By Gary Arnold
The mistreatment of the people of Santa Cruz and
the favored treatment of others amount to a
transfer of wealth reaching (over time) hundreds
of millions of dollars. Is this a
deadly game to make profit by destroying thousands
of lives?
The two properties mentioned in the
County of Santa Cruz Inter-Office Correspondence
are seen below. If either of these
properties were purchased as the
result of planning's red tag terrorism
abuse of driving down the price for favored
buyers ... then a full scale investigation should
begin.
Planning Department head Tom Burns
should be put on suspension because the
pattern continues. Tom
Burns is said to by former planning whistle
blowers that he intimidates them to prevent their
speaking up.
Many people across the county have lost their
property and their life savings do to the ignoring
of the building Code 108.8. Tom Burn's
has hide the Appeals Board and denied
appeals to that board when asked. The
Board of Supervisors willfully and openly
supported that abuse of due process.
The planning employees wish to just do their job
... and allow a board of appeals to
make reasonable exceptions.
But the Susan Mauriello seems
pleased to have hired planning management head
Tom Burns for his enforcement of an
"un-American agenda". The department head runs the
department as if it were a branch of the
Stasi police. .
There is a long detailed profile to suggest
serial theft.
There is obviously a symbiotic relationship
between the BOS and Planning Department
denial of due process.
We don't need a Sherlock Holmes
... Orphan Annie can figure this
one out!
The Board of Supervisors have
gone to all out damage control.
They fired the Appeals Board altogether and made
them selves the appeals board!
The Board of Supervisors should be
personally held liable for the monetary
loss to the victims of this long standing
scam.
If Bernie Madoff was the
Sentinel Newspaper's financial columnist
... he would still be there if it were up to editor
Don Miller to spot a misdeed.
So don't expect to hear a word from this
mouth piece for corrupt government and higher taxes.
Question:
How many properties ended up in the hands of "favored
Non-profits" and friends
of the Board of Supervisors and supporters?
South County Housing and
Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition
received "required" favored
treatment by the Planning department boss
as shown by the Inter Office memo.
COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ
INTER-OFFICE
CORRESPONDENCE
DATE: January 20, 2000
TO: Jan Winter, Rachel Lather, Laura Brinson,
Jack Nelson, Martin Jacobson, Ken Hart, John
DeCourcy
FROM: Alvin James, Planning Director
SUBJECT: San Andreas and Vista Verde Housing
Projects
Yesterday, our department issued two building
permits for affordable housing projects in Santa
Cruz County- one to construct 43 units of
replacement farm worker housing at the
San
Andreas farm worker housing site, and a
second permit to construct 76 units of
affordable housing in South County at the
Vista
Verde project site.
Both of these projects were eligible for
substantial tax credit financing from the State
of California, but only if they obtained
building permits from the local jurisdiction
before January 21st.
I know that
extraordinary efforts were
required
from each of you to resolve numerous technical
issues in order to get these permits issued by
the deadline date. The fact that there were
two projects under this same time line created
added pressures on each of you. I want to thank
you for your personal attention to these very
important projects.
We can all be proud of the job we did to help
make these projects happen.
SAN
ANDREAS FARM LABOR CAMP
The
San Andreas Farm Labor Camp is a 43 unit affordable
rental project targeted to very-low income farm
workers earning at least 50% of their income from
agricultural employment. It includes onsite
management and maintenance facilities, laundry
facilities, and a community center to accommodate an
array of social, recreational, and educational
services including an after school homework program,
computer center and summer program. Other uses
include residential meetings, ESL and job readiness
skills classes, Head Start and library programs.
Salud Para La Gente and Dientes! provide on site
medical and dental education and screening and a
Sheriff’s office is maintained at the site. The
reconstruction of the San Andreas Farm Labor Camp
from a troubled property with severe overcrowding
and numerous health and safety violations to a vital
housing resource has given farm worker families a
safe, stable community with easy access to many
important social services.
Location: 295 San Andreas Road, Watsonville
Property Management: Mid-Peninsula Housing
Coalition
(650) 482-5523
Number of Units: 1 - 1 BR; 4 - 2 BR; 12 - 4 BR;
and 1 - 3 BR unrestricted
manager’s unit
Project Completion: June, 2001
Financing: $605,404 HOME loan; $252,000 AHP
loan; $700,000 Agency
loan for acquisition and
construction; $694,596 Agency grant
for construction; $6,034,300 federal
tax credits
VISTA VERDE
TOWNHOUSES
Vista Verde Townhouses, developed in partnership
with South County Housing Corporation, is targeted
to very low income families. Half of the two bedroom
ground floor units are either accessible or
adaptable for persons with disabilities. The
townhouses are designed with awnings, covered front
porches, second floor decks, and wood siding and
trim.
The 4.7 acre site includes a spacious community
center, laundry facilities, two acres of open space
and ample parking for all residents and guests. The
site is beautifully landscaped with separate tot and
children’s plan areas that are fully equipped, a
small turfed soccer field for older children and
adults, and interior courtyards within clustered
building groups. In addition, each unit has a
private outdoor patio area. The community room
accommodates an array of social and educational
services, including after school homework programs,
citizenship, English as a second language and
computer classes in the computer center.
Location: 44-59 Stewart Avenue, Freedom
Property Management: South County Property
Management
(831) 763-2449
Number of Units: 76 Apartments: 44 - 2BR, 29 -
3BR, 3 - 4BR
Project Completion: March, 2001
Financing: $1,510,000 private loan; $952,380
Federal HOME loan; $47,620 Federal HOME
grant; $406,377 AHP loan; $8,404,616 Federal/State
tax credits; $100,000 Neighborhood
Reinvestment Corporation Grant; $139,371 CHFA Prop
1A grant; $2,230,000 RDA loans and grant; $175,245
contribution by South County Housing.
