Film spotlights Palo Alto's only mobile home park, Buena Vista

Affordable housing is a hot topic here in the Silicon Valley. Housing prices are at an all time high (not complaining as a Realtor), rents are high and there are many in this valley who don't have the well paying jobs at the valley's many tech giants such as Google, Apple or others. There are many on the lower rung of the socio-economic latter such as janitors, food service workers, etc. who are just as important to this valley as the tech workers and they still need housing - affordable housing.

So there is a low income, mobile home park in Palo Alto, Buena Vista, that is under threat of closure due to developers who want the land. For that last 3+ years the residents haven't taken the matter lying down and protested, sat in on city council meetings, etc. to stop the closure. Well now the residents of Buena Vista Mobile home park are going to have a powerful new tool in their fight against the big developer who wants the land, a Moive; NOTES FROM BUENA VISTA (Teaser).

Time will tell if this movie will be effetive in stopping the plans of the developer and city council.



PALO ALTO -- The only mobile home park in Palo Alto is the subject of a documentary that will be shown Tuesday and Wednesday as part of Affordable Housing Week 2016 in Santa Clara County.

"Notes from Buena Vista," a documentary by filmmaker Elizabeth Lo, is an exploration of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park's 400 low-income, mostly Latino residents, who could lose their homes if property owners are successful in closing the housing site at 3980 El Camino Real.

Organizers say Lo's film addresses how "the severe shortage of affordable homes in Silicon Valley puts tremendous pressure on our communities, as households of all incomes compete to secure safe and affordable homes."

Buena Vista residents have lived with the uncertainty of their housing situation for about 3 ½ years.

The park's closure remains in limbo as residents, the property owner and the city of Palo Alto work out differences in court.

The park's owners, Toufic and Eva Jisser, filed an application to close the site in November 2012.

The Palo Alto City Council decided in May of last year to allow the Jissers to close the park.

The Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Residents Association then filed a lawsuit against the city in August, seeking to overturn the council's decision and, at the minimum, a larger relocation assistance package for tenants than required by the city.

In November, the Jissers also filed a lawsuit against the city, saying that requiring the owners to pay $8 million in tenant relocation assistance as a condition to close the park is a "staggering financial demand."

Lo's documentary explores how development pressures in Silicon Valley threaten the livability of this area for many, such as the Buena Vista residents.

The documentary will be shown at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Aquarius Theatre, 430 Emerson St. in Palo Alto and at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Camera 12 Cinemas, 201 S. Second St. in San Jose.

Admission is free. For tickets, visit SVatHome.EventBrite.com.

A discussion with the filmmaker and panelists will follow each screening.

Tuesday's panel includes Erika Escalante, president of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Residents Association; Amado Padilla, Stanford University professor who authored a report on the mobile home park residents' health and education; and Kyra Kazantzis of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley.

Wednesday's panel includes Melodie Chaney, a resident of the mobile home park; Kent Greathouse, a resident of Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Park in San Jose; Diana Castillo of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley; and Adam Marcus of the San Jose Housing Department.

Source: San Jose Mercury News, Jacqueline Lee
http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate-news/ci_29904055/film-spotlights-palo-altos-only-mobile-home-park

Nonprofit organization makes offer to buy Palo Alto mobile home park

There are a number of mobile home parks here in the valley. Every large, metropolitan area has at least a few, and now it seems there are some developers who want to buy the parks who will likely demolish them and build high end apartments or condo thus displacing low end residents who don't have any other ownership options. According to the article from the Mercury News, there is a private organization who wants to buy these mobile home parks in order to protect them from these developers in the name of protecting low income residents.



PALO ALTO -- A nonprofit organization that has rescued 20 trailer parks throughout the state has made a bid for the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, according to a county supervisor.

The Caritas Corp. submitted a written offer on Aug. 6, said Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian. The bid followed a July 29 meeting at his office between Robert Redwitz, CEO of the Irvine-based nonprofit organization, and Joe Jisser, whose family owns the property.

"At this point we're looking to follow up and see where things stand," Simitian told The Daily News.

Simitian declined to disclose how much was offered.

In May, the City Council reluctantly approved the Jisser family's application to close the mobile home park at El Camino Real and Los Robles Avenue. Some 400 mostly low-income Latino residents could be displaced if the 4.5-acre property is sold to a private developer.

The county inked a deal with Caritas earlier this year to make an offer on Buena Vista using a total of $29 million set aside by the City Council and the Board of Supervisors. The nonprofit organization would also manage the property if the bid is accepted by the owner.

Caritas, which already manages 20 trailer parks across the state, could raise an additional $10 million through a tax-revenue exempt bond, Simitian said. The bond would be repaid with rent revenue.

The purchase price aside, the mobile home park needs an estimated $12 million worth of work, Simitian said.

"The current owner has been planning to sell the site rather than maintain it as a mobile home community," he said.

Simitian is counting on the philanthropic community to help close any funding gaps that remain.

"If we get to 'yes' with the current property owners, then we'll know where we stand and I'll be back on the phone following up on some conversations I've had during the past few months," he said.

Asked whether he believes the bid would be accepted, Simitian pointed out that Caritas wasn't the only one interested in acquiring the trailer park.

"I think Caritas made a very strong offer," he said, "but we just don't know what else is out there in the way of offers from other potential buyers."

Source: Mercury News, Jason Green
http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate-news/ci_28646610/palo-alto-nonprofit-organization-makes-offer-buy-buena?source=infinite