Affordable housing now before council

Barbara Diamond

An income of $26,450 a year might be considered a living wage in some

parts of the United States. It would be a fortune in a Third World

Country, but in Orange County, it is officially a very low income.

Although the city has no official count and won’t until the complete

2000 census figures are available, it is certain that many workers in

Laguna Beach, and residents for that matter, earn far less than 50

percent of the median, which is the standard for very-low-income.

For minimum wage earners in town, less than $15,000 a year, living

here is little more than a dream. The late Alice Graves called them the

“working poor” and valiantly fought for a low-cost housing for them at

the city-owned property at 450 Glenneyre St.

The City Council will consider at its July 9 meeting an affordable

housing project proposed for the old Ahimsa Building, which would add 26

units to the city’s stock of very-low-income affordable housing. The

Planning Commission unanimously recommended the project, which would

fulfill the state’s requirement for very-low-income housing in Laguna

Beach, according to city senior planner Carolyn Martin.

The very-low-income designation is calculated by a formula based the

median income in the county, $52,900 for a single person.

Six of the 26, 400-square-foot units proposed for the

21,804-square-foot parcel on Glenneyre Street will be rented at $397 a

month to people who earn $15,870 a year, 30 percent of the median, or

less.

One unit will be set aside for a property manager and the remaining 20

units will be rented for $529 a month, limited to people who make 40

percent of the median, $21,160 a year, or less.

“We haven’t decided yet on how the occupants will be selected, but

generally in projects of this kind, it is done by a lottery,” said Pat

Barry, director of the city’s Community Services Department.

The developer, Related Cos. of California, wants to restrict occupancy

to one person per unit.

The proposed exterior is what many people expected the hotel at

Treasure Island to look like, a low-profile Craftsman-styled building

with a variety of textures, including real stone pillars and a variety of

heights and design elements.

The Glenneyre Street project will include a courtyard, a laundry

facility and an underground garage with parking for 10 bicycles and 50

cars.

If approved by the City Council at the July meeting, the project will

be leased to Related Cos. of California for $1 a year.

Plans for the project are available for review at City Hall. For more

information about the plan, contact the development department at

497-0398. For more information about residency, call Related Cos. at

660-7272.