Notorious Sampson property near Petaluma cleaned up
Resting on a concrete pipe that sat askew in the corner of his family’s property off Liberty Road, Tony Sampson, 60, removed the artificial limb he received after blood clots required his lower leg’s surgical amputation four years ago.
Seeking some relief from the discomfort where the prosthesis meets his thigh, Sampson, in a well-worn, button-up shirt and sleek sunglasses, peered through the dust that was drifting through the air. A group of Sonoma County code enforcement officers and contracted haulers were strolling through the area, a property that, for decades, was an off-limits cloister hidden behind towering walls of blackberry brambles.
Sunlight now streamed in from where those brambles once stood, revealing the secretive grounds that some members of the enigmatic and, at times, downright notorious Sampson family had called home for generations. It was week two of a massive county cleanup, and the scattering of motor homes, deeply buried debris, overgrown cars and more was disappearing, piece by piece, into huge metal disposal bins.
Awaiting an early afternoon visit from Sonoma County’s top planning official and a deputy county counselor, Sampson was reflective.
“I feel we can get something done that would be beneficial,” he said.
A constellation of Sonoma County government agencies have converged for an unprecedented abatement operation at the Sampson family property off Petaluma’s Liberty Road, an area that for decades has been a locus of concern for police, policy makers and area residents. Hundreds of tons of debris have left the site, ranging from mountains of old tires to what participants described as caches of human waste.
Legal action
A Sonoma County Superior Court order is behind the action, giving the county legal clearance to enter the property and conduct the work. Yet county officials and Sampson said that the effort was the product of something more, a detente of sorts for an acrimonious relationship stretching back to at least the 1970s.
“It’s an effort that involves cooperation,” Sampson said.
Workers began clearing the property, located across several parcels in a rural area about two-and-a-half miles west of Petaluma city limits, on June 27.
Crews were figuring out their next step on a recent Thursday, discussing their plans near the piled-up remains of a dismantled trailer. The ruins of a two-and-a-half-ton dump truck stood nearby, a massive vehicle that required a major excavation due to the copious willow branches that had grown through its rusted chassis.
Workers had removed around 400 tons of debris from the area as of Wednesday morning, along with approximately 40 vehicles and an array of miscellaneous heavy equipment, said Tennis Wick, director of the Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department.
An initial survey of the property flagged nine mobile homes, an office trailer, 150 tires and a boat for removal, along with large amounts of metal, wood and miscellaneous garbage, according to the court order.
Wick estimated the job was about 65 to 70 percent done as of early Wednesday.
Workers had cleared a large area fronting the roadway last week, revealing a flattened patch of hard-packed dirt. That was after unearthing pits of refuse up to 20 feet wide, and excavation was ongoing, he said.
The area was running afoul of a variety of county rules, including building codes, zoning and stormwater regulations, he said.
History of issues
After an extensive history of issues with the property, Wick described the cleanup as a breakthrough. While interactions between some county staff and the family hit turbulence over issues like tree removal, Wick said the overall effort was making steady progress.
“He says he just wants to be done with this. So do we,” he said.
The property has long been a beacon of concern for law enforcement. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction in the area, has logged 294 calls for service connected to the addresses associated with the property, said Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Cecile Focha.
Likely more calls could be attributed to the area that are not associated with those specific addresses, she noted. The calls reflect a range of allegations including weapon assaults, stolen vehicles, illegal drugs and probation violations.
“We’re well aware of the property,” she said.
While just outside of their jurisdiction, the property is also well known to the Petaluma Police Department, said Lt. Tim Lyons. It has been considered something of a refuge for those wanted by law enforcement, a place where police have served numerous warrants and have frequently come to the assistance of Sheriff’s deputies over the years.
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