FOUNTAIN VALLEY : City Moves Ahead on Housing Plan

City plans to sell a vacant 1-acre parcel to a private developer as a site for low-income housing moved ahead Wednesday when the Planning Commission approved bidding procedures for the property.

The city bought the site on Heil Avenue, west of Harbor Boulevard, from the Petrolane Gas Service Limited Partnership last year for $650,000.

The city paid for it with funds from a community development block grant provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Use of the HUD grant means the developer must ensure that 100% of the housing units built will be owned or rented for at least 30 years by low- or moderate-income people. Federal law also requires that at least five dwelling units be built on the site. The housing is expected to be earmarked for the disabled, seniors or as single-room occupancies.

The Petrolane oil company once used the site as a storage and distribution facility for its liquid propane. The city inspected the site and found no soil contamination, since the storage tank was located aboveground.

Lauren Sacco, an administrative assistant at the city’s housing and community development office, said the project will probably be completed in the next two years.

“We’d like to help get more affordable housing for the residents here, but it’s real tough because most of the city is developed,” she said.

Sacco added that the department gets quite a few calls from residents unable to pay their rent.

The City Council is scheduled to consider the sale of the land in June.