FILLMORE : Bank Grants Credit for Housing Project

Ventura County National Bank has paved the way for the Cabrillo Economic Development Corp. to begin constructing the second phase of a farm-worker housing project near Fillmore with a $3.3 million letter of credit.

“The transaction is a normal requirement for farm projects where the builder is required to provide a bond or letter of credit,” said William E. McAleer, the bank’s chairman and chief executive officer.

The letter of credit allows the bank to disburse the loan while guaranteeing that the project will be completed, McAleer said. “The first phase proved to be excellent housing and we’re pleased to be part of it,” he said.

The Farmers Home Administration, which is financing the project, asked Cabrillo to post a $3.3-million bond, project manager Jesse Ornelas said.

The 50-unit first phase of the new Rancho Sespe low-cost housing development on California 126 east of Fillmore opened in April, 1990, Ornelas said. Construction of the 50-unit second phase is scheduled to begin in March, Ornelas said. It is scheduled for completion in December.

In addition to the 100 townhouse-style homes, the 20-acre project will eventually contain a community center, a child-care center, basketball courts and a regulation-size soccer field, Ornelas said.

The project resulted from settlement of an eight-year legal battle ignited by the eviction of 100 farm-worker families from the original Rancho Sespe site in the ‘70s, said Jaime Zepeda, a farm worker who moved to Rancho Sespe in 1969.

The new project is “heaven compared to the converted army barracks we lived in back then,” Zepeda said.