Low-Income Housing Plan Protested

Federal funding for a proposed low-income apartment house in downtown Oxnard has been held up by protests from residents and business owners, who fear that the development will boost crime, sink property values and endanger children living in the complex.

The 32-unit project, which is at the forefront of a citywide push to build low-income housing in Oxnard, is planned for a 1.5-acre site at Donlon Avenue and Driffill Boulevard.

Saying the project is incompatible with the neighborhood, area residents and business owners are calling for it to be scaled back or moved.

“It’s not low-income housing that we are against,” said Louis Kanter, manager of the nearby Regal Lodge. “But they are trying to put too many people into that small area. They want to cram them in like sardines.”

But the housing developer, Saticoy-based Cabrillo Economic Development Corp., says the three-story project is a good one and much needed in Oxnard.

“We think we are going to be an attractive addition and have a positive impact on your community,” project manager Karen Flock told Kanter and a dozen other opponents at a meeting this week. “Our experience is that we make good neighbors.”

The Oxnard Planning Commission has approved the project. It is scheduled for City Council review March 8.

Kanter and others say their primary concern is that children who live in the new apartment complex will have to cross Oxnard Boulevard to get to school.

In fact, based on a letter from the Regal Lodge, the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has temporarily refused to release $263,000 in grant money requested by the city to help build the apartment complex.

The money will be withheld until the city can ensure that the busy boulevard poses no threat to children in the complex, according to HUD.

But city housing officials and Cabrillo representatives say that they are confident that the issue can be resolved and that the federal money will be made available.

“There are concerns that have been raised and those are being addressed,” said Ernie Whitaker, manager of the city’s housing and rehabilitation program. “That’s all part of the review process.”

In its 13 years, Cabrillo, a nonprofit developer of affordable housing, has produced about 650 units throughout Ventura County.

In late 1992, the agency was chosen to lead a push to develop low-income housing in Oxnard. The city’s blueprint for future housing construction outlined a goal of building 1,450 low- and moderate-income housing units by 1995.

But between 1980 and 1989, the city helped to build only 46 low- and moderate-income units. Since then, another 22 affordable single-family units have been built or are under construction, housing officials said.

Cabrillo was chosen primarily to replace low-income units wiped out over the years by downtown redevelopment efforts. The 66,000-square-foot apartment house that Cabrillo has designed for the downtown site will be known as Villa Solimar.

The units will be available to families earning between $20,000 and $40,000 a year, Flock said. Monthly rent for the three-bedroom units will be about $700. Cabrillo will oversee construction and management of the complex.

“I think it’s a good project and it will be an asset to the neighborhood,” Flock said. “But it’s hard to tell that to people when they are frightened about things.”

At this week’s community meeting at the Regal Lodge, those fears became apparent.

Residents of the nearby Royal Palms Mobile Home Park said they worry that the complex will be noisy, and attract gangs and graffiti. More than 200 senior citizens live in the park, and most have signed a petition opposing the complex.

“Everybody moved into this park because they wanted peace, quiet and comfort,” park resident Arnie Adkison told Flock. “I really want the City Council to explain how they justify moving a bunch of kids into our park.”

Some residents asked that the project be limited to 16 units. Others asked that it be built elsewhere.

“We think you have a great plan to begin with,” park resident Patricia Brown said. “But this is not the location for it.”