OAK VIEW : Land Donated to Habitat for Humanity

A year after Habitat for Humanity volunteers provided a home for 74-year-old Charles Henderson, the Oak View resident returned the favor by donating two of his three small parcels to the nonprofit group.

Using donations of money, building materials and manpower, Habitat for Humanity, which builds housing for poor families, will construct houses on Henderson’s land for two west Ventura County families, Habitat Chairwoman Elaine Ferguson said.

Construction is set to begin later this month. The groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held Sunday.

“This is the pioneer concept of barn-raising where people help their neighbors,” Ferguson said.

The project, expected to cost about $30,000 per house, is being funded with donations and $20,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds from the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

Ojai Presbyterian Church pledged another $20,000 over three years, and several local businesses and homeowners have promised to donate tile, lumber, windows and other building materials.

The residents, who have not been chosen, will buy the houses at a low price and have a no-interest mortgage. Habitat hopes to have the families selected by July and the first family moved in by Christmas.

The families selected must provide 500 hours of work, called sweat equity, as a down payment. Seventy-five of those hours will be spent in a training course on how to maintain the house.

To qualify for the Habitat project, applicants must need housing, not have resources to buy or build shelter, and be unable to qualify for a government housing loan, Ferguson said.

Also, applicants must have lived or worked in the west county area for at least a year and have steady incomes of from $13,000 to $27,000 for a four-person family, she said.

“These are four-bedroom homes, so we will be looking at larger families,” she said. Habitat also plans to build houses in Ventura and Fillmore for smaller families and individuals.

Ferguson said Habitat needs people to help choose the families and is holding two community meetings this week to form a selection committee. The first meeting will be at 7 tonight at Ojai Methodist Church. The second will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Oak View Community Center.