Habitat for Humanity gets OK for Charles Street home
By Nathan R. Huff
It may only be one home, but Habitat for Humanity's plan to build a house on Charles Street will be a much needed addition to Los Gatos' limited affordable housing inventory.
The town's planning commission gave its thumbs up to the project on June 14, ruling that the proposed home conforms to the town's zoning for that area. Habitat representatives will return to the commission for architectural and site approval.
The proposed home would be the first project in Los Gatos by Habitat for Humanity, a nationwide nonprofit that helps build housing for low income families in 50 countries. The local Silicon Valley Chapter has built a total of 19 homes in Santa Clara County, 17 in San Jose and two in Campbell.
Before Los Gatos can become the third municipality in the county to use Habitat to meet affordable housing goals, the town must "sell" the land to its redevelopment agency, which will then hand the land over to the nonprofit.
"It's in the redevelopment area and will be bought from the general fund by the [redevelopment] agency," town manager Dave Knapp said. "We'll then give it to Habitat for Humanity, contingent on it being used for affordable housing."
According to Bill Arnopp, executive director for Silicon Valley Habitat for Humanity, the organization is still in the stages of working out a contract with the town. Once that's complete, Habitat will look for qualified applicants. Local residents and employees who meet income and other requirements will be given priority.
The family that is selected must volunteer 500 hours to work with other Habitat volunteers on construction of the house. Once finished, the home is sold to the family at cost, with a 30-year, no-interest loan. Arnopp estimates the building cost to be close to $125,000. If the owners choose to sell during that time, Habitat has rights of first refusal, meaning it can buy the house back and resell it to another qualified family.
According to Arnopp, the thin, pizza-slice-shaped parcel will probably accommodate a two- to three-bedroom home. "It will probably be a bungalow-type house to fit on that piece of land," Arnopp said.
He added that the organization was looking forward to working with residents of Los Gatos. "If we do a good job, hopefully that will lead to the development of more projects," Arnopp said.
Habitat depends on volunteers and donations from individuals, churches, foundations and companies. Arnopp said the group has received considerable support lately from high-tech companies that use the house-building experience as a teamwork exercise for their employees.
However, that unique Silicon Valley advantage is offset by an equally local phenomenon--the exorbitant cost and limited supply of land. "We will go wherever we can find land," Arnopp said. "And in this county, that's very difficult."
For information, or to volunteer for a Habitat for Humanity project, call 408.294.6464.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
