OXNARD : City Offers Half-Block Downtown for $100

The Oxnard City Council on Tuesday agreed to sell one-half block in the city’s downtown for $100--but only if the buyer builds 28 townhouses on the land and sells them to low- and moderate-income families.

Oxnard officials said the land--appraised at about $672,000--would be handed over for virtually nothing to keep the home prices down.

“It’s not a gift,” said Councilman Andres Herrera. “It’s an investment . . . to provide housing.”

But poverty attorney Barbara Macri-Ortiz argued that the city was not getting its money’s worth from the developer, who she said will make about $376,000 on the deal.

The townhouses are expected to sell for between $94,000 and $127,000 each.

Oxnard paid about $1 million to buy the property and demolish old homes, said Oxnard Community Development Director Richard Maggio. In addition, the city underwrote about $257,000 in sewer and water improvements.

The undeveloped 1.3-acre parcel between 6th and 7th streets and west of B Street is where the Oxnard Farmers’ Market is now held. The market will be relocated next to nearby Plaza Park on North 5th Street, Maggio said.

Under the original agreement proposed by Heritage Park Partners, the developer would have provided only nine of 28 low- and moderate-income housing units as required by law in a redevelopment zone such as downtown Oxnard.

Partners in the development are Orange County architect David Ball and Ventura businessman Dennis Howarth.

But the council placed restrictions on the prices of all the homes so Oxnard can deduct the $1-million purchase from the amount it is required to spend on affordable housing in the city’s downtown.

Under state law, 20% of all property tax collected by the Redevelopment Agency must be used for affordable housing. But Oxnard had not kept up with the requirement, falling $1.9 million behind.