Grants to help fix up homes

Lodi's first-ever redevelopment program — which promises to help Eastside residents spruce up their homes — was approved 4-0 by the City Council on Wednesday night.

Paint-Up/Fix-Up will provide grants of up to $10,000 to low-income and moderate-income residents to make minor repairs and improvements to the exteriors of their homes.

Mayor JoAnne Mounce was absent.

The program will be funded by redevelopment revenue and start in July 2009.

The council approved a redevelopment district this summer amid much debate. That district encompasses more than 2,000 acres in the city, including all of the Eastside and several commercial corridors that stretch into central Lodi.

Redevelopment districts allow cities to keep a greater share of property tax. That additional revenue must then be spent by the city on improvement projects that will benefit residents who live within the district.

Wednesday night's vote and public hearing on Paint-Up/Fix Up was decidedly quiet.

In other action

The council voted 4-0 to approve $5,000 in start-up funds for Project Lodi Art's sidewalk mosaic medallion design competition. Open to all residents, the competition will use 24 winning mosaic designs for permanently installed sidewalk medallions. It will be part of the East Lodi Avenue Improvement Project.

Entry forms and more details are available at Hutchins Street Square, the Lodi Public Library, City Hall, Lodi's Parks and Recreation office and the Lodi Boys and Girls Club office, or at www.hutchinsstreetsquare.com.

The council rejected Councilwoman Susan Hitchcock's symbolic proposal to terminate the city's General Plan update contracts. Hitchcock had argued that her fellow council members have haphazardly approved major development changes of late without first finishing the General Plan update — a document that will guide the city's growth for the next 20 years.

She cited the council's decision to allow Reynolds Ranch to double its retail component last month as a major change.

She added she did not intend to slow the General Plan update process, and never intended to vote to cut funding herself.

"It was to check the pulse of the rest of the council," she said after the meeting.

Her fellow council members said they did not feel haphazard changes were taking place.

The General Plan update is not expected to be complete until sometime in 2009. City officials acknowledged the update has been delayed by a couple months, partly because of other projects that have moved forward, like the Wal-Mart Supercenter project. Rad Bartlam, the city's interim community development director, serves as the lead consultant for the update of the planning document. Dyett & Bhatia, a San Francisco-based consulting firm, is also contracted by the city. To date, Bartlam and the firm have been paid $39,023 and $512,903 respectively, according to city figures.

— News-Sentinel staff

"This is kind of a landmark action that we're taking," Susan Hitchcock said, after a call for public comment on the matter produced no speakers from a sparse audience at Carnegie Forum. "This is the first expenditure of redevelopment dollars (in the city of Lodi)."

Eligible properties for Paint-Up/Fix Up include any owner-occupied, single-family residences, duplexes or mobile homes "where there is a legitimate need for improvements," according to the city guidelines that were approved. The properties must be located within the redevelopment district.

Eligible work includes: Painting, stucco repair, repair and replacement of damaged wood siding, replacement of windows and window frames, replacement of exterior doors, door hardware and deadbolts, repair and replacement of roofs, landscaping and several others. A city-approved contractor would perform the repairs and improvements.

Both Hitchcock and Councilman Bob Johnson said they'd like to see low-income and very-low-income residents given top priority.

The rest of the council agreed, removing the program's "first-come, first-served" stipulation.

For a family of four, the very-low-income category will be $30,650 or less. The low-income and moderate-income categories for families of four will be $49,050 and $61,300, respectively. Residents in all but the very-lowincome categories will be required to pay for 20 percent of the work.

Payment from the city would be made upon completion of the work.

While city officials are moving forward with redevelopment programs, a public vote on the powerful planning tool could be coming.

Smart Lodi, a small group of redevelopment opponents, turned in signatures last week from thousands of residents requesting such a vote.

Those signatures must be verified by the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters.

If enough are valid, a vote would be scheduled as early as March.

Smart Lodi has argued redevelopment projects will plunge Lodi into massive debt.

City officials noted Wednesday night that Lodi will not borrow any money to pay for the Paint-Up/Fix-Up program.

Contact reporter Chris Nichols at chrisn@lodinews.com.

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