2nd Housing Project Loses Millions in HUD Money : Thousand Oaks: High land costs are blamed for the failure to break ground in time. Same problem befell Camarillo plan.

A planned 50-unit public housing project in Thousand Oaks may not be built because Ventura County housing officials failed to start construction by a deadline set as a condition for receiving a federal grant, officials said Friday.

The project is the second proposed housing development in the county that may not receive federal funds because county housing officials missed a construction deadline. The other project was proposed to house mentally ill patients near Camarillo.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $3.66 million to the Ventura County Area Housing Authority in September, 1988, on condition that construction of the low-income housing project in Thousand Oaks begin within 30 months, said Joe Hirsch, director of HUD’s Housing Development Division in Los Angeles.

After the March 23 deadline passed with no sign of a groundbreaking, HUD officials rejected the county’s request for an extension because it had not made enough progress in securing a site, Hirsch said.

Rochelle Stephens, deputy director of the county housing authority, said the agency has appealed to the HUD regional office in San Francisco for an extension.

Thousand Oaks and county officials have also asked lawmakers, including Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) and Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) to meet with HUD representatives.

Stephens blamed the failure to break ground on time on problems in acquiring land for the Thousand Oaks project.

“It is very difficult to build public housing with the high cost of land in Ventura County,” she said. It took a year to identify a site in Thousand Oaks that would be suitable for a low-income housing project, she said.

When housing officials discovered they could not buy suitable land, they negotiated an agreement with Thousand Oaks to purchase a five-acre parcel near the corner of Hodencamp Road and Hillcrest Drive. The city agreed to lease the land to the county for $1 a year, Mayor Frank Schillo said.

Because the land is near a flood-prone area, housing officials had to complete an environmental impact report, delaying the project further, Stephens said.

Schillo said the city is still interested in getting the project built. Thousand Oaks, one of the most affluent communities in the county, has long needed affordable housing for low-income residents. Between 400 and 500 people in Thousand Oaks are on a waiting list for public housing, Stephens said.

The project, a cluster of three-bedroom apartments, would be one of three public housing projects in Thousand Oaks. The county housing authority also operates a 49-unit apartment complex for families and a 64-unit complex for senior citizens.

HUD set aside $3.9 million for the county housing authority to build the 53 condominiums in Camarillo for the mentally ill, but the county also missed a deadline to start construction on this project. In that instance, county officials also said the delay resulted from difficulty in acquiring a site.

After the deadline was missed, HUD refused the county’s request for an extension and an appeal is also pending in that case.