Operation of farm housing will be the key

Local agriculture company officials say using apartments to house farm workers is advantageous, but neighbors in the areas where they are located are not so convinced.
 
Representatives of Tanimura and Antle recently appeared before the Yuma City Council to explain why they have purchased two apartment complexes - Aloha Village at 1036 S. 10th Ave. and Park View at 1003 W. 20th St. - for workers.
 
The council has received concerns from the neighborhoods that the plans to convert the apartments to farm worker housing will diminish the residential areas and possibly result in more public safety issues and increased traffic.
 
T and A defended the projects, saying they won't be operated any differently than currently except farm workers will be living there. "The apartments won't be bunkhouses," said attorney Barry Olsen, who represents the farm company.
 
But we can understand the concerns of neighbors, who likely remember tales of mishandled farm worker and migrant worker housing from the past. If that were to happen, it would hurt the value of homes and disturb the neighborhood.
 
We are told, however, by those familiar with the farm worker situation here that apartments and even motels have been used for farm worker housing over the years. This new approach is simply more organized instead of scattering the workers in different locations. Putting them in company-owned centralized locations makes it easier for transportation and better for administrative purposes.
 
Olsen said the company has worked with city fire and safety people to assure they are in compliance with regulations for apartments. He said the complexes will have a security presence. He said they will be "good neighbors."
 
The burden of proving this, of course, lies with the companies involved. As long as the complexes are operated like other apartment complexes, then there should be no problem and no need for changes to current city policies. But if they turn out to be "bad neighbors," it may be necessary for the city council to step in to revise its rules for apartments.