Oxnard Housing Authority approves RAD conversion application for three public‑housing sites

The Oxnard Housing Authority on Dec. 17 approved a plan to apply to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program to convert three public‑housing sites, protecting current tenants’ subsidies while enabling the authority to pursue financing for repairs and upgrades.

Supporters said the conversion would shift properties from the public‑housing subsidy model to a project‑based Section 8 voucher model that pays market rent to the housing authority and allows the authority to leverage debt and equity to fund repairs. Housing Director Amir Ramirez told commissioners the conversion would let the authority “collect the market rents and then be responsible for our own operation of our own apartment complex.”

Under the proposal discussed at the meeting, tenants already living in the authority’s public‑housing units would not be displaced and would keep assistance through a housing choice voucher after conversion. Ramirez said tenants could transition “in place” and “it should be a benefit to them” because the authority would be able to finance needed capital repairs that are difficult under the…