The projected need for affordable housing units by income (extremely low; very low; and low) in Patterson from 2001 to 2014 was approximately 417 units. We have managed to build zero, cero, null, صفر, 零.
The purpose of these income group goals are to ensure that each city within the county attains its share of state housing goals without any relative disproportionate distribution of household income groups. Clearly, the city of Patterson isn’t pulling its weight.
We don’t want any crap about how easy it is to buy a home now, the last chart will hopefully point out that home prices are similar to 2002, yet in 2002, there was still a significant demand for workforce housing. Today’s economic climate doesn’t eliminate the need for this essential human right. The bottom line: the city has totally failed our working residents who want, seek, and long for an affordable home.
Patterson Housing Element 2004
Patterson Housing Element DRAFT 2009
Patterson Housing Element DRAFT 2009
red state said,
November 20, 2009 @ 4:50 PM
I actually agree with you socialists on this one. Every job out here only pays $10 per hour, this is hardly enough for a family to purchase a home, even today. But I’m strongly against inclusionary zoning. Affordable housing or workforce housing shouldn’t look exactly like average market homes, they have to be smaller, with less amenities, these type of sacrifices are what makes them affordable. I can’t believe you jokers are falling for Keystone’s and Petrulakis’ golden ticket. These two are looking for more than moving the health care center, they’ve got big plans. Why all of sudden is this site laying out the red carpet for Keystone, are they supporting this site too!
Patterson Villager said,
November 24, 2009 @ 6:03 PM
If we just let Ramos build out his development, this would not be an issue. The council was on track to take care of the working poor but the market crashed.
OldTimer said,
November 25, 2009 @ 9:15 AM
Oh, give me a break. Answer this, because the city council never did. How in the world do you plan on getting all the cars of those that move in to Ramosloand from the East side of the tracks to the freeway? Since the city council feels it is more important to build lots of houses and have the numbers to say they are a big city, without the planning, they went ahead and approved Ramos’ grand scheme without taking in to consideration any of the impact it would do to the city itself.
Can you imagine all the commuters that would move to Ramosland that will be using Ivy to get to Ward and then to Sperry and then to the freeway? I’ll bet the residents on Ivy are very happy to know that their street will become a main thoroughfare. Once they get off Ivy, do you honestly think the traffic flow on Ward will be OK?
All the city management saw with Ramosland was more houses. They still don’t realize that it takes some serious planning to build all the homes they built and want to build. Look at the state of all the city infrastructure. It stinks. Why does it stink? Because everything from traffic, to sewer, to water, to police, to city staff, everything, is geared and planned for a city about 2/3′s the size of where we are at now.
And you want to say that if Ramosland were built, all our low-income problems would be met? You don’t really believe that, do you? The vast majority of those that buy the houses, the low income houses, that Ramos would build would be investors and speculators. The city had restrictions in place in previous developments to limit the investors and speculators. To make sure that a certain amount of homes, a large portion of them, were bought by owner-occupiers. Did that work? Not only no, but Hell No!!
The problem is that the mayor and others involved in deciding the number of houses that get built had a financial interest in them getting built and sold. They didn’t care if the buyer was the owner-occupier or if it was an investor. They just cared that it sold. Can you honestly say that those who had a part in the decision of whether or not to approve a sub-division, weren’t at all swayed by the fact that more houses built meant more money to them?
Also, did you know that the city actually had, or still has, a program for first time buyers? That it was written solely for the purpose of saying we had one. That it was written so that nobody could qualify for it? They saw that Newman had a program, and wanted one too. Yet, they didn’t want to really follow through with it. They only wanted to appear to be first time buyer friendly. When you took a look at the requirements, there was absolutely no way anyone could qualify.
Well, I guess I got fired up yet again. Fred – sorry I rambled on again….I might have to change my name from OldTimer to Soapbox-Hero.
Stop the Madness said,
November 29, 2009 @ 7:06 PM
It is not Ramosland. It is HarringtonLand. Follow the money. It all flows from Southern California. For the Villages, Ramos was a ruse for the most part.
Patterson Villager said,
December 1, 2009 @ 11:43 AM
Harrington has been out of the picture for a while now, funny how this site chooses to ignore the fact that the Villages guaranteed affordable housing for patterson residents.
