Supporters Decry Critics of Housing Organization

THOUSAND OAKS — Rallying to the support of an affordable-housing group, backers of Many Mansions packed the City Council chambers Tuesday saying allegations that the group uses city money to help illegal immigrants are completely groundless.

Speaker after speaker criticized what they see as a small group of political extremists unfairly dragging Many Mansions and its planned 11-unit Community House into a local debate on illegal immigration.

One longtime Thousand Oaks resident even took a shot at Councilwoman Elois Zeanah for bringing the emotionally charged issue before the council.

“For a public official, a leader, to say, ‘I’m bringing closure to this matter,’ when they are bringing a five-gallon can of gas, is not honest,” said Carlos Chavez, a 20-year city resident.

He added, “For the last 100 years, it seems as if the Mexicans have been the whipping boys for all of the problems in our society.”

Most of those who addressed the council--including local church leaders, politicians and charity workers--called upon city leaders and residents to recognize the good deeds of Many Mansions and rise above the angry rhetoric hurled at the group in recent weeks.

“Whenever you have a group of people speaking loudly about something, it is often due to ignorance or misinformation, and the voice of reason eventually comes out,” said Karen Ingram of Lutheran Social Services. “It is my hope that the voice of reason will be heard loud and clear tonight.”

Critics of Many Mansions, led by anti-illegal-immigration activists Susan and Horacio Grana of Thousand Oaks, contend that the group is unlawfully assisting undocumented immigrants with city and federal funds--a charge Many Mansions leaders strongly deny.

The Granas also contend that the Community House, a project being built on Los Robles Road to help struggling families get back on their feet, will eventually be converted into a homeless drop-in center that will attract junkies, illegal immigrants and gang members.

David Grana, the son of Susan and Horacio Grana, urged the City Council to approve Zeanah’s request for a special public hearing on the issue.

“If you do not approved this, I’m going to remember come reelection,” David Grana said. “If you don’t, I’m going to be the biggest pimple on your rear end.”

Supporters of Many Mansions--including Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo--pointed out that the zoning for the housing project was approved seven years ago and the project’s federal funding prohibits the group from housing illegal immigrants there.

Although some critics were unable to speak due to time constraints, they vowed to continue to press the issue.

“This is the opening salvo of the battle of Thousand Oaks,” said Glenn Spencer, president of the Sherman Oaks-based Voices of Citizens Together. “Being a native Californian and Los Angeles resident, I’ve seen what’s happened out there. And I’m sure the residents of Thousand Oaks don’t want it to happen here.”

Zeanah said she brought the issue forward because many residents had called her, questioning the city’s policies for dealing with illegal immigrants after city code-enforcement officers conducted a sweep of a shantytown two blocks from Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Many of the 50 or so people who were living in the wooden shacks, tool sheds and small houses on less than an acre of land acknowledged being undocumented immigrants.

Roughly half of the shantytown’s dwellers were immediately forced out of the property by city code enforcement officers.

Many Mansions was part of a group of Thousand Oaks social service groups that organized a meeting with city leaders to advocate assistance for the displaced during future raids, whether they were illegal immigrants or not.