GROVER BEACH, CA - Two nonprofit organizations have each been awarded funding in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for subsidized below-market-price housing projects in the South County. The city of Grover Beach announced last week that it is providing $668,000 to Habitat for Humanity toward a four-unit project at 506 Longbranch Ave. And the state Department of Housing and Community Development recently announced $450,000 in Proposition 1C housing bond money for a proposed project of six units at 1725 15th St. in Oceano.
Both proposed developments will still need to go through separate planning processes for approval before construction begins. Those interested in buying a new home in either South County community will be required to submit applications and will also have to participate in the building of their homes. Sign-up lists are available for those who would like to apply, though the formal application processes have yet to begin.
The Grover Beach homes are intended for buyers in the "very low" income bracket. The specific income amounts for those who qualify depend on family size; a family of four would have to earn an annual salary of between $16,750 and $33,500, for example. The Grover Beach homes are expected to cost between $90,000 and $95,000.
On the condition of approval by the Grover Beach Planning Commission, the homes are scheduled for completion in December 2009, according to Penny Rappa, Habitat for Humanity executive director. The Grover Beach City Council on Oct. 6 approved a deed transfer to Habitat for Humanity that grants the organization 75 percent of the city's $450,000 towards the property's purchase cost. The city is requiring the organization to pay back 25 percent of that cost to go into Grover Beach's Affordable Housing Fund for future projects.
City Manager Bob Perrault said Grover Beach officials are working with the state on approval of a new Housing Element that would set a goal of 190 subsidized housing units over the next seven years. Perrault said that a handful of below-market-price housing units have been built in the city in the past couple of years, enticing developers to build those units has been a challenge.
City Council members were willing to allocate the substantial amount of funding to Habitat for Humanity because such a strong need for af fordable housing exists, Mayor John Shoals said. "We need to find a way to produce these kinds projects, and if that means buying land and offering low-interest loans, then we'll do that," Shoals said. Shoals said that the city owns two properties, one on Farroll Road and 10th Street and another on South 13th Street and The Pike, that he envisions could be used for 10 to 15 units of subsidized housing at each site.
The proposed development in Oceano is expected to serve farm workers, according to Sheryl Flores, the housing development director for Peoples' Self Help Housing. That's because $300,000 of the state's $450,000 funding allocation in Oceano is available only to farm workers through the Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program. That money will provide assistance with down payments, which home buyers are required to pay back if they sell the property to a nonfarm worker before 10 years. Between the 10th and 20th anniversaries, the grant is forgiven at a rate of 10 percent per completed year; it is fully forgiven after completing 20 years, according to the state.
The additional $150,000 awarded by the state to the Oceano project will fund a construction supervisor to help families build homes. "We depend on this kind of funding to keep housing at an affordable level," Flores said. The home buyers are expected to do about 65 percent of the construction themselves. Peoples' Self-Help expects to begin construction in the spring. Qualifying families of four will have to make less than $53,600 per year but more than $33,500, Flores said. That figure differs for families of other sizes. The prices for the Oceano homes are not yet determined.
Source: SanLuisObispo.com