Building a case for affordable housing
Guest opinion
By Greg Ramirez Agoura Hills city manager

It has been brought to the attention of the city of Agoura Hills that there was a letter distributed by a local homeowners' association which asks local homeowners to contact the City Council about "ultra low income subsidized housing."

For the purpose of clarification, the city of Agoura Hills has had a Redevelopment Agency since 1992 that allows the city to receive additional funding (that normally would have gone to agencies outside the city) which has been used to improve the Kanan Interchange, redesign the Reyes Adobe bridge, provide over $1.6 million to the Las Virgenes School District and stimulate economic prosperity locally.

Under the existing California Redevelopment Law, 20 percent of the incoming Redevelopment Agency's revenue is required to be set aside for the use of creating and preserving housing that is affordable. Affordable housing should not be confused with Section 8 Housing as operated through the federal division of Housing and Urban Development.

The Agoura Hills' affordable housing program is aimed at those we all know and care about, such as a grandparent, the recent college graduate, a new teacher at one of our schools or an electrician just learning their trade. Some of the people mentioned may already work and contribute positively to our local community but are priced out of the market for a home due to the astronomically high housing prices in this area. Several of our neighboring cities do not have redevelopment agencies and thus do not have the same obligations that Agoura Hills has, but they also do not receive the additional revenues that we do.

The city wishes to be upfront and communicate clearly with its residents. It is evaluating this issue and currently has received only conceptual proposals requesting approval to construct affordable homes.

City staff is currently in the process of formulating a long term plan to be shared with all of the members of the Agoura Hills community which will be distributed in the near future.

It is the intent of the city to listen to the thoughts and ideas from all of our community members in a town hall meeting format prior to any plans or projects being approved. It is our hope that you will allow us to complete this process including holding an open public forum and separate the facts from fiction prior to formulating your opinion.