# Slab city going legit?



## Dmac (Mar 15, 2015)

found this in the news. http://la.curbed.com/archives/2015/03/slab_city_going_legit.php

*Off-the-Grid Desert Squatter Town Considers Going Legit*
Friday, March 13, 2015, by Bianca Barragan




[Image via Tuchodi / Creative Commons]

The decades-old desert squatter community of *Slab City*, near the southern end of the Salton Sea and next to the man-made Salvation Mountain art piece, is getting a little nervous in the wake of rumors that the California State Land Commission might be selling the land that the unofficial city (illegally) sits on. The rumblings of have caused a rift in the small, arty, outsider community, as a group in favor of trying to buy the land clashes with opponents who say that trying to go legit might just destroy everything Slabbers (as residents call themselves) love about this unusual, remote place. (It's named for the concrete foundation slabs left over from the time it was home to a World War II Marine barracks.)

Slab City has about *150 year-round residents*, says the _New York Times_, but from October through April the population "swells to perhaps *2,000*," many of whom reside in "sometimes majestic" RVs, eager to stay someplace sunny and free in several senses of the word. Some of the more permanent residents have formed the Slab City Community Group, which is trying to organize members so it can buy the land outright from the California State Land Commission.




[Image via Tuchodi / Creative Commons]

Up against the SCCG are residents who say that the likelihood of any sale is still slim that formal organization will only turn Slab City into the kind of place its residents have chosen to leave behind. They worry that the community will be forced to start complying with health, sanitation, and building codes, which would mean huge alterations. The community is not connected to the electricity grid or sewage lines, and many people live in homes they've built or found (or a combination of both). Not surprisingly, they also do not pay taxes.

They're not totally offline—many residents use cellphones and laptops and generators—but if they're going to have to deal with _all_ the trappings of the outside world, "We might as well *go back to the suburbs*," complains one member of the SCCG opposition.

Officially, the state says it hasn't decided to sell yet, though they are in the process of getting the land appraised and seeing if it might need some kind of hazardous waste removal.
· Talk of a Sale Fills a Hippie Haven With Bad Vibes [NYT]
· See the Handmade Mountain That Was One Man's Life Work [Curbed LA]


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## West (Mar 15, 2015)

Both sides of the argument have sound arguments... It's a sticky situation whether they decide to stay squatter or go legit and depends greatly on the response of the government.


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## Jaguwar (Mar 16, 2015)

Yeesh. gobernment.


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## technotrash (Mar 16, 2015)

envision resistance ::woot::::drinkingbuddy::


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## Kim Chee (Mar 16, 2015)

Whale shit!

Depends on what you mean by legit. I haven't been there, but I do have an idea of what legit is.
The price of land there is so low that people there who wish to remain can probably OWN THE LAND THEMSELVES if they wish or continue to subjugate themselves to the man in other ways and take what comes. 

I hope everybody there can dispose of their waste in a responsible manner. I'm pretty sure that if there is a problem with waste there that EPA and other environmental groups will be sure to help and/or take notice.


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## Jaguwar (Mar 16, 2015)

Mostly take notice. Chime in man, the government doesn't help, it TAKES OVER. All for your protection and a safety of course.


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## Matt Derrick (Mar 16, 2015)

i understand both sides of the argument, but if the government sells the land everyone's fucked anyways, so they might as well sell it to the people living there. of course how they pay for it is another matter entirely (charging rent?).

personally, i think it's long past time for us to find a new place to squat when the slabs eventually get shut down or things just go to pot. it's not like there isn't a shit ton of open land in that area.


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## Kal (Mar 17, 2015)

Fuck the gov!!!!!


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## BrianC503 (Apr 13, 2015)

the whole spirit of the slabs is dead.

"off the grid internet cafe" lol.


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## Matt Derrick (Apr 14, 2015)

BrianC503 said:


> the whole spirit of the slabs is dead.
> 
> "off the grid internet cafe" lol.



i'm going to strongly disagree with you on that. you're not living there.


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