Housing Aid Weighed for Families of Gulf Troops : Oxnard: The plan would give dependents of Desert Storm personnel priority for subsidies. Service officials welcome the city’s initiative.

Low-income families of military personnel deployed in the Persian Gulf would be eligible for federally subsidized housing under a proposal to be considered today by Oxnard’s Housing Authority Commission.

The program, which is subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, would give priority to dependents of Desert Storm troops over other needy families applying for subsidies.

“I think the people at home have to help the people who went oversees for us all,” said Oxnard Councilwoman Dorothy Maron. The Housing Authority Commission has seven members, including all five council members.

“The program came about because we were hearing from people out there that their spouses had been called to active duty and were having difficulty paying the rent,” said Sal Gonzales, Oxnard director for housing. “HUD gave us their informal approval, so we decided to go forward with it,” Gonzales said.

If approved, the program would remain in place until U.S. troops return home, housing officials said.

The federal subsidies, Gonzales said, consist of vouchers to pay for the difference between a fair-market-value rent and 30% of the family’s income. He said that the fair-market value for a two-bedroom home in Oxnard is up to $800 a month.

To be eligible, a family of four must earn a yearly income of no more than $22,400. In Oxnard, close to 1,200 families receive subsidies, and the waiting list--which has been closed for most new applicants since 1987--has 700 names on it.

Under the proposal, Gonzales said, the city would place applications from Desert Storm dependents at the top of the waiting list.

Military officials based near Oxnard welcomed the city’s initiative.

“I think it’s an excellent idea because housing is always a problem in this area, especially for the lower ranking personnel,” said Lt. Cmdr. Gene Okamoto, spokesman for the Point Mugu Naval Air Station. He said about 550 sailors are on waiting lists to be housed on base.

Connie Taylor, spokeswoman for the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme, said about 800 of the 1,200 Seabees now deployed in the Persian Gulf would qualify for federal housing assistance.

Taylor said she did not know how many of them lived off-base, but the average wait for on-base housing is 18 months. Oxnard’s program “would certainly have a positive impact,” she said.

Gonzales said the program would be most helpful for the families of reservists who were forced to leave well-paying civilian jobs to join the war effort.

Entry-level salaries for Navy reservists start out at just over $10,000 a year, and an additional $3,000 a year is added if they cannot find housing on base, said Lt. Jim Brooks, spokesman for the Navy Office of Information in Los Angeles.

“It’s a great deal,” he said of the Oxnard program. “I guarantee you the pay is not enough to live in this area.”

Brooks said that all enlisted personnel would qualify for the subsidies but most officers would not.

Robert Richardson, supervisory housing specialist at HUD’s Los Angeles field office, said Oxnard’s program would be the first of its kind in his jurisdiction, which extends from San Luis Obispo County to the Mexican border.

He said he could not endorse the program until he received a formal written request from the city.