Anna Eshoo, Jerry Hill and Rich Gordon join effort to obtain funds for mobile-home park’s preservation
The effort to prevent the closure of Buena Vista Mobile Home Park has spread well beyond the city’s borders in recent weeks, with state Sen. Jerry Hill, state Assemblyman Rich Gordon and U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo all joining the drive to raise money for the park’s preservation.
Hill and Gordon co-signed a letter earlier this month to the California Department of Housing and Community Development asking the agency for assistance in identifying potential sources of funding for preserving what they call “vital affordable housing.” This came weeks after Eshoo submitted a similar request to Julian Castro, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Feds Pressed for Buena Vista Funds
by Breena Kerr / Daily Post Staff Writer
Local government officials have asked state and federal housing agencies for money to help save Palo Alto’s last mobile home park.
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, and Assemblyman Rich Gordon have all contacted the secretary of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development to ask for money to keep the 100 units of affordable housing from being closed and likely razed for redevelopment. HUD is a federal agency that
gives housing funds to states.
Seeking solution
“I’m confident we can create a solution that will benefit the families of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park and allow them to remain in the community that is their home,” Eshoo wrote in her letter to the Secretary of Housing.
The owner of the mobile home park has vowed to close it as soon as the City Council decides whether he has complied with a Palo Alto law that requires him to pay residents to leave.
While both Santa Clara County and the City of Palo Alto have each set $8 million aside to help buy the park, no nonprofits have come forward publicly to pledge money or help.
Local effort
Last week, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian said he planned to “work the phones” to see if local nonprofits would join in the effort to save Buena Vista.
On Feb. 20, Palo Alto City Manager Jim Keene said that the city would set aside $8 million that the City Council could elect to use to preserve the park.
The decision by Keene came as a surprise to many since council members had not yet made the decision about whether to allow the owner to close the park. A decision is expected in April.