Proposal Links Home Loans to Family Size : Thousand Oaks: Some officials protest that new city requirements would discriminate against large, low-income households.

A proposal to help low-income residents purchase homes in Thousand Oaks calls for targeting buyers who demonstrate “control of household size”--a provision some officials are blasting as discriminatory.

Under the newly revised Ownership Assistance Program, the city would offer first dibs on low-interest loans to buyers who met the family size guidelines.

A five-person household, for example, would have to purchase a home with at least three bedrooms to be eligible for priority consideration when the city doles out loans.

The City Council will consider adopting the new guidelines on Tuesday.

Already, the concept of linking loans to family size is drawing opposition from real estate agents, public housing experts and some politicians.

“It’s getting so far into the private lives of people that it’s almost scary,” Councilman Frank Schillo said Friday. “I don’t think it’s right or proper.”

Describing the guidelines as unworkable as well as unethical, Schillo added: “It’s almost impossible to enforce. What if a family has another kid after they buy the home? What are they going to do, throw him out?”

In practice, the household size guidelines would be applied with some flexibility, so parents with three small children could squeeze into a two-bedroom unit, said Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski, a member of the housing issues committee.

Both Zukowski and Mayor Elois Zeanah noted that the city’s proposed guidelines resemble federal standards to prevent overcrowding in public housing.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development generally aims for two people per bedroom, plus one extra person--so a total of five people might live in a two-bedroom house.

But some local experts worried that the city’s loan-eligibility requirements might push home ownership out of reach for large, low-income families. A household comprising a retired grandparent, a young couple and two children, for example, would be encouraged to buy a three-bedroom home, even though the group might be living on just two minimum-wage salaries.

“We would oppose anything that would preclude families of a specific size from being able to use this service,” said Gene Baird, president of the Conejo Valley Assn. of Realtors.

Because the low-interest loans would come from city redevelopment funds, not federal money, the council has the legal right to impose eligibility requirements, according to Debra Rodriguez, executive director of the Ventura County Fair Housing Council.

But family size guidelines, she said, seem openly discriminatory. And she predicted that the Fair Housing Council would be willing to investigate if someone challenges the guidelines.

“A lot of minorities tend to have a lot of children, especially in the Latino community,” Rodriguez said. “This would exclude a lot of them.”

That scenario would run counter to the council’s stated goal of using the Ownership Assistance Program to help renters in Las Casitas, a neighborhood where 43% of the residents are Latinos. Although all of the units have been sold as condominiums, more than half are being rented out by absentee owners.

If the council approves the program on Tuesday, Las Casitas renters will get first shot at an estimated $500,000 in city funds. The money would be disbursed in the form of 20-year loans to low-income residents buying their first homes.

Ultimately, city officials hope to double the number of homeowners in Las Casitas. Arguing that owners take better care of their property than renters, officials predict a quieter, cleaner and safer neighborhood if the ownership program succeeds.

To ensure a smooth transition, some Las Casitas homeowners support the city’s proposal to tie low-interest loans to household size. All 540 condominiums within the neighborhood are two-bedroom units, so only households with four or fewer people would be eligible for priority loans.

“For us, it would be almost a blessing,” said Robert Bickle, president of the local homeowner association.

Because four units share a single laundry machine and because the homeowner association pays for hot water, overcrowded units strain the neighborhood’s resources, Bickle said.

“I’m not too sure if four is the right number--that might be a little tight,” he added. “But the concept isn’t so far-fetched. Overcrowding accelerates the deterioration of the neighborhood.”

Yet Schillo argued that more flexible guidelines would end up boosting the neighborhood by encouraging more renters to apply for loans.

“The goal is to get more homeowners,” he said. “Whether you have four or five people living in a unit is immaterial--the point is, they’ll have pride of ownership.”