SIMI VALLEY : Voters Will Decide Senior Housing Plan

The Simi Valley City Council gave final approval Monday to a June ballot measure that would amend the city’s controlled-growth ordinance to give priority to developers planning to build affordable housing for low-income senior citizens.

The City Council voted 5 to 0 to approve the proposal that would amend the 1986 ordinance, known as Measure A.

Residents will vote on the amendment proposal during a special election June 5.

Measure A, which is based on population and demographics, allows about 43 building permits to be issued every three months until it expires in mid-1996, according to city planning officials. Twenty percent of the permits issued have been for affordable senior housing, which city officials said is not enough to meet the demand.

If approved by voters, the amendment would allow developers to borrow from future permit allocations if their residential projects are specifically for low-income senior citizens.

Some residents have complained that the amendment benefits only one segment of the city’s population and that more needs to be done to provide affordable housing for first-time home buyers.

City officials acknowledge that the cost of housing has risen dramatically in recent years and say they have been working on ways to alleviate the problem. For example, in August the council approved a plan to provide low-interest loans to about 125 first-time home buyers with modest incomes and, for the first time, subsidize their down payments.