TEMECULA: City officials check out O.C. affordable housing developments

Monday, August 10, 2009
Aaron Claverie
The Californian

TEMECULA ---- The same thing happened in Buena Park. And in
Irvine. And pretty much anywhere else in California where the words
"affordable" and "housing" have been strung together in front of
the word "complex."

Temecula city officials have discovered that the recent uproar
about a proposed affordable housing complex near the corner of
Margarita Road and Temecula Parkway is par for the course.

But instead of allowing the local critics to weigh in unchecked
or to spread misinformation about the project, the city decided to
take action in the form of a tour of two Orange County complexes,
one managed by the Orange County Rescue Mission and the other built
by San Francisco-based Bridge Housing.

The city's touring team included Councilman Chuck Washington,
Assistant City Manager Bob Johnson and City Planner Patrick
Richardson.

If negotiations are wrapped up Tuesday, Bridge will team with
the city, the Temecula-Murrieta Rescue Mission and the county to
build a 110-unit affordable housing complex that features 20 units
set aside for transitional housing. The complex is planned to be
built on land that had been tapped for a senior condo project.

Late last year, the developer building the condo project filed
bankruptcy after completing only a portion of the units that were
going to make up the complex: "luxury" condos for senior citizens
located near suburban neighborhoods, a sports park, a school and
the bustling Home Depot shopping center.

During the recent O.C. tour, the city officials checked out the
amenities at each complex and asked questions that were sparked, in
part, by the concerns of some Temecula residents: "What type of
screening process will be employed?"; "What sort of people will
live there?"; "Will crime go up?"; "Will property values go
down?"

Success stories

Art Brown, a Buena Park councilman, told Washington that some of
his constituents initially opposed the Buena Park complex that
Temecula officials toured.

"We caught hell," he said. "After it went in ... there was no
problem with it."

Before the complex was converted into 17 units of transitional
housing, the 1-acre site was a vacant lot, a magnet for the
homeless and illegal dumping.

Since opening last year, the complex has become home for
families with children who are working to build their credit and
move to a market-rate unit. What had been an eyesore has become an
asset for his community, Brown said.

"We haven't had a police call since it's opened," he said.

Later during the tour, city officials visited an affordable
housing complex in Irvine that was one of Bridge's first
projects.

Brad Wilbin, a Bridge vice president, told the Temecula
officials that the complex ---- 84 units of one-, two-, three- and
four-bedroom apartments ---- has been kept in great shape by a
management company that closely monitors the activities of its
residents to make sure that they follow strict rules that mesh with
the orderly dynamic of Irvine.

"One of our main goals is to fit into the community," Wilbin
said.

Unseemly types?

Following the announcement that Temecula was considering an
affordable housing complex at the site of the partially built condo
complex, Temecula residents used Internet message boards and
e-mails to the council to vent their displeasure.

There also was a Temecula resident who used the public comments
portion of a recent council meeting to address the issue, saying
that the proposed complex will "make Temecula a dump."

City Planner Patrick Richardson said 90 of the complex's 110
units will be rented by Bridge to what the county classifies as
"low-income" families. A family of four that makes $53,300 is
considered "low income," according to the county's formula.

The other 20 units, a mix of two- and three-bedroom units, will
be managed as transitional housing by the Temecula-Murrieta Rescue
Mission, a joint venture established by the Orange County mission
and Rancho Community Church.

One of the complex's critics, Duke Seino, said his main concern
is the location. Seino lives in a nearby neighborhood and he said
that his neighbors are routinely shocked when he tells them about
the city's plans.

"They want to do job training, but all the jobs that are in the
immediate area are retail jobs that don't require experience," he
said.

Also, Seino said that when an affordable housing complex is
built near a suburban neighborhood there is a strong chance of a
higher crime rate and lower property values.

"The unseemly types come in and the crime goes up," he said.

Housing goals

Like every other city in the state, Temecula is required to set
aside areas for the development of affordable housing.

This project will help the city meet those state-mandated goals
and city officials say they plan to closely monitor the complex to
make sure that potential renters go through a rigorous screening
process that includes background checks that include credit history
and criminal record.

Seino said he's heard similar information from a city employee,
but he questions the city's motives for putting the complex in that
particular location. He believes the site was a perfect spot for
the senior housing complex.

"It's more ideal close to an industrial park," he said,
referring to the affordable housing project.

Responding to criticism of the project's location, Richardson
said it's a residential project and "residential projects go in
residential zones."

Putting the project in an industrial area would expose residents
to noise, chemicals and businesses that might operate 24 hours a
day, he said.

Washington said the location of the proposed complex is ideal
because it will give residents easy access to jobs and shopping
opportunities nearby.

In response to concerns about crime, Washington said there are
600 affordable housing units already in Temecula and he said those
complexes are less of a problem than market-rate rental units in
other parts of the city.

Prized units

Jim Palmer of the Orange County Rescue Mission and Wilbin said
it's difficult for someone to secure a spot in an affordable
housing complex. And they both said the process, which involves
multiple background checks, helps keep behavioral issues at
bay.

Wilbin used the example of a family who was selected to move
into one of the units at the Irvine complex. When there were issues
with the woman's teenagers, the management company told the woman
to effectively change her family's behavior or they would run the
risk of eviction.

The family heeded the warning, Wilbin said, because it was
important for the woman to keep her children in the Irvine school
system.

Washington said a similar dynamic should hold in Temecula, which
also has a highly ranked school system.

Speaking specifically about the transitional housing that would
be a part of Temecula's proposed hybrid complex, Palmer said
problems are kept to a minimum by a series of measures that has
worked well in other areas.

Providing examples, he said, one of the units will be inhabited
by a manager who will work with the tenants as a sort of case
worker. The people selected for the units will primarily be
families and there will be amenities such as a play area for those
families.

Zero tolerance

On the crime and punishment side of the ledger, Palmer said the
Temecula-Murrieta Rescue Mission will have "zero tolerance" for
drugs and physical abuse.

There also will be random drug tests and video surveillance.

Palmer said the strict measures are in place because the rescue
mission subsists in large part on private donations and the
mission's donors want to make sure that its facilities are
operating at the highest level.

"If they're not, we'd go out of business. It's that black and
white," he said.

Most of the people who would take advantage of the transitional
housing will be Temecula residents, people who have recently lost
their home to foreclosure and those who have been living in an
apartment they can no longer afford, Palmer said.

Addressing some of the local criticism of the project, Palmer
and Wilbin said it sounds similar to the reaction they received in
other communities.

"Once you jump through this hoop, the negatives will go away,"
Palmer told Washington.

Washington, who was surprised by initial reactions to the plan,
said the collaboration will help remove a blighted, half-finished
complex and help Temecula residents in tough economic times.

"People should be applauding," he said.

The council is scheduled to formally consider the complex at its
Tuesday meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in the council chambers,
43200 Business Park Drive.

Call staff writer Aaron Claverie at 951-676-4315, ext. 2624.

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