City Council to Debate Low-Income Housing Plans From Two Groups

SANTA PAULA-Dueling groups competing for the same pot of municipal cash intended to improve Santa Paula’s aging housing stock will come before the City Council again Monday.

The council will discuss whether to support a proposal by Better Living In Time, which is seeking to persuade the city to spend about $1.3 million to rehabilitate existing housing.

Also slated for discussion is the nonprofit Cabrillo Economic Development Corp.’s request to delay its pitch for money the group needs to build new low-income housing in the farming community.

Cabrillo, a well-established provider of low-income housing throughout the county since 1981, wants $285,000 in city money set aside to help finance a $2.2-million townhome development, but is seeking a delay to explore a possible conflict of interest by a City Council member.

Both groups see a need to improve housing conditions but differ on how it should be done.

“The issue is, do we build new units or do we rehab those we have?” City Manager Arnold Dowdy said.

That, at least, is the crux of the debate on the surface. Some say the issues go deeper, encompassing cultural and economic questions that are deepening rifts between the white and Latino communities.

“Part of the struggle, I think, that’s going on is over these changing demographics,” said Rodney Fernandez, Cabrillo’s executive director and a Santa Paula resident. “It’s also a reflection of the concern that’s occurring about accurate perceptions about public housing, perceptions about immigration and wanting to limit people coming into the community.”

Jim Garfield, a real estate agent and one of the organizers of Better Living In Time, or BLIT, said the group represents Santa Paula residents from all walks of life, not just those with business or commercial interests, as some critics charge. Nevertheless, he adamantly opposes spending city money on 14 new low-income townhomes on Garcia Street. Existing residences should be improved before new homes are built, he said.

“If you build the low-income homes now and move [people] out of the garages, they’re just going to fill the garages back up again,” he said, referring to those forced to rent living space in converted parking structures.

Residents have lined up on either side of the issue. Twice in the last month, almost 200 people have turned out at council meetings to voice opinions.

The council, like the community, is split. The council endorsed a similar Cabrillo plan--that was later withdrawn--by a 3-2 vote in February.

Meanwhile, some say there is room for both projects. A committee comprised of supporters of both met earlier this week and unanimously endorsed, at least in concept, BLIT’s proposal to fix up homes.

Committee member and Councilman Al Urias expects the council on Monday to allocate at least some money to get the project rolling.

But it’s too early to reject Cabrillo’s proposal in favor of BLIT’s, which remains sketchy, he said.

“We don’t even have a complete idea,” he said. “We have a conceptual idea that looks good on paper.”

Urias, who voted in favor of Cabrillo’s project in February, is the focus of the conflict-of-interest inquiry.

Urias’ son-in-law is a senior employee with Cabrillo, and attorneys are examining whether a conflict exists.

Monday’s meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the community center at Main and Steckel streets rather than at City Hall to accommodate a larger crowd.