. Few people want to live here and the collection of rugged individualists who do are being chased away by what the county officials call nuisance abatement teams. Armed county inspections wads that target zoning and code violations. The plight of these desert dwellers made regional headlines when Kim Fahey's home, known as Phonehenge, was raided by a nuisance abatement team. A colorful castle built by Fahey himself out of old telephone poles, Phonehenge was a gift to the media, which covered the county's prosecution of Fahey as an offbeat human interest story. But Fahey was convicted of 12 misdemeanors, he's been jailed and forced to destroy his own home. So have many other valley property owners targeted by the county's code enforcement forces, and many of these folks have even fewer resources than Fahey. This guy had this property for sale for a good price, so I came out here and looked at it and said wow this is pretty cool. Joey Gallo is a retired army veteran who served during the Vietnam era. Last year the county began performing unannounced inspections on his property. The government came out and he told me that my bushes and stuff out here had to be cut back, it's okay, no problem. Gallo says he cooperated with the county, clearing brush, then moving a shed, then getting rid of his motor home, finally the county made a demand that shocked him. They told me you know we have to get off the property, I said you know I get off the property and said well yeah, you can't live here. Gallo says county officials told him that neighbors whom they would not identify had complained about unsightly structures on his property. He could keep his land they told him but would not be allowed to live on it. I looked at the dummy and I said well for what? My closest neighbor is like I have to mile away, we're not living in Beverly Hills here, this is my home. All of a sudden I got police at my front door, we'll approve best guns, and then it surrounded the place. Everything I worked for you know was like just melting away from me. I don't know where I'm going to go, I really don't. Miles from Gallo and a remote corner of the Antelope Valley, Oscar Castaneda has also been ordered to destroy his own property. Castaneda is a mechanic and a seventh-day Adventist preacher and he also happens to own the church where the movies kill Bill one and two were shot. Like many of the residents here, Castaneda and his wife grow their own food, supply their own power with solar panels, and their own water from a well. Their green energy lifestyle is a choice not subsidized by the government. As a member of the seven-day Adventist church, we believe in living independent of the city, living by yourself. Castaneda lived in the desert for 22 years without any help from or problems with the government. That changed last year. The city and some of their cars drew right into my property, they said that they were here to help me, and I don't know in which way they are helping me. The government officials who had entered without a warrant left after taking pictures says Castaneda, but this was the first of many visits. If you don't know the rights, you don't have any. So when they came the first time, the second time, the third time, and the fourth time, I didn't know that I had to ask them for a warrant. Members of the nuisance abatement team began pointing out compliance problems, too many vehicles on the property, improper water tank, and so on. All of these, the county said to him, are a nuisance and a danger to his neighbors. Right here, going to look in north, there is no neighbor, there are one and two abandoned houses. I don't have no neighbors over here, they said 10 miles, and no neighbors over here, another 10 miles. So I'm living in the middle of nowhere, and I'm not bothering anyone. The county ordered Castaneda to get a building permit to keep his home on the property, but will not issue a permit unless he connects to the county's power grid and drills a new water well. Between $75,000 and $100,000 to bring the electricity to my lot, the only way I have is move out of care. As a matter of fact, I already started doing that. Castaneda and Gallo are only two of many such targets of Los Angeles County's nuisance abatement teams, which were commissioned in 2006 by county supervisor Mike Antonovitch. But the county's heavy-handed tactics are beginning to spur resistance. The story of the NAT raids was told by LA Weekly reporter Mars Mel McCoff recently. They're picking on people who are the most defenseless and have the least resources, and also a lot of time are most unknowledgeable about their rights. A group called the Antelope Valley Truckers Organization is fighting back against the county. The U.P. or the majority is we the people stand up for your shit. At this meeting several attendees had horror stories about encounters with the county. They had black jackets on, side arms, taser guns, M16s, paintball guns. I lost $2500 of income because they said that my mobile homes were illegal. This is intimidation. This is domestic terrorists. This is trespassing. They said that we had to get rid of everything we have. They pointed to the dirt and said, see that? Ground right there. We want your whole place to look like that. But why is the county intent on driving these loners who rely on themselves and seemingly affect nobody out of this desert? There are many theories from those being pushed out. I think it's a future development, putting a highway through here. I think, you know, when airport comes, it's land probably going to be worth something. There's the high desert corridor, which is goes from the 14 to the 15. If they can get people off their property and buy that land cheap, somebody can make a lot of money. I believe it's more control. If they have you living in one place, they can control you better. Clearing way for an airport or a highway, making plans for housing developments, maybe high speed rail. This video from the county's Department of Regional Planning contains lengthy descriptions of process, but no insight about the government's goal for land is cleared of residents. Gathering community members at four different locations across the valley, we first created a common vision for the future. But to get some real answers, we had to ask the county officials themselves. Unfortunately, our interview requests were turned down by county supervisor Mike Antonovich, Deputy District Attorney David Campbell, the Los Angeles County Planning Department, the LA County Department of Public Works, and the Antelope Valley Department of Regional Planning. So we decided to attend a county board of supervisors meeting to ask Mike Antonovich why these individuals are being forced from their homes. We had made a few requests to talk with Mr. Antonovich to know a veil, so that's why I'm here just to ask a few questions, and hopefully get a few answers. We want to know how using nuisance abatement teams to force analog valley residents to destroy their houses and vacate their properties is in the public interest. And that's directed at Mr. Antonovich. Perhaps I can clarify that the time for public comment doesn't require responses. We were informed that Antonovich was not required to respond in this public venue, and at the conclusion of the time, Antonovich simply requested written record of the questions and said he would get back to us. Afterwards, we were approached by Antonovich's press secretary, Tony Bell, who refused to comment on camera, but said that the county is simply responding to code violation complaints from neighbors in the area, and any speculation about redevelopment is purely a conspiracy theory. Meanwhile, for a purpose that nobody knows, the county continues driving away the few people who still want to live there. Anything not covered in the area plan is covered by the countywide general plan. If the general plan is like a house with all the basic rooms, an area plan is like an addition to a house. It adds additional value for some residents, but could not stand alone from the main house. People showed us where the key centers of activity were, what areas were right for what kinds of development, and what places should be preserved. The public can still provide input at every step of the way, so please stay tuned. Thank you.