SIMI VALLEY : Council OKs 75-Unit Project for Seniors

The Simi Valley City Council has approved plans for a low-income senior housing project that was rejected by the Planning Commission, which said the city has enough senior housing.

The council voted 4 to 0 to approve the 75-unit apartment complex on Heywood Street just west of Erringer Road.

Mayor Greg Stratton abstained from the vote, citing a possible conflict of interest. Stratton is a member of the board of directors of the Simi Valley Health Center, which owns the property on which the project will be built.

Councilmen Glen McAdoo and Bill Davis filed an appeal after the Planning Commission’s ruling last month. They said the city doesn’t come close to providing enough low-income housing for the elderly and handicapped.

“I think with a couple of phone calls, any one of them could have found in excess of 200 people on our waiting list” for such housing, Davis said of the commission. “To say we don’t need senior housing really got to me.”

The Planning Commission pointed out that five senior apartment buildings have already been built in the city and an additional project has been approved.

The commission also had concerns over the location of the complex, saying it was too far from shopping and medical facilities.

But council members said residents of the project will be able to provide for their own transportation or use the city’s dial-a-ride service.

Residents will be required to pay one-third of their monthly income for rent.

The project is being developed by the Georgia-based Christian Senior Housing Foundation.