Tehachapi News

Affordable housing will move forward with or without RDA funding

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An 81-unit apartment complex may not receive $700,000 in fee waivers from the Tehachapi Redevelopment Agency, but that won't stop the project from being built, according to the developer.

Tehachapi City Council members last week reiterated their objections to the location of the apartment complex, which had been approved by the Tehachapi Planning Commission last October. The developer, Global Premier Development, had requested the $700,000 in the form of a “residual receipts loan” from the Redevelopment Agency to help fund the project. The money is earmarked for affordable housing, RDA officials said.

In a written response to concerns raised about the project during a March 3 meeting, Global Premier said, “We want to clarify that this project was approved and that we intend to build it, with or without the city's involvement, and with or without the RDA's funds we are requesting.”

According to the County of Kern’s Community and Economic Development Department, the project may be eligible for $600,000 in federal grant funding passed down from the Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Fund, which allocates $2 billion nationwide each year, exclusively for the purpose of creating affordable housing for low-income households.

The developers told the Tehachapi News that they expect the HOME Fund will be conditionally approved by the end of April, the deadline for the application to the state's Tax Credit Allocation Committee. Ground breaking is expected within six months, regardless of any potential city/RDA partnership, the developer said.

The Tehachapi RDA has $2.3 in revenues, and state law requires that no less than 20 percent of the RDA's revenues be spent on providing the community with low, very-low and moderate-income housing - within the next year — or the funds will be subject to state re-allocation.

“When the set aside exceeds $1 million, the state calls any excess a surplus,” said Carri Diltz of Quad Knopf, an independent consulting firm advising the RDA.

During the March 3 meeting, Diltz indicated the state will allow one year to create and implement a plan to utilize those funds, “or the state can spend it for you.”

Although the north-of-the-tracks location at Mill and North H Streets remained the sticking point for the council, several people attending both meetings passionately voiced concerns that the project would rely heavily on indigent, “Section 8,” or government-subsidized tenants. One-by-one, nearly a dozen residents said this would provide a tacit invitation to an “undesirable element,” resulting in rising crime and drug or gang-related activity.  They cited communities like Lancaster, Palmdale and West Covina as examples.

Repeated references linking low level income to drug use and violent crime caused Councilman Ed Grimes to speak out in defense of the less fortunate.

“Just because you're poor doesn't mean you're a criminal,” said Grimes during the March 3 meeting, after audience member Jim Richards “booed” Mayor Deborah Hand for expressing a similar sentiment.

“We have to be careful how we categorize people,” said Grimes.

Randy Bailey of Global Premier said the “Section 8” references are “irrelevant to our project,” and that the expressed concerns do a disservice to the community that affordable housing benefits: Tehachapi's working class.

“This is for working class families to get ahead financially,” said Bailey, adding that income qualification is based on those earning 30 to 50 percent of the area's median income (AMI) - between $18,000 to $30,000 a year. “People shouldn't have to choose between adequate housing for their families and buying eye glasses for their kids.”

According to Bailey, the Kern County Housing Authority has more than 100 people on a waiting list for low-income housing in the Tehachapi area. Independent market research also revealed that the Mulberry Villa Apartments on West E Street, which consists of only a percent of designated affordable units, typically has a waiting list of six to 12 months.

“It is distressing that all of the people that spoke there at city council were in complete opposition for one reason or another, but none of those people are the ones that need affordable housing,” stated Global's written response to the council, also noting that the median family income in the community is $40,030.

“This means a significant portion of the community would qualify to live in our development. If residents believe that only drug addicts and criminals would take residence there, they need to take a solid look at their community.”

Community Development Director David James said that concern over the location was never raised at the Planning Commission because the property is zoned for multi-family use, and is in fact the third phase of development on the parcel currently occupied by The Orchard Apartments.

Mel Rubin, owner of The Orchard, and one of his employees, apartment manager Diane Smith, spoke out about the lengthy battle waged against crimes of vandalism, theft and drugs, and the extensive efforts taken to protect tenants at the Sierra Vista Apartments on Cherry Lane, which is also owned by Rubin.

David James also said that although the Planning Commission was aware of the affordable housing designation, any consideration of RDA — or other funding options — is simply not a planning issue.

“We don't want to contaminate the planning process,” said James adding, “That would send a message to staff or the Planning Commission that they should 'make this happen.' That's not how the process works.”

Amenities include: 24-hour on-site management, community room with technology center, barbecue and picnic area, children's play area, pool and spa.
All residents subject to various, annual income, background and employment qualifications.

Additional concerns voiced by Tehachapi Residents

• The lack of public transportation and the distance to services and conveniences such as retail stores, schools and jobs.

• Security and safety issues related to the railroad tracks and a potential for increased gang or drug-related crime.

• Outsiders. More than one citizen spoke of the potential “invitation to low-income families of CCI inmates to migrate into the area.”

• An additional financial burden on the Tehachapi Unified School District in the form of transportation fee waivers.

• A decreased potential for upgrading existing housing/residential areas.

• Low income families would be “living much better than most of do in town” due to the extensive amenities provided at the complex.

• Repeated requests for affordable senior housing were met with the city staff's reassurance that another project by a different developer is currently in the works. That project will be subject to different income qualifications and tax credit standards and processes, according to Community Development Director David James.