McOccupied: Vacant former McDonald's taken over by homeless

The former McDonald's location on Main Avenue in downtown Fallbrook has been empty for years.

Or it is supposed to be, anyway.

Brad Fox, who leads the Fallbrook Homeless Advocacy group, went with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department Homeless Assistance and Resource, or HART, team Tuesday, Feb. 4, to the vacant store to check out reports that several people experiencing homelessness were residing in the building's basement.

The homeless advocacy group that Fox heads exists to contact homeless Fallbrook residents and try to help them get resources such as transitional housing and addiction help.

It was in that capacity that Fox went with the HART team to the McDonald's location, where they found "a TV and DVD player, blow-up beds, mattresses, drug paraphernalia, sex toys, you name it," he said.

Fox also said they discovered the electrical system in the building had somehow been rigged to provide lighting.

"The floors were filthy and residents had tapped into existing wiring to energize lamps, electrical devices and possibly a heater," he said.

No one was inside the building when Fox and the sheriff's deputies showed up. Fox posted photos of the interior of the building to the Facebook group "Friends of Fallbrook" the day after his visit, where many group members expressed shock at the situation.

But as it turns out, this is not a new problem.

Jake Kruger, crime prevention specialist at the Fallbrook Sheriff's Substation, said that not only did deputies go into the old McDonald's restaurant Feb. 4, but they go into the building to clear out people who are occupying it illegally on a regular basis.

"Our deputies frequently go in there and remove people for trespassing," Kruger said

The day after his visit to the property, Fox posted images of the beds and personal belongings inside the abandoned store to "Friends of Fallbrook."

"Is it time to demand that McDonald's sell this property and remove this eyesore and health hazard?" he asked in the post. "Is it time to boycott their new store? What do you think Fallbrook? We can't heal homelessness if out-of-town corporations won't be good neighbors."

McDonald's, though, does not actually own the property. It was sold in 2014 to the "R&N Oghassabian Trust," according to property records.

Reached by telephone Feb. 11, one of the people named on the trust, Raffi Oghassabian, said he's been unable to sell or lease the old restaurant in the years he's owned it because the property's deed has restrictions on it that prevent another food establishment from using the location.

Deed restrictions are a tool that some businesses use when selling property to bar any potentially competing business from moving in later.

Oghassabian said the restrictions on his property have stifled any attempts to get another business in there.

He said he's gotten offers, but he's never gotten to the point where the deal actually gets closed.

"Multiple people, banks, to dialysis, to a car wash, not a lot of people are interested," Oghassabian said.

He said he's spent thousands of dollars to repair damages done to the building by squatters.

"Homeless have broken in multiple times," Oghassabian said. "The more I board it up, the more problems I have."

The sheriff's department, he said, has been allowed to clear out trespassers ever since Oghassabian purchased the property.

"They've had permission from day one and they do a good job in trying to (clear squatters out)," he said. "They're really trashing the place."

He put the blame on McDonald's, saying he has tried to get the deed restrictions lifted, to no avail.

"We did go to McDonald's, the big bully, I would say, and we did try to reason with them and say we are having an issue with renting it," Oghassabian said. "We even offered to pay more."

But ultimately, they would not agree, he said.

McDonald's provided this statement when reached for comment: "McDonald's and our local owner/operators care deeply about the communities where we live, work and serve. We are open to discussing options on the building's use restrictions with the current owner should they reach out."

Fox said he thinks something needs to be done – even without the problem of people squatting in the vacant building, he said he thinks it's a safety issue.

"I do know that it's not OK for people to just abandon their property and let it fester," Fox said.

"As a 10-or-12-year-old, I'd be all over that property, I'd be on the roof, I'd be down the stairs."

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].