DANA POINT : Citizen Input Sought on Block Grant Uses

Even in this sparkling seaside resort city, there are walls that need paint and fences that need repair.

Although Dana Point is better known for its posh Monarch Bay community, the Lantern and Doheny Village communities--both patchwork collections of apartment houses and condominiums--have needs that are served by the federal Community Development Block Grant program.

Citizens interested in repairing their homes and neighborhoods are invited to attend a meeting today at 6 p.m. at City Hall on how the city should use its share of block grant funds.

“Our primary objectives are to benefit low- and moderate-income families,” said Ed Knight, the city’s community development director. “This includes the development of decent, safe and sanitary housing and suitable living environments . . . and meeting those needs of a particular urgency which may threaten the health and welfare of the community.”

Since its 1989 incorporation, Dana Point has received $382,000 from the federal program. The funds have gone to sidewalk and street repair, alley renovation and street lighting. Local nonprofit groups that help senior citizens and abused women have also benefited from block grant funds, city officials said.

Today’s meeting will be the first public discussion of how to use block grant funds for the 1994-95 fiscal year.

A second meeting, on Oct. 13, will specify projects that will be presented to the City Council next month.

“The CDBG grant request eventually presented to the Dana Point City Council relies heavily on citizen input and participation to identify critical needs within the city,” Knight said.