WESTMINSTER : City to Help Redo Low-Income Units

The City Council has adopted a financial aid program aimed at rehabilitating low-income apartments.

Under the program--described by one city official as “one of the most generous in the state”--the city will pay half the costs of certain improvements designed to make apartment buildings “more livable.”

The Westminster Redevelopment Agency will provide the other half of the costs with a 6%-interest loan to the property owner to be repaid over 10 years, said city Grants Coordinator Victoria Wester.

The program targets 20 apartment buildings occupied by more than 2,000 people along 15th Street, between Newland and Monroe streets and Westminster Boulevard. The types of improvements the city will pay for include painting, roofing and repairs to electrical and plumbing systems. The money may also be used to install lighting and security fences. The city will pay a maximum of $5,000 to $8,500 per unit, depending on the size of the apartment.

“It’s kind of hard to talk landlords into fixing up properties,” Wester said, but the new program should encourage them because “it’s probably one of the most generous programs in the state.”

Wester said she expects the city to receive more than $1 million from the state in the next two years for the program. Additional funds will be allocated for other renovation projects in the city as property owners repay their loans, she said.

For information on how to apply for the loans, call Gerry Gehres at (714) 898-3311, Ext. 473.