Family fighting to stay in Los Altos Hills after decades of caretaking work
For over 50 years, a small slice of land right off the Rhus Ridge trailhead in the Los Altos foothills has been home for the Girouard family.
"I was born and raised here which was awesome. You know, not too many kids can say that they had thousands of acres to play in as their backyard," said Jeremiah Girouard.
"If there was a kid that grew up in Los Altos or Los Altos Hills in like the late 70s through early 90s they would probably remember my dad," said Girouard.
Jeremiah Girouard's dad was Raye Girouard, a man affectionately known across the community for being the local wilderness expert.
"You know he would go to schools and do presentations, you know how to make arrowheads out of obsidian. You know, teach kids how to make fires," said Girouard.
Jeremiah said his dad came to live in this area in the early 70s after befriending the original owner of the land.
"He developed a relationship with Frank and then Frank actually hired him to start patrolling his land before they even offered him the home here," said Girouard.
The deal back then eventually became, Raye and his family could live on the land for free while he worked for the family who owned it.
When the original landowner sold the property to the Midpeninsula Open Space District in the late 80s, Jeremiah says his family's caretaking agreement continued.
He said everything remained for the most part fine until his dad passed away in 2018.
"They wasted very little time in coming out," said Girouard.
Jeremiah said Midpen came to his family looking to change the terms of their lease.
When they resisted, Jeremiah says everything changed.
"We never heard from them until we got an abandonment eviction notice, and we got that the day before Thanksgiving," said Girouard.
Since then, Jeremiah said he's been in a back and forth with Midpen over his family's right to live on the land.
"They sent me a letter stating that a guy was going to come out, one of their land management people on December 16th. Had a conversation with them and he flat out told me, I said, 'Hey, I want to get this stuff done.' He said Midpen's not interested in letting you guys continue to live here and if you guys pull permits, we're just going to deny them," said Girouard.
KPIX reached out to Midpen for comment.
They sent a statement, saying in part that their purchase agreement with the original landowner back in 1987 did not require them to allow anyone to remain on the property.
They say they made a separate agreement with Raye and his wife back then that allowed them to stay but did not include any of their children.
Now with Raye's death, they say they're looking for a reasonable mutual agreement with Raye's wife, but are keeping legal options open if progress cannot be made.
Jeremiah told KPIX he doesn't agree with their interpretation that he is not included in the agreement.
He believes he is and won't allow them to kick his family out without a fight.
"We've been here. We have a right to be here. You know I think anyone has to have something reasonable to give up their rights for and all I can say is there hasn't been anything offered that's been reasonable enough for my mom to give up her rights or me to give up my rights to be here," said Girouard.
Jeremiah said the local community has thrown their support behind his family, raising thousands of dollars and gathering hundreds of signatures to try and help them stay in their home.
In the end, he says that's simple all they want.
"What's the issue? You know they have 65,000 acres of pristine wildlife. Why does this small section have to be counted with that when you've had a family that's been living here for 50 plus years with no issues," said Girouard.
