Oxnard City Council Votes to Move Forward on Low-Income Homes

Long bedeviled by charges of inaction and disputes with a property owner, the City Council decided Tuesday to move forward with a plan to build low-cost homes in northeast Oxnard.

City leaders voted 4 to 0, with Councilman Dean Maulhardt abstaining, to begin negotiating an agreement with Akins Communities Inc., an Irvine-based developer that wants to build 198 single-family houses on 41 acres near Lombard Street and Camino del Sol.

“It’s been a long time in coming,” said Councilman Bedford Pinkard just before the vote.

The project hit a roadblock in October when, city officials say, property owner Donald T. Kojima threatened to back out of a deal that gives Oxnard ownership of the land.

As part of that deal, city officials bought land last year from Kojima for $5.32 million with the intent of trading it for the Lombard Parcel, a nearby 41-acre plot of farmland he also owns.

Kojima wanted to develop the low-cost housing project but was not selected from among 10 other developers who submitted proposals. City officials say Kojima has warned he might not complete the land swap if he is not allowed to build the project.

As lawyers for the city try to salvage the land deal, Oxnard officials decided to start negotiations with Akins Communities Inc. despite concerns that they will not acquire the parcel they want.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” said Ernie Whitaker, an Oxnard housing official. “The City Council is still proceeding on the basis that the Lombard Parcel was to be the affordable housing site.”

Kojima, who does not have experience as a developer, did not return several phone calls Tuesday.

“On the basis of years of experience, resources, financing and vision of the project, he did not make the cut,” City Councilman Andres Herrera said.

As a fall-back measure, the City Council also directed staff on Tuesday to start negotiations with two other home builders in case Oxnard fails to reach an agreement with Akins Communities Inc.

A group of mostly poor farm workers, who have been lobbying the city for more than 10 years to help them move out of a crowded trailer park, applauded the city’s move on Tuesday. But Luis Teran, the Oxnard Mobile Home Lodge’s resident leader, said he is concerned that city officials may be backing away from their pledge to help them find alternative housing.

“Some of us have been working on this for more than 10 years,” Teran said. “I think that we should have the first option [on the homes].”

Home to about 1,100 residents, the Oxnard Mobile Home Lodge was at one time considered the worst slum in Ventura County by some affordable-housing advocates. A state inspector found 1,197 safety violations in the park in 1991. In recent years, the park owner has made significant improvements to the Oxnard Mobile Home Lodge, including a new electrical system, water pipes and resurfaced streets.

But city officials say they never made a formal commitment to build the new housing exclusively for the trailer park residents and that all low-income residents who qualify should be able to move into the new homes.

Nevertheless, Herrera said city staff members have considered the mobile home residents’ plight when planning the project.

“We anticipate that a great number of individuals will be eligible to aspire to homeownership,” Herrera said. “This is not necessarily a dedicated project for the residents of the Oxnard Mobile Home Lodge. But because of the creativity that is being brought to the financing, a greater number of those residents will be eligible for the financing.”

In addition to purchasing the land for $5.32 million, Herrera said the city has agreed to waive nearly $1 million in developer fees to bring down the project’s cost.

Although the proposed homes would sell at prices averaging $115,000, city reports show buyers could put down as little as $2,760, with monthly payments running as low as $700. Whitaker said 132 homes would be affordable to low-income buyers and 66 units to very low-income residents.

The federal government identifies a very-low income buyer as a three-member family with a $26,050 annual income.

But Teran said he has met with Akins Communities, Inc. officials who said applicants below that threshold might still qualify.

“I think many [Oxnard Mobile Home Lodge] residents could be eligible,” Teran said.