Housing for Mentally Ill Gains U.S. Reprieve : Camarillo: A federal agency gives the county 60 days to appeal for a construction extension. At stake is $3.9 million.

Federal officials have offered new hope for an innovative housing plan for the mentally ill that seemed doomed when housing officials in Ventura County missed a federal deadline to start construction of the project.

The Area Housing Authority of Ventura County missed a March deadline to begin construction of a $4.5-million multiunit project in Camarillo that would house 150 mentally ill people and their families.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had set aside $3.9 million to build the project on the condition that construction begin by the end of March. After the deadline was missed, HUD officials in Los Angeles rejected a request for an extension, saying the county has not worked fast enough on the project.

However, regional HUD officials in San Francisco told local housing officials last week that they could have 60 days to appeal for an extension of the deadline.

Dirk Murphy, a spokesman for HUD’s San Francisco office, said Tuesday that the appeal period can be considered a de facto extension of 60 days.

HUD funding for public housing projects comes with the condition that construction begin within 30 months after funding is requested. HUD’s regional offices can extend that deadline for a maximum of three years.

“Time extensions are not unheard of,” said Ventura County Department of Mental Health Director Randall Feltman, one of several county officials who have lobbied for the project. “I’m still very encouraged.”

The missed deadline caused more than one problem: HUD officials have begun questioning whether the project qualified for federal money set aside for family housing projects, since they believed that the housing was only for mentally ill individuals.

However, Feltman said the project would house the mentally ill and their families. He said the 60 days will give the housing authority time to explain to HUD officials the details of that proposed arrangement.

“This is family housing,” he said, adding that no similar project exists in the country. “It’s a showcase for the country.”

The 60-day period begins once the Area Housing Authority of Ventura County receives an official letter from HUD, he said.

Feltman, who participated in a telephone conference with HUD officials last week, said he expects HUD officials to decide in the next 45 days whether to give the housing authority a time extension to complete the project.

Ventura County Supervisor John K. Flynn, who has also lobbied for the project for three years, said the decision to provide a 60-day appeal period provides new hope that HUD officials will look favorably on the entire project.

Ventura County has already agreed to contribute $600,000 to build offices for mental health workers at the project. Camarillo State Hospital has agreed to donate surplus land on the hospital grounds for the project.

However, the condominium-style units would be part of a independent living project, and its residents would not be confined to the site.