Longtime Los Altos Hills family faces eviction from home in open space preserve

LOS ALTOS HILLS, Calif. (KGO) -- A community in the South Bay is fighting to help a family keep the home they've had for decades.

Just off a serene trail in the Los Altos Hills, Jeremiah Girouard and his family are facing eviction.

"You can take this trail all the way to the ocean if you want," Girouard said.

Since 1972, Girouard's father Ray was hired by the Duveneck family to maintain the Rhus Ridge Trailhead. This is where he grew up.

"When I was a kid this trail was only wide enough for people to walk shoulder-to-shoulder or a horse to go up which is the reason my dad rode horse patrol," Girouard said.

MORE: Is it illegal for this South Bay vineyard owner to let employee's family live on property in RV?

The owner of Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards in Saratoga is suing Santa Clara County which has said it is illegal for the vineyard manager to live with his family in an RV on the 60-acre property.

In 1987 Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District purchased the 19-acre property where the Girouard family's trailer sat. An agreement was made with Girouard's parents to continue their tenancy in exchange for caretaking duties that included preventing fires or vandalism.

Since 2019, there have been on-and-off-again negotiations about their residency.

A spokesperson for Midpen told ABC7 in part:

"To date, the caretaking/residential agreements have only been with Susan Cretekos and the now-late Raye Girouard. Their adult children are not on the agreements."

Girouard disputes this, saying he had a part in the maintenance duties.

"I know Midpen only likes to cite my dad as the person who was responsible for caretaking but that wasn't true," he said. "The last five years of his life he had terminal cancer. My mom and I had taken over his responsibilities."

MORE: Mothers fearing homelessness and facing eviction from SF shelter get 30-day extension

Two San Francisco mothers with young kids are on the verge of ending up on the streets as city shelters are following a 90-day time limit for stays.

Last fall, a tree fell onto the Girouard's roof forcing them to live somewhere else temporarily.

Jeremiah said when he notified Midpen he planned to repair it and needed an official acknowledgment of their occupancy rights, they were met with an eviction notice.

There have now been several eviction notices with the latest one set for March 10, but Girouard says they're at a standstill.

"I don't think they've articulated a reason why they need us to go," Girouard said.

Midpen said it "continues to seek a fair and reasonable mutual agreement with the tenant."

Members from the Los Altos Hill community have started a GoFundMe for the Girouard family and so far 800 people have signed a petition to stop the eviction.

This family faces eviction from their home in a South Bay open space preserve they've been in for decades