Window of Opportunity for Homeowners, Buyers : Housing: Improvements made to properties in three low-income neighborhoods will qualify for refunds of as much as $2,500.

Residential property owners in low-income Bell Gardens neighborhoods will receive up to $2,500 from the city to help pay for home or rental property improvements, including painting, landscaping, roofing, fencing and electrical work.

The City Council approved the $100,000 program this week to help spruce up neglected neighborhoods that are filled with dilapidated homes, weed-infested front yards and sidewalks, and crumbling retaining walls. The program is scheduled to begin in mid-September.

“There is a lot of need here. The homes are getting old, and there has been a good deal of overcrowding and overuse of the properties,” said John Carmona, acting community development director.

An estimated 700 houses or rental properties in three areas will be eligible for reimbursement of up to half of the cost of repairs, depending on a property owner’s income level. A family of four with an annual income of less than $23,450, for example, will get back 50% of what they spend; a household making more than $42,300 will be reimbursed 20% of the improvement costs.

Property owners pay for materials and labor, then submit receipts and work orders to the city’s Planning Department.

“Generally, these are smaller, low-cost cosmetic improvements,” said Carmona, who has directed similar programs in Riverside and Glendora. He said most participating homeowners spend about $1,000 and are eligible for reimbursements of about 25%. The city’s subsidy for individual repairs is limited to $2,500.

In the past, city officials had come under fire for allegedly targeting low-income residents whose homes they say violated city health and safety codes. Stories of repeated citations for broken windows, overgrown weeds and misplaced clotheslines--with threats of jail time for noncompliance--were common.

Last November, a panel from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights heard allegations from Bell Gardens residents that city leaders were trying to drive out Latinos through oppressive housing code policies. Code inspectors were described as relentless in their pursuit of housing code scofflaws, and hundreds of citations were handed out.

Less than a month after the hearing, four Anglo City Council members were recalled.

Now, four new council members say they are making good on their promises of kinder, gentler improvement programs. “We are hoping to soften the approach to improving the community,” Carmona said.

City officials have re-evaluated dozens of housing code cases and dismissed more than half. About 25 cases remain on the books, down from more than 200 last year, they said. Most of these homes are in neighborhoods that qualify for the subsidies, they said.

“It’s a good deal for most of the residents,” said Councilman George Deitch, a real estate broker who owns several rental properties in Bell Gardens.

Deitch abstained from voting on the program Tuesday night. He said he did not “want it to look like I was voting in favor or something that would benefit me.”

Carmona said he plans to include a clause in the program that would prohibit a landlord from raising a tenant’s rent within six months of the improvements.

City Manager William Vasquez said the program fits the new council’s philosophy of routing funds back to the residents.

“This is something that can immediately enhance the neighborhoods and can help deal with the quality-of-life issues that will make this city more livable,” he said.

The council recently approved an $18-million budget that allocated more that $1 million to new social programs and services. Funding for the home improvement program comes through federal community development grants.