Editorial

Town needs more, not less, affordable housing

At a recent study session, the town council heard a proposal by Barry Swenson Builders to replace the 71 mobile homes at the Los Gatos Mobile Home Park with 53 permanent houses. The developer wants the town to consider rezoning the Woodland Avenue site to accommodate the proposed development.

One of the problems with Swenson's plan is that it would supplant one of the last bastions of truly affordable housing in the town. Mobile homes are the epitome of affordable housing. Swenson counters with a proposal to make 16 of the new homes a part of the town's below-market-price program, which ties housing cost to household income.

Swenson says eight of the below-market-price units will consist of "granny" units, basically one-bedroom apartments is above the garages of the larger homes in the development.

Town council members correctly surmised that the tradeoff does not make sense. Getting rid of 71 affordable homes to build 16 would mean the town would likely lose ground in its fight to retain--and expand--affordable housing in the community.

Also, who's to say the buyer of the houses with granny units will rent them out? More than likely, these units will probably stay in the family, maybe as an office or guest room. If a person can afford a house at market price in Los Gatos, that homeowner probably won't need the extra income generated from renting out a granny unit. At the meeting, Swenson's representative did not specify the anticipated cost of the market-price homes, an interesting omission in light of the affordability issue.

According to the town council, the Los Gatos Mobile Home Park needs extensive work and will not likely remain for long in its current incarnation.

Swenson should consider making the necessary upgrades and renovations to the site and build a new, improved mobile home park. Of course, the economics of doing this might not agree with the cost of undertaking such an effort.

The bottom line is that Los Gatos needs to at least preserve the affordable housing it has on the books, especially in these times of economic uncertainty. Putting more high-priced homes on the market should not be a priority for the town, especially given the growing inventory of homes being put up for sale.

Los Gatos needs to stick to its long-range goal of providing affordable housing for people of average means who can't dip into the fat of capital gains for their down payment. For example, Councilwoman Sandy Decker mentioned that teachers in Los Gatos make between $39,000 and $44,000 annually. These public servants, along with all the other people who make the community tick in a thousand small ways, should be allowed to have a chance at living where they work.

Photo: Los Gatos Film Festival

Plinks, planks and plunks of nothingness

Local Home Sales and Property Listings

Obituaries

Best of Picture from the Past

Sports Briefs

Los Gatos High School varsity football

High school sports

Los Gatos High School frosh-soph football