Fed up said,
December 1, 2009 @ 1:06 PM
Well Patterson is quite a Payton Place…
FACT – Patterson has built a “few” in recent years but of course not yet completed. It’s a Senior low income housing project, located behind Save Mart and across from the Aquatic / Senior Center. As a matter of Fact it houses our Council member Annette Smith’s family members. How does one get to the top of this privileged list? Looks like there is only a hand full of units that were built and the rest is still a vacant lot. One good thing that has come from the economy is that “Ramosville” will not get built while this JOKE of a City Council is in place… We can all hope that we get real leaders in place to amend the whole damn project before it’s too late!
Patterson Villager said,
December 1, 2009 @ 1:21 PM
Annette Smith is always attacked here. What proof do you have that she somehow got her parents to the top of the list? Do you know seniors who were denied a spot?
Ms. Smith has been a strong advocate for everything “Patterson”, I hope she takes the next step and run for Mayor.
Fact: Ramos is the only developer who promised affordable housing, other councils just ignored the demand.
Fact: http://videos.modbee.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=2314466&item_index=5&genre_id=5495&sort=NULL
Fed up said,
December 1, 2009 @ 2:32 PM
Patterson Villager seriously!
Poor Smith… Just what has she done?
1) As one of Ramos girls she did approve a bunch of homes on small lots built with less amenities will cost him less & profit Mr. Ramos. He will build more and get more bang for his buck. Now she has given him this amazing Christmas gift as I have read lately, anybody else see conflict here?
2) How do you explain to this community that the Ramos Villages plan for some 3100 homes with NO MAJOR ROAD improvements to travel from the North East Corner of this City to the West, is a good thing for anyone but Ramos & his groupies.
3 )How do these people commute through Patterson to the freeway??? We all know they are going to come here from the Bay Area as everyone else has when it was affordable or Not! But they are going to traipse across this City’s existing roadways to do it. Where is his major infrastructure $$$ Please do not tell me that you approve development that doesn’t pay for its impacts to the rest of the existing community!
Ramos nor Smith had nothing to do with contributing to the building of the low income Sr. Housing project that began way before her time. However, it was completed and available to a waiting list after Smiths appointment to our City Council.
Shame on you for wishing this nightmare on Patterson! Patterson needs new leadership!! NOT MORE OF SMITH.
OldTimer said,
December 1, 2009 @ 4:01 PM
Patterson Villager – what mind-trip have you been on? It is very evident that you haven’t been around these parts for very long.
Besides what has been mentioned above by “Fed up” (well put I might add), it wasn’t mentioned her distaste for public safety, aka, her displeasure at the lighted crosswalk at M & 33.
You also forgot to mention her totally unprovoked, and very public, disrespectful outburst at fellow citizens at Save-Mart regarding the initiative. (Conduct not only on the border of psychotic, but VERY unbecoming of an elected official!)
You also forgot to mention her total disregard for impartiality when she said that she wouldn’t approve the initiative even before she read it. (This would be a total lack of doing her duties to the citizens of our town) The sad thing is she can’t even consider changing her vote after all she has said. Most of it before being aware of the facts.
You mentioned about her parents getting in to the senior housing? Wasn’t it our very own councilwoman who admitted that she was proud that her parents were able to be among the first to get to move in? Of course she would be proud, she made sure that they were entitled to be amongst the first to move in.
And again I will mention, as “Fed up” did, has she, Ramos, or any of the other people involved even once considered the traffic from Ramosland? With the idiotic way the signal works at M and Ward now, adding the amount of traffic they intend to add without any prior planning would mean that Ward would be a complete parking lot from Save-Mart to Ivy, both ways. Most of the traffic going from Ramosland to points West (Save-Mart, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, I-5), would all go up Ivy and then Ward. All without any prior planning for what Ramosland would do.
And, answer me this. As I mentioned in an earlier post, what about the previous restrictions on investors and speculators? They were part of the problem with the prices going way out of whack. They, the city council, had restrictions in place to prevent all the investor/speculator purchases that were done. Yet did the council, or anyone who should have, even once enforce it? The answer, in case you are still suffering from your jet-lag, would be a resounding “NO”.
As I walk around town, I have yet to come across anyone that has any confidence in Smith, or any of the other supposed Ramos puppets. The general consensus around town is that at least two of the five on the council and the legal council are all not only incompetent, but corrupt. The citizens have been fooled and are paying the price for it. I seriously doubt that it will happen again. I sincerely hope that more people will make informed decisions when they vote. If not, shame on them, and I hope it don’t mess us up again.
Patterson Villager said,
December 1, 2009 @ 9:30 PM
Dear Fed Up,
1) If you recall the vote for the villages, you will find that the council overwhelmingly supported the project, not just smith.
2) All the roads, walnut, olive, eucalyptus, etc. were in store for major improvements.
