Health officials and police here raided storage units in a junk-filled industrial area, where they found six people living in windowless 200-square-foot concrete block units.
Police locked up five units at AA Alpine Storage after finding the residents in makeshift homes on Friday. Officials believe the units may have housed many more than were home at the time of the raid.City-county health officials were armed with a warrant and escorted by several Salt Lake City police officers, the Mexican consul, advocates for the homeless and aides to Mayor Deedee Corradini.
AA Alpine Storage owner Boydean Frazier was cited Oct. 16 for allowing people to live in his lockers. On Friday, health officials told him he still was violating city code.
Frazier said the raid surprised him because he had been working with city officials during the past few days to resolve the problem.
"Not true," said Marge Harvey, who works in the mayor's office. "It's absolutely illegal to house human beings in storage units. He's just exploiting them."
City-county health officials have given Frazier more than three months to comply with the law. In an October letter, investigators warned that there would be another inspection to ensure that residents living in the storage spaces had adequate plumbing, lighting, ventilation and heating. The letter did not mention any penalties if Frazier did not comply.
"We want to reassure the residents they are not in trouble," said Police Sgt. Jim Faraone. "They are doing jobs most people won't do. They are contributing to the community. We don't want to hammer these folks. We're concerned for their safety and welfare."
Frazier acknowledged that he houses in units several workers he has hired to build the storage facility, which now has 1,100 units and eventually will have 2,300.
"You could call it a labor camp," he said. "That's what I call it."
Officials allege the men Frazier employs are undocumented immigrants and say he makes standard payroll deductions from their paychecks. He also deducts the rent for the storage-unit homes.
Mexican Consul Anacelia Perez de Meyer said she wanted to be present during the search to protect the 20 or so Mexican nationals renting spaces. "They are frightened," she said.
Officials and police were uncertain how many people were living in the units. None of the units has running water or sanitation. Frayed extension cords connect refrigerators, hot plates, televisions and lamps to outside electric boxes. Portable propane tanks heat the unventilated cells and fuel the open-flame stoves.
A couple not on Frazier's payroll said they paid $238 per month for their airless lodgings.
Frazier said his monthly rental fees range from $50 for a 10-foot-by-20-foot unit to $300 for a 14-by-70-foot unit. He said those who work for him have 24-hour access to the shower and toilet in the AA Alpine Storage office. The officials serving the warrant scoffed at Fra-zier's assertion.
Frazier said he can't force the residents to go to a shelter instead of staying in the storage units. "I've told them they can't stay here."
Health officials said people living in the lockers could stay for a couple of nights, but then would have to go. The city's shelters have room and the Community Action Plan agency will work to place them in permanent housing, Harvey said.