Residents of a nudist community in Olive Dell Ranch in Colton, California, say their once-free-spirited haven has turned into something out of a nightmare ever since new management took over. According to a lawsuit filed by current and former tenants, the new owners aren’t just banning nudity, they’re allegedly using every trick in the book to drive residents out.
The drama kicked off when a notice landed in residents’ mailboxes that read: “Olive Dell RV Park and Resort is now a textile park. Clothing will be required at all times within the park premises.” That single letter might as well have been a bombshell. Imagine living in a nudist resort for over a decade, only to be told your lifestyle was suddenly “illegal” overnight.
Longtime resident Nancy Roeder told local outlet KTLA, “We’re just trying to survive. We’re in survival mode at this point.” She and others claim the clothing crackdown was just the beginning. Utility bills have mysteriously skyrocketed, rents were allegedly hiked, and residents say they’ve even been threatened with eviction if they don’t play along. Roeder pointed to her own $500 utility bill for a 500-square-foot space, insisting it should have been closer to $100.
California Nudists Forced To Wear Clothing In Formerly Bare Community
It gets worse. The lawsuit also accuses the new owners of cutting off amenities that residents had already paid for. The pool has reportedly turned swamp-green, the laundry room has been boarded up, the sauna shut down, and hot water in communal areas is a thing of the past. It’s a total 180 from what Olive Dell used to represent a community where people could live freely, without judgment, and, yes, without clothes.
Another resident, Penny Palmer, didn’t hold back, saying: “They illegally raised our rents and they attacked our lifestyle.” For nudists, the forced clothing rule isn’t just about fabric it’s about identity, freedom, and community. To many of them, it feels like being pushed out of their own homes.
Even former staff members are backing up the residents’ claims. Sunshine Lorick, who worked at the front desk, says she was fired after refusing to tack on extra charges to tenants’ bills. “She wanted me to charge extra money on people’s bills, and I was refusing to do it,” Lorick explained.
The new management, for their part, is clapping back. Property manager Darlene told reporters that residents weren’t the victims, they were the troublemakers, accusing them of vandalism and failing to pay on time.
The Nudist Ranch Has A Dark History
If all of that wasn’t enough, Olive Dell Ranch already made headlines last year for a far darker reason. Residents were still reeling from the gruesome double murder of longtime members Stephanie and Daniel Menard, who were found beneath a concrete bunker in August 2024, per Daily Mail. Their neighbor, Michael Royce Sparks, is now facing trial, accused of killing the couple after tensions over a hot dog. Witnesses testified that ongoing neighborly disputes turned deadly when Sparks allegedly snapped after being humiliated with a $1 hot dog gesture.
Between murder headlines and now a lawsuit over mandatory pants, it seems Olive Dell has become a hotbed of chaos instead of the peaceful retreat it once was. “Sometimes one has to face the naked truth,” one person commented online. Roeder summed up the mood best when she admitted, “I’m going to stay here till the very end. I’m scared. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
As the lawsuit plays out, California’s once carefree nudist enclave is at a crossroads. Will Olive Dell return to its roots as a place where people can live freely or will its residents be forced to cover up and give in? Either way, the state’s nudist ranch is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Hunter Spears 
Kenna Raye 
