2013 08 02 paw section1

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Upfront

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Buena Vista (continued from page 3)

File photo/Veronica Weber

emergency reserves. HUD offers a program specifically designed for residents who are considering buying a mobile-home park. Loop helped residents of the 100-space Blue Pacific Mobile Home Park in Aptos purchase their park through the program in 2011, he said. California’s Housing and Community Development agency also has a Mobile Home Park Residential Ownership Program that offers long-term, low-interest-rate loans. The state loan would be used as a supplemental mortgage source on top of the federal program, he said. The residents would also need to put in some funding, since the lenders want to see equity. “These arrangements are very typical. Residents have to have some skin in the game,� Loop said. The funding would come from membership shares in a residentowned cooperative that would be a nonprofit corporation. About 60 to 70 percent of residents would need to participate. Shares would cost about $3,000 per unit. Sargent estimated residents would pay a $500 down payment and $25 monthly loan payment for the membership. On top of the membership, rents would likely be about the same rates residents currently pay, he said. When residents own the land, it often changes the dynamic within a mobile-home park for better, Loop said. There is a pride of ownership; people fix up the houses, adding new paint and gardens. And someone who wants to bring in a new mobile home is more likely to join a park that residents own, he said. “Gradually, older homes get replaced. The quality of life comes

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The trailer homes at the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, seen here in September 2012, are threatened by sale of the property. up. It’s a much more elegant solution,� he said. The million-dollar question is whether the Jissers and Prometheus will want to sell to the residents. Joe Jisser said he hasn’t heard about the residents’ possible buyout, and he deferred to Prometheus when asked if he would consider the deal. “We are in a contract with Prometheus. If the tenants want to make an offer, that would not involve us,� he said, reiterating a statement he made in December. Jon Moss, Prometheus executive vice president, did not return a request for comment. Sargent said a proposal by the Palo Alto Housing Corporation to buy 1.15 acres at the back of the Buena Vista property for 65 units to house some of the residents wouldn’t solve the problem, especially for the many others who could not be housed there. Having an affordable-housing nonprofit corporation buy the whole property can work out well, but people still don’t own the park, Loop said. The model also isn’t necessarily less costly for residents.

The housing corporations “are still in it to make money — they have fees and charges. The rents will be higher,� he said. Candice Gonzalez, Palo Alto Housing Corporation executive director, said she is not sure if the rents would be higher than if residents were to purchase the property. She has not heard further from Prometheus regarding the housing proposal. At Loop’s own mobile-home park in Aptos, which he helped to buy, the park was under a rent-control ordinance prior to purchase, and residents paid $425 per month. At the time that residents were considering a buy-out, an affordablehousing nonprofit group wanted to purchase the land. They estimated rents would rise to $625. Residents purchased the park instead, and they initially paid $525 a month. That sum has since gone down to $500, he said. “For eight years we’ve had stable rents, and we expect it to stay stable for several more years,� he said. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.

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Inspirations a guide to the spiritual community FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UCC

Council (continued from page 3)

“Our daily lives as tax-paying citizens are being modified because of this unsafe situation. This is a significant character change for this site and the surrounding services, shops and residential areas.� At the same time, dozens have come out against the proposed ban, calling it inhumane and insensitive to some of the city’s neediest residents. Many have equated it to an attempt to criminalize homelessness. Cybele LoVuolo-Bhushan urged the council in a letter to give the homeless community more time to find an alternative solution. “It is terrible to ask people to ‘just move on’ when there is really no place for them to go and no real options for them to sustain their lives,� LoVuolo-Bhushan wrote. “Please do not take any action yet to ban people (the poorest of the poor) from sleeping in their cars.� If the council adopts the ban, which has already been endorsed by its Policy and Services Committee, the decision will not have come lightly. Since 2011, officials and community members have explored

TALK ABOUT IT

www.PaloAltoOnline.com What can be done to help people who live in their cars, and whose primary responsibility is it? Share your ideas on Town Square, the discussion forum on Palo Alto Online.

other options, including the possibility of having churches provide parking for car campers, similar to a program in Eugene, Ore. Despite extensive outreach to the faith community, the proposal fizzled because of lack of interest. Staff has also been working with local nonprofits, most notably the Downtown Streets Team, to refer vehicle dwellers to social-service providers. With little progress on the proposed alternatives, the council’s Policy and Services Committee voted 3-0 on June 25 to endorse the ban. Councilman Larry Klein noted that the city is merely “plugging a hole� with this ordinance and argued that Palo Alto wouldn’t be “striking into new territory� by banning vehicle habitation. If the City Council follows suit, the ordinance would take effect in September — 31 days after a second, formal vote that would take place within 11 days of Monday’s meet-

ing. After this period, the city would conduct outreach for 60 days before enforcement would begin. Even after this 60-day period, the city would give warnings for 30 additional days. After that, police would begin enforcing the ban primarily on a complaint basis, with citations issued “only as needed,� according to a new report from the Planning and Community Environment Department. The ordinance would not apply to mobile homes or guests of city residents who park adjacent to the resident’s dwelling for up to 48 consecutive hours, according to the proposed ordinance. “Recognizing the sensitivity of the issue, the proposed ordinance will be accompanied by enforcement procedures based on an outreach, social service, and incremental enforcement approach,� the report states. “Staff is aware that for many individuals living in vehicles there may be extenuating economic, mental, or physical health issues that are difficult to overcome and that may be best addressed by one or more of the local social service providers.� N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

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This Sunday: Average Joe Rev. David Howell, preaching Outdoor Worship in our Courtyard An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ We celebrate Marriage Equality!

Inspirations is a resource for ongoing religious services and special events. To inquire about or to reserve space in Inspirations, please contact Blanca Yoc at 223-6596 or email byoc@paweekly.com

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