3) If you read the traffic analysis, you would know that half of the trips generated by the development would travel east, away from the city core. The study concluded that no major improvements were necessary outside of the project footprint.
Dear Oldtimer,
Ms. Smith probably doesn’t have a problem with the M Street crosswalk, she probably dislikes the project because Cal Trans drug its feet for decades, and when the council puts pressure on them, this site takes credit for it.
Ms. Smith wouldn’t approve the initiative because she probably feels that initiative is loaded with unnecessary language that allows Keystone to have a strip club out there.
As for the senoir conspiracy, this is STRAIGHT FROM CITY WEBSITE
http://www.ci.patterson.ca.us/Default.aspx?pi=73&ni=94
Las Palmas Place Complex:
The first 24 units of this 40-unit rental complex are complete. Leases for these units will be restricted to senior citizens who are income qualified. THERE ARE STILL vacant units, interested candidates are encouraged to contact the Housing Authority of the County of Stanislaus at (209) 557-2000 to receive further information.
Do you really think Ms. Smith has influence over the Housing Authority?
At the end of the day, Ms. Smith will be our councilwoman for at least 3 more years, then hopefully two more as mayor. She has clearly demonstrated that she is by far the most intelligent and committed elected official behind the dais.
Fed Up said,
December 2, 2009 @ 6:26 PM
Dear Patterson Villager,
Wasnt the Villages approved on a short vote? Something like 3/0 because of vacant seats and then for Mr. Ramos “rushed to a vote”?
The traffic study you mentioned was total Bull-Sh–! Who got paid to pull that one off. It doesnt take a genious and you are obviously not one… if you believe for one minute that the traffic is going to mainly go EAST! No it will go WEST like the majority of the commuters have and will continue for Patterson’s Business Park’s & Bay Area jobs. Are you even aware that there other business park properties that have been approved next to Keystone.
We have an incompetent City Council that has not shown any support for Job creation or in having a quality professional business park developer like Keystone in our community. They have at least done what they said they would…brought Jobs and contributed to every new City building since their arrival in the community.
(Such as a new City Hall, Aquatic & Senior Center etc…)
They are not some small time local slum lord developer! Without Keystone Patteson would not have ever received the attention of the large Companies currently located, up and running & WW Granger is coming ALL because of Keystones Reputation and professional draw. It is certainly not because of the Patterson City Council’s support as a business friendly place to come. Look at what they are doing to Keystone and the Health Care District. Maybe you should take the time to look up the projects that Keystone has done on the east coast in Raleigh North Carolina. Its pretty impressive compared to anything we have seen around here from local developers!
Stop the Madness said,
December 2, 2009 @ 7:30 PM
” Harrington has been out of the picture for a while now”
Where did you hear that from? That is not what I heard. Harrington spent multiple millions of his own meney on this project before the market crashed. Ramos doesn’t have that kind of money to buy him out and no entity is going to make a loan on such a project after the market colllapsed.
MrB said,
December 2, 2009 @ 10:18 PM
Funny you all bring up Harrington and his “investment”. I really don’t see him being out of the picture, nor do I feel sorry for him with the housing crunch that we are in the middle of.
Here is how it works if you want to work around the system.
1 – you go out and buy a lot of properties. Say, everything (or almost everything) from Walnut to beyond Olive, between First and Sycamore.
2 – Then, you make some payments.
Now, here is what you do if the market tanks (like it did).
3 – Stop making payments.
4 – Wait for the Notice to appear in the legals sectons of the local newpapers (anyone notice how many “Harrington and wife” notices there were????)
5 – Once it gets to that stage, the banks are pretty desperate to get their money. They know they won’t get it all, so any “reasonable” offer is accepted.
What if another party comes along and buys all those properties for say, 50 cents on the ORIGINAL dollar. The bank is happy and all is “forgiven”.
But wait, you say. Harrington and Ramos just lost that parcel to another party.
Not so fast, here comes step 6, the most important one!!!
6 – You make sure that the “other” party that gets the parcel from the bank is actually part of the partnership, just a different name on the note. Now, not only would the project get to keep all the land, but they also get half their debt cut without any real hit to the project. As far as the city goes, the project and its land is all still within control of the “partners”.
I am not saying this is the case, but, it is entirely possible. I know that if I were to pull something like that off, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. But then, I have a conscience. I own up to my mistakes and I don’t milk the system. It hurts too many people. (Take a look at how many people abuse the welfare system. Same sort of principles involved here. In my opinion.)
