MOORPARK : City Plans to Buy Lot for Low-Cost Housing

The city of Moorpark will attempt to buy about 1.3 acres of land downtown now in tax default with Ventura County and use the property for affordable housing, City Council members said.

The council last week voted 4 to 0 to pursue the purchase of the land for about $32,000. Councilman Pat Hunter was absent.

Before the city can buy the property, located near the Le Club apartment complex, it must clear a series of county bureaucratic hurdles, officials said.

“It’s an opportunity that comes along to buy a piece of property at a very low price, which plays right into one of our priorities, in that we can potentially develop some affordable housing in the area,” Mayor Paul Lawrason said.

Lawrason said the land is zoned to allow 15 housing units per acre, so the city potentially could build up to 20 units of affordable housing by taking advantage of affordable-housing development incentives.

Councilman Scott Montgomery also supported the acquisition and said that even if the city is not able to develop the land, it probably stands to benefit from the transaction. “It’s available at such a bargain price,” Montgomery said. “If we are subsequently unable to do anything with it, we could easily get our money out of it.”