Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Habitat for Humanity may build on pizza-shaped lot

By Jeff Kearns

After Caltrans finished building Highway 17 through the area in the late 1950s, the agency deeded a leftover piece of land to the town. It was a small parcel shaped like a thin slice of pizza near the intersection Highway 9 and Los Gatos Boulevard, next to the Bella Vista Avenue bridge. The lot's small size and odd shape made it an unlikely spot for development, so nothing happened--until now.

With the housing crunch hitting harder than ever, Habitat for Humanity, a national nonprofit organization that builds affordable housing, wants to put a small three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,150-square-foot house on the lot at 22 Charles Ave.

Architect and Community Services Commission member Alastair Dallas has drawn up a preliminary sketch of the layout of the house. He says that the structure would go on the wide end of the lot, and the other end, which tapers to a point, would be landscaped. The lot is 200 feet long by 45 feet wide at the widest point, or about 4,500 square feet.

Bill Arnopp, executive director of Habitat's Silicon Valley Chapter, says it's an attempt to give at least one family a chance to live where they otherwise wouldn't have the chance. "Housing is one of the biggest issues facing those who work and want to work in the county--not only having a home but also finding a place to rent is extremely difficult," he said.

Habitat held a neighborhood meeting in mid-June, and three people showed up. Arnopp said the reaction was positive, but the town will send out notices to nearby residents and hold another meeting.

The home will probably go to current Los Gatos residents who are living in substandard housing, Arnopp said, but there are other criteria. Families that apply for any Habitat home should be at or below 50 percent of the county's median income level, but most are in the 20 to 30 percent range. Once selected, the family has to help build the house (materials are usually donated). "We don't give anything away," Arnopp says. "They labor with us, and that's the down payment." The family buys the house at-cost and pays a no-interest, 30-year mortgage which usually amounts to less than $500 per month.

Habitat for Humanity has 1,600 chapters nationwide and operates in 50 countries.

Community Services Director Regina Falkner says the idea came up first at the Town Council's February goal-setting session, and the town subsequently approached the organization. Habitat was singled out, she said, because it is one of the only housing organizations that works on single-family homes.

"It's really exciting," Falkner said. "It gives us an opportunity to build community, because so many people get involved, and people are just delighted to have a home in Los Gatos."

The town will hire an outside appraiser to come up with a dollar amount, then hand the title to the land over to Habitat or sell it at a heavily discounted price. The Town Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, makes the final decision. After the appraiser's report comes back to the town, the council will hold another public hearing on the project, probably sometime in September.

For information on Habitat for Humanity, or to become a volunteer, call 294-6464.

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