So, before we wipe the slate clean and say that Harrington is out of it, maybe a closer look is needed. It sure is a lot of money he has invested to just get up and go. I know if I had that much invested I wouldn’t want to leave it all behind.
(For those curious, there is a process developers and projects use to cut their debt without the market tanking, but that is a lesson I can teach on another day.)
Now, regarding your comment that Ramosland was the only development to plan for low income housing. The proof would have been in the pudding, as they say. We can all say one thing, yet do another. It happens all the time, especially in politics and money. And this would qualify as the latter with a sprinkling of the former. So, until they are built, they really can’t count. (For the record, I believe they would have built some, but, as we say with the limiting of the investors in previous developments, what is said and done are very frequently different.)
For the most part, all the bashing that has been going on is all about what has been done. The lighted crosswalk, the Mayor-vs-Funez issue, the Health Center initiative, the homes that have (or have not) been built, the senior housing, Cleve and Logan, and so on.
It would be safe to say that the discussions have, for the most part, been one-sided, venting against certain parties (Smith, Campo, and Ramos mainly). Fortunately we live in a country where we can voice our opinions, and that is what they are, opinions.
Now, I will return OldTimer’s soapbox to him and get back in my corner.
OldTimer said,
December 3, 2009 @ 12:55 PM
You, and anyone else for that matter, can use my soapbox anytime you want.
There is a way to let someone else own the land with a “guaranteed” return on their investment.
What if they, with their desperate bank’s permission, do a short sale. They sell a piece of land at a very reduced price to someone that isn’t related to the project. They make an agreement with that buyer that sometime down the road, they can buy the property back at a pre-determined price. Maybe $25,000 dollars over the short-sale price. If they buy it at $100,000, that would be a 25% return on their investment. Not bad at all.
In the end, they still get the land, the temporary owner gets $25K, and they manage to artificially manipulate the land values due to the limited increase in value. When this piece of land is sold back to the project at a restricted price, it will become a “comparable sale” for all the other properties in the area. This will unfairly restrict any increase in value to the other land owners in the area.
The net result is the same as you mentioned. No matter what they pay the temporary owner, they are still getting the land for an overall price much less than they first agreed to pay for the property. As you pointed out, it is the banks that lose. I would also say that our economy takes a hit as well, as these are some of the transactions that caused the economic disaster we are in the middle of. And then, as I pointed out above, it hurts other landowners too, since the market is now artificially influenced.
I agree with you about Harrington. I would find it very difficult to walk away from all that money out there. He may not be very active at this point in time, but he is still very heavily invested.
MrB said,
December 5, 2009 @ 2:29 PM
At liunch today, a little birdie came up to me and told me that we were right on. It seems that at least one piece of property that was in financial trouble was purchesed by a new “temporary” owner. This owner bought the property and has an agreement to sell it back at a later date for a specific amount. Which, if the market does turn around, will impact other land owners in a very negative way.
It is extremely sad that these people, some of whom we know, would actually do something like this. It is upsetting that people we know would actually conspire to cheat the banks, cheat their neighbors, and cheat the economy. In the end, not only do their neighbors lose, but we all lose.
But, there is a reason they have the money and we don’t. To get to where they are, you would have to cheat the banks, your neighbors and friends, and not have any moral problems with it. I know I couldn’t do it. Since I am not greedy, I couldn’t put my financial gains ahead of my friends and neighbors. And, when I sign a document, such as a mortgage, I am true to my word. I don’t try to find a way to not only get out of it, but to cheat the system in doing so. These people are no better than those that commit welfare fraud. No better in any way. Because, folks, what they are doing is just that, fraud.
Stop The Madness said,
December 5, 2009 @ 8:52 PM
Mr B.,
The bait and switch is an interesting theory. I wondered long ago about whether that was going on. Anyone can go to the Stan County Website and under GIS can lookup the owners of property in the Villages Plan. What I also found interesting is this group has created several different LLCs. What is the purpose of all of these LLCs?
In terms of the overall development, the foreclosed properties are only a small part of the entire development. If you look at all of the foreclosed properties and the acreage they represent, it is something like 20 acres. The entire project is 700 acres. Harrington tied up most of the acreage in option contracts. These are rights to purchase the properties only. The original owners keep the title to the properties. I heard from some people that Harrington bought 5 and 7 year contracts that require him to make annual payments and is struggling to make all of the option payments. If he fails to make the payments, the contracts expire and the land goes back to the owners free and clear. His biggest problem is continuing to make those payments. Maybe the reason he is dumping these properties is so he can divert funds to the option payments. If they lose those options, it is over for them.