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Cabrillo sues Santa Paula over affordable housing denial
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More from County NewsCabrillo Economic Development Corp. filed a lawsuit against the city of Santa Paula on Tuesday over an affordable housing project the City Council rejected in early August.
The lawsuit, filed in Ventura County Superior Court, alleges that the city rejected the Plaza Amistad project unlawfully.
Among its several allegations, the lawsuit contends that the city violated the Housing Accountability Act and other state statutes that promote construction of affordable housing.
Cabrillo filed the suit mainly because council members didn't have the right to refuse the project unless their reasoning was based on evidence from health and safety findings, Cabrillo's attorney, Nancy Kierstyn Schreiner, said.
Rodney Fernandez, executive director of Cabrillo, said he is confident Cabrillo will win the legal battle.
"It's pretty simple: They didn't follow state law. Very clear-cut," Fernandez said.
The Housing Accountability Act, however, does not apply when the council makes a "legislative decision," which was the case when council members denied Amistad on Aug. 6, said City Attorney Karl Berger.
At that meeting, the council's legislative decision was its denial to adopt an ordinance that would have changed the zoning for the development site at 220 W. Santa Barbara St.
"We're just generally sad to see that Cabrillo has decided to take this path," City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said.
Santa Paula has a good track record in providing affordable housing and wants to make sure affordable housing is provided for all residents, he added.
Santa Paula residents came to support Cabrillo in a news conference at the County Government Center in Ventura on Tuesday afternoon. Some said they were disappointed the project was not approved.
Cabrillo proposed to build 150 units that would have included work force housing and apartments for farmworker families. The units would have included very-low-income housing.
In August, a majority of the council members said they liked the design of the project but had concerns about density and noise.
Councilman Ralph Fernandez was concerned about the project's proximity to an industrial business and railroad track. He thought it could ultimately draw complaints about noise.
A court hearing hasn't been set, but Cabrillo expects to go to court early next year, Schreiner said.
The lawsuit asks the court to mandate the council to approve the project or to make the necessary findings to deny the project.
Posted by Nosmo_King on November 1, 2007 at 8:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Cabrillo has had it's way with Santa Paula for years now. We have a council with backbone now. Lawyer up Santa Paula and go get'em!
Posted by george1234 on November 1, 2007 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Let's see, just when SP is getting better they want to build another ghetto. It's true folks. Look at Cabrillo Village, Rancho Sespe, so on and so on. CEDC always has an excuse for these places turning into ghettos. The bottom line is they turn into ghettos. CEDC go away, you're no longer welcome in SP!
Posted by FedUp on November 1, 2007 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I wish the City Council in Ventura had the same backbone as the SP City Council. good for you guys. CEDC has no business building developments here anymore. look at Cabrillo Village for a cookie cutter CEDC project. it has worked real well for the city of Ventura...
Posted by justmeinsp on November 1, 2007 at 1:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
well, waa-waa-waa, CEDC... Plaza Amistad would start out "good", but the "bad" would take it over as the "good" moved out because they were fed-up with "bad". And look at those apt buildings across the street from where you want to build? "good" would take a look at the and say "i don't want that for neighbors"... hang in there, SP, and don't let this turkey take us down!
Posted by Equitable_Enforcer on November 1, 2007 at 2:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
CEDC is a sacred cow. Public criticism is frowned upon with frequent cries of racism their most frequent retort. However, CEDC's irresponsible management following construction of projects has led to unacceptable levels of gang activity and other crimes within and surrounding said projects. A good example from the past is in the attached. Suffice it to say that the past is with us again, at least in terms of gang activity and village-related violence which includes the many gunfire incidents along Saticoy Avenue. These incidents are well documented in my favorite newspaper.
All we ask from CEDC is that they do not build exclusionary projects, i.e., restricted by design to only some ethnicities, and that they do implement stringint terms and conditions of occupancy. One stipulation should be --- if there is a documented gang member in your family unit, the entire family unit will be evicted. If an ownership situation, the dwelling could be sold.
http://www.popcenter.org/Library/Gold...
Any better ideas?
Posted by FedUp on November 1, 2007 at 3:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
well said TimeArrow.
Posted by Equitable_Enforcer on November 2, 2007 at 9:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I find it interesting that this very relevant article has received so little attention from fellow posters. It seems that people are willing to post to an article on crime, but won't comment on topics that may well have crime prevention impact. If Cabrillo winds this one, God help us.
Posted by Ness on November 3, 2007 at 3:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
...yes its true, Santa Paula has become more "ghetto" because of low income families, they have drenched us into the abyss of hell. If you did not catch my sarcasm, then your probably one of those individuals who are well off, own a house, make more than $100,000 a year and can probably afford half a million dollar homes. In case you have not noticed, most of the SP community is not fortunate enough like individuals like yourself to be well off financially. Most families living here are way below your gross income and are living pay check to pay check. Therefore, it would probably be in the best interest of the SP community to obtain more affordable housing seeing that it needs it.
So, for those individuals who attribute low income housing with this uncanny correlation with "ghetto," then I would highly suggest you relocate somewhere else like Camarillo or Thousand Oaks, where you are less surrounded by a "ghetto community." There you can find your white picket fence.
Posted by Nosmo_King on November 3, 2007 at 6:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
TimeArrow I read the link you posted. It's incredible the amount of Police effort that went into the cabrillo village to try and clean it up! If you do the math,per capita, Santa Paula needs a TON of help.
Posted by FedUp on November 14, 2007 at 5:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ness - I doubt you will see this, as it is 11 days after your posting, and I doubt you are checking this article anymore.
however, since you seem to have a pretty good grasp of the english language I will guess that you are not one of the people who would be benefiting from CEDC housing. one thing I have noticed with these communities: Cabrillo Village, Rancho Sespe, etc is that a large majority of the occupants do not speak, write or even comprehend the english language. this is why CEDC came to be. they are throwing illegal alien farmworkers into a community like this, which gives them no real reason to assimilate into the surrounding areas. this in turn leads to people not trusting others from outside their little area. gangs start this way, education lacks because of this. this is why I am completely against any project that has CEDC attached to it.
I do hope you read this, and I do hope you take a drive into the communities I have mentioned above, so you can see what I am talking about.
I spent a lot of time in Cabrillo Village when I was in HS. I played soccer with several of the guys who lived there. none of their parents spoke english. at the time (HS aged liberal kid) it did not bother me. now, it does. now I see the effects this kind of community has on the surrounding areas. what happened to those guys I played soccer with?? got me. I know one went to jail for dealing coke and gang stuff. another is in prison for life for his participation in a drive by, another went to jail on assorted drug charges. you tell me, is it worth it??
by the way STAR. where is the follow up to this story, where the CEDC was changing its plans for that particular area. they are now only wanting to put homes for farmworkers. interesting....
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