Funds for La Colonia Housing Plan Sought

The Oxnard City Council on Tuesday will consider an agreement to provide $273,000 in federal money to a nonprofit group to build low-cost housing in La Colonia.

El Pueblo Unido Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp. Inc. plans to build up to four houses for low-income residents in La Colonia with the money.

The residents must qualify for a mortgage, and--similar to the national Habitat for Humanity program--must agree to help build the houses with their own labor.

El Pueblo Unido’s mission when formed in 1993 stipulated that it help provide counseling, education and employment to low-income residents.

“But the most pressing concern became the lack of affordable housing,” said Juan Soria, the group’s treasurer. “There are a lot of extended families that help put up their kinfolk, but people were concerned that there was not enough new housing.”

If the City Council approves the agreement, El Pueblo Unido stands to receive $273,000--funds that the city receives from the federal government to build affordable housing.

The group’s proposal initially met opposition from residents who feared that El Pueblo would acquire land by taking over condemned properties.

But that would not occur and the group would simply serve as a contractor and purchase property from land owners, officials said.

El Pueblo Unido’s board of directors has not decided how it would select home buyers, but is considering drawing by lot from among applicants pre-qualified by a lender.