Low-Cost Senior Housing Project OKd in Lawndale

Pressed by a federal funding deadline, the Lawndale City Council Thursday night unanimously approved plans for a controversial 56-unit housing project for low-income senior citizens.

The project, at 153rd Place and Condon Avenue, will be limited to seniors with maximum incomes of $12,550 for individuals and $14,350 for couples. Tenants will pay no more than one-third of their income in rent. A nonprofit company, Cooperative Services Inc., has obtained $3 million in federal funds to build the apartment complex and subsidize rents for seniors.

Had the city delayed action on the project--violating deadlines set for the federal funds--Cooperative Services officials said they might take the project to another city.

Affordable housing for low-income seniors is in great demand in the South Bay, with several projects having such long waiting lists they are no longer accepting applications.

The project will be organized as a cooperative, with tenant committees to make decisions on such matters as building maintenance, entertainment and screening of prospective residents according to federal guidelines.

Because of U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department regulations, the project cannot limit tenancy to Lawndale residents, but the majority of residents at projects of this kind tend to come from the immediate area, according to Cooperative Services officials.

Public opinion on the project has been divided: Seniors said low-income housing is desperately needed by the elderly, some of whom may rely on Social Security as their only income. Critics of the Lawndale project, however, complained that it does not provide enough parking spaces. The plan calls for 33 spaces for 56 units.

Mayor Sarann Kruse said the city surveyed 111 elderly residents on the waiting list for the project and found that fewer than 30% have cars. “There’s going to be empty parking spaces there,” Kruse said.