HOUSING CRUNCH MAY COME; SOAR DEBATERS QUESTION AVAILABILITY OF AFFORDABLE HOMES IN COMING DECADES.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Daily News Staff Writer While the debate over the SOAR initiatives in Ventura County and individual cities to preserve open space remains heated, both sides agree that meeting affordable housing demands is going to be difficult. At least one opponent of the approved slow-growth measures said the cities will become far more dense than imagined in order to meet affordable housing needs, while SOAR proponents acknowledged they don't have any solutions to the problem. ``All they did was create boundaries,'' said Dee Zinke, executive officer of the Building Industry Association, which opposed the measures. ``They did nothing to talk about what needs to happen inside the boundaries.'' She was one of about 70 people who attended a panel discussion on SOAR sponsored Saturday by the League of Women Voters League of Women Voters, voluntary public service organization of U.S. citizens. Organized in 1920 in Chicago as an outgrowth of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, it had as its original nucleus the leaders of the latter organization. at Oxnard Public Library. Zinke said a study conducted by her office estimated the county has only 30,000 housing units planned through 2020 - far below the 60,000 that Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources activists have estimated. She said affordable housing needs will not be met with 30,000 housing units. Under the SOAR initiatives, so-called ``curb lines'' or growth boundaries will be drawn around each city, with development prohibited pro·hib·it tr.v. pro·hib·it·ed, pro·hib·it·ing, pro·hib·its 1. To forbid by authority: Smoking is prohibited in most theaters. See Synonyms at forbid. 2. outside these lines. Richard Francis Richard Francis (dates unknown) was a famous English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club. Francis is known to have been a Surrey man by birth and he had played for Surrey teams before moving to Hampshire. He made 47 known first-class appearances from 1773 until 1793. , co-author co·au·thor or co-au·thor n. A collaborating or joint author. tr.v. co·au·thored, co·au·thor·ing, co·au·thors To be a collaborating or joint author of: "He and a colleague . . . of the SOAR initiatives and one of four panel members, said SOAR allows for city officials to expand the curb lines without voter approval to make room for affordable housing projects. ``SOAR doesn't have anything to do with affordable housing,'' he said. ``It doesn't mention it other than to accept it if a city thinks it's necessary. There is always a need for our citizens to have shelter. The efforts to date have not really been adequate. It's a very tricky Adrian Thaws (born January 27, 1968), better known as Tricky, is an English rapper and musician important in the trip hop and British music scene (despite loathing the "trip hop" tag). He is noted for a whispering lyrical style that is half-rapped, half-sung. process to get these projects to work.'' Gene Kjellberg, a county planner and member of the panel, said existing sphere boundaries established by the Local Agency Formation Commission around cities need to be re-examined to determine if they serve the communities' best interests. He said many people believe they are too wide in Oxnard, possibly allowing for development of rural space, and too narrow in Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. , stifling potential business growth. ``It's a very confusing con·fuse v. con·fused, con·fus·ing, con·fus·es v.tr. 1. a. To cause to be unable to think with clarity or act with intelligence or understanding; throw off. b. situation, and it's going to have to be sorted out in the courts eventually,'' Kjellberg said. While curb lines around cities need voter approval to be moved, LAFCO LAFCO Local Agency Formation Commission LAFCO Los Angeles Filmmakers Cooperative can move its sphere boundaries at will. Zinke said SOAR activists should have examined more closely which cities are more suitable for larger numbers of affordable housing units before curb lines were drawn. But Francis said each city will determine how it wants to address the issue. ``Every city hopefully will develop uniquely,'' he said. ``Some will be more dense, some less dense.'' |
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