VISTA HERMOSA UNITS OFFER FAMILIES MORE SPACE, AFFORDABLE RENT

By Gabriela Gonzalez, ggonzalez@VenturaCountyStar.com
February 26th, 2007

Irma and Alfredo Valdovinos had a big day last week: They got the keys to a four-bedroom apartment in a new housing development in Santa Paula.

"We are really happy that our children will have more space and will be more comfortable," Irma Valdovinos, a mother of four, said before their scheduled move. "Now we are going to have a place where we can cook and eat comfortably."

Vista Hermosa, which opened Friday, contains 24 town-home-style units providing affordable apartments for farmworkers.

The project was funded by the Cabrillo Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit housing developer. Also assisting were the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Federal Home Loan Bank's Affordable Housing Program and the city of Santa Paula.

These homes fill a critical need in the farming community, because families often are forced to live in crowded conditions, housing officials say.

"Their kids don't have a good place to study, and this puts a lot of stress on their children," said Rodney Fernandez, executive director of Cabrillo Economic Development Corp.

Alfredo Valdovinos said his children found it hard to get along, because their old apartment was overcrowded.

"We never were able to have a conversations with our kids about school because there wasn't enough space," he said.

The tenants sign one-year leases, pay about 30 percent of their earnings in rent and receive subsidies from the Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program for the balance. They must be employed in the agriculture industry and have low incomes.

Most of the families earn about $25,000, said Martha Zurita, property supervisor. "There was a one particular family who had the highest income of $40,000, but it was a family of seven."

The Valdovinos, who both work in the lemon orchards around Santa Paula, lived in a two-bedroom apartment for six years. It had neither kitchen nor living room. They paid $425 a month and couldn't afford a larger apartment, Alfredo Valdovinos said.

"They are times when we are very tight on money," he said.

Their new apartment offers a large living room, a kitchen with a dishwasher, and a washer and dryer. They will pay $541 a month.

Vista Hermosa offers these families, a clean, safe and decent community in which to live, said Fernandez.

It is important to help farmworker families find affordable housing, he said, especially because Santa Paula's economy depends on the agriculture sector.

Tenants count the higher quality of life as a plus.

"I think it will improve the living standard simply because the rent is less and there is more space, it is more comfortable, and financially it is better," said Antonio Lopez.

He will be paying $302 for a two-bedroom apartment for his family of three. He previously paid $500 for a one-bedroom apartment in Santa Paula.

In Ventura County many families share apartments or houses because they cannot afford to live on their own, said Dan Hardy, project manager for Cabrillo Economic Development Corp.

"A lot of them come from very rough living situations, and they are very important to the Ventura County economy," Hardy said. "Everyone here depends on what they do, and they deserve a decent place to live."