EAST PALO ALTO (BCN) – Residents of the Palo Mobile Estates RV park in East Palo Alto will have the opportunity to purchase the currently rented land this summer.
The city of East Palo Alto wants to help them with this.
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The city council voted Tuesday evening to borrow $ 2 million from its affordable housing fund to help residents, who are mostly low-income, buy their land and stay in the park.
Palo Mobile Estates Associates, who currently owns the park on 1885 East Bayshore Road, is currently filing for a subdivision which means the park will be converted into independent salable units. This means that residents who occupy spaces in the park can buy their land.
However, according to a report from the staff, the lots could be estimated at $ 260,000 for single lots to $ 325,000 for double wide lots. A resident survey found that most residents are interested in buying their property but would need around $ 100,000 in financial support per family to do so.
The $ 2 million city council loan would go to two community housing organizations: East Palo Alto Community Alliance and Neighborhood Development Organization (EPACANDO) and Preserving Affordable Housing Assets Longterm, Inc. (PAHALI).
EPACANDO is a non-profit developer of affordable housing and PAHALI is a community land trust. Both organizations will use the funds to help residents purchase their land.
Deputy City Director Patrick Heisinger said the $ 2 million loan will help use other funds to help more families.
“The donors really want to see a commitment from the city to know that the people are at the table and ready to help,” said Heisinger. “If we can bring more donors to the table, we could either provide more help to lower their housing expense ratio or help more households.”
Heisinger also said there was an urgent schedule to help residents as they would have to submit an offer to buy their property by early August and then have 60 days to complete the sale.
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“For a lot of residents out there, this can be a pretty intimidating process,” Heisinger said, adding that it would take a lot of case management.
Before funds can be spent, city officials will prepare a grant agreement detailing how EPACANDO and PAHALI will identify families for support and spend the money. Heisinger said they plan to return in July with a full grant agreement.
Mayor Carlos Romero said he plans to review the grant agreement and looks forward to further funding.
“I really hope that EPACANDO and this city can convert that $ 2 million into $ 19 million,” said Romero. The “$ 2 million is the city’s bona fide money. It is important. It’s not our biggest investment. We’ve made much bigger housing investments, but it’s pretty important to start that engine. “
On Tuesday evening, the city council also voted to monitor several homeless camps that have been reported in recent months, such as Bell Street Park, which is home to 11-13 homeless people.
Rather than building a “sanctioned” camp – which is a designated area for the homeless to stay overnight – the city plans to monitor the camps and provide portable toilets, hand washing facilities and garbage disposal services.
The city also plans to work with San Mateo County to make it easier for people in the camps to access hotel or motel rooms. These are rooms that were converted into transitional apartments during the COVID-19 pandemic through the government initiatives Project Roomkey and Project Homekey.
For more information on Tuesday’s meeting, see the agenda package at http://eastpaloalto.iqm2.com/Citizens/Default.aspx?field_microsite_tid_1=27.
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