In California “affordable housing” for most folks is just a dream. With older tract homes selling in the $500,000 range, few can afford the payments. So, unless you qualify for low-income housing, there is no such thing as “affordable.”
There is a need for more housing, so Sacramento politicians are working on the housing issue; their solution — cram as many people as possible into smaller spaces.
Part of this plan is to put large and congested projects developed by nonprofit organizations in what were once single-family, middle-class neighborhoods — whether you like it or not.
And, unlike most market-rate projects they have “streamlined” the process, which means the state told local agencies to forget about all those environmental hurdles everyone else jumps through.
In Mission Hills, just north of Lompoc, after numerous complaints from concerned neighbors, the County Planning Commission approved an “affordable housing” project to be built by a nonprofit on land that was originally planned as a community park.
This area is comprised mostly of older single-family homes constructed over 50 years ago; some have been upgraded, but most need some TLC, so you would think folks would welcome an aesthetically pleasing project like this into their community.
According to the Brisa Encina project proposal: “The expected population includes a range of households from single members to as many as a family of five. We expect 60 adults with 40 vehicles, and up to 40 children between the ages of 0 and 18, with a preponderance of younger children. There will be a total of 60 parking spaces including handicap parking and electric vehicle charging stations.”
The construction cost per unit would be about $280,000.
My first question about this project is the most obvious: the inclusion of “vehicle charging stations.”
We must ask ourselves, how could a person or family who qualifies for affordable housing afford to buy an electric vehicle? Unless Sacramento politicians have a top secret, long-range plan of providing, at taxpayer cost, electric vehicles for low- and moderate-income families.
The size of the property would normally accommodate a few single-family homes with about two adults and a couple of kids. Only a few vehicles would be parked there. On the Brisa Encina project, up to 100 people will be in the same space with up to 60 vehicles.
How will people with disabilities and folks without transportation be able to access shopping or health services or escape danger when public transportation isn’t available?
The city of Lompoc only operates the public transportation system hourly serving this area on weekdays between 6:30 a.m. and 7 p.m, Saturdays between 9 a.m and 5 p.m., and there is no service on Sundays or holidays.
During a public hearing in 2018 one resident noted: “Last time we had a (brush) fire … we’d have fried like a bunch of chicharrónes, because we didn’t have enough outlet to get out. It was not properly planned to get out of there. There was fire coming in from the mission side, and there was fire coming in from the Harris Grade side. We had no place to go. What are we gonna do with another hundred people?”
Will this project blend into the area? During the same hearing the local press reported that one Mission Hills resident noted the project would be within 400 feet of her home saying: “Essentially, it seems like they’re creating a separate community within our existing community. This high-density project is not in the character of our neighborhood.”
Do you suppose the same project would have been proposed in Montecito with its vast open areas? Of course not, political contributions seem to make a difference.
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