City offers housing rehabilitation loans for homeowners

I have mixed thoughts on the City making loans to residents but I tend to favor this program.

It is far cheaper for taxpayers to give homeowners loans for minor repairs than it is to have code enforcement (or Community Preservation Officers) write tickets and then have the City Attorney file a civil suit against a homeowner.

By doing this, the City is taking a proactive role in combating blighted conditions.  These loans may also help prevent the “need” for the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency to condemn properties as part of that Agency’s fight against blight.

Here is the City’s press release:

 

Does your plumbing leak or your house need a fresh coat of paint? How about other basic safety improvements such as a new roof or repairing faulty wiring or heating to curb high energy costs?

           

If your answer to any of these questions is "yes," but your checkbook balance says it’s out of the question, don't give up: The City of Fullerton may be able to lend you a hand.

           

The City, through its Housing and Community Development Office, offers both deferred and below-market interest rate loans to Fullerton homeowners through its Housing Rehabilitation Program.

The loans are funded through the federal Housing and Urban Development Department's Community Development Block Grant Program, and qualifying homeowners must meet the program’s income criteria and guidelines. .

           

"The goal of the program is to assist low- and moderate-income residents who cannot afford to keep up their homes on their own," explained Sylvia Chavez, housing programs assistant for the city. "By providing them with a way of taking care of their homes, the City is helping protect their quality of life, as well as their property values."

           

Below-market rate loans of up to $65,000 are available for qualified applicants. The loans carry a low interest rate of 6 percent or below, and the maximum repayment period is 15 years.

           

Homeowners unable to qualify for the below-market rate loans may qualify for a deferred loan, Chavez continued. Deferred loans require no monthly payments and no interest, and are reviewed every 15 years for eligibility. The loans come due upon the sale or transfer of the home.

           

Senior citizen homeowners (62 years of age or older) who only receive federal or state financial assistance, such as Social Security or disability, are allowed to bypass the bank application and apply directly for a deferred loan.

           

Applications and further information about the loan programs may be obtained by calling Chavez at (714) 738-6874, or by coming to the Housing and Community Rehabilitation Office on the second floor of Fullerton City Hall,

303 W. Commonwealth Ave.

           

Applications and further information are also available under the Community Development Department section of the City website at www.ci.fullerton.ca.us.

Fullerton Press Release - Al Zelinka

A City of Fullerton Press Release just dropped into my in box and it looks like something you should know about. 

Fullerton Community Development Director Al Zelinka will conduct a “Community Dialogue” Tuesday, Sept. 27, which citizens can attend and discuss issues, concerns and hopes they have regarding the city’s growth and development.

The dialogue, one in a series of bi-monthly community meetings conducted by Zelinka, will be held from 6-7 p.m. at the Vision Center, Room 140, Grace Ministries International, 150 S. Brookhurst Road.

Zelinka said he started the dialogues as a means of helping his department meet the goals of its mission statement.

           

“Our mission,” Zelinka said, “is to help residents and businesses with their efforts to grow within our community in a safe, orderly and healthful manner that respects Fullerton’s heritage while sustaining opportunity for present and future generations.

           

“I believe community involvement in the planning process is absolutely essential to achieving that goal, and I hope the public will take advantage of these meetings to share their ideas, issues and other information.”

The final dialogue in the series will be held from 8-9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, at the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce, 444 N. Harbor Blvd.

Further information about the “Community Dialogue” program may be obtained by calling Zelinka at (714) 738-3347, or by email at alz@ci.fullerton.ca.us.

Persons requiring special accommodations to attend a “Community Dialogue” are asked to notify the Community Development Department at (714) 738-6547 prior to the meeting.

Selective Enforcement

As my friend Travis Kiger has pointed out on the Friends for Fullerton's Future blog, it appears that the "Fig Tree Lady" is being unfairly singled out by Fullerton officials for a non-existent problem. 

Below are some pictures showing how the Community Preservation officials distort circumstances and make a case where none should be made. 

Often, the City of Fullerton is the worst violator, holding the public to a much higher standard than it does of its own property. 



Note the orange tree hanging over the sidewalk.  The homeowner says they have never had Community Preservation (A.K.A. Code Enforcement) cite them for it.  Also, the city-owned magnolia tree on the right hangs over the private property.  No one seems to care.





All of the city-owned trees in the parkway overhang private property.  Again, no one seems to care.



The city-owned tree in the parkway is a little over the private property.  Also in the background a tree overhangs the public right of way and no one seems to care.  However, the smokey grey tree barely visible over the wall has been a point of contention for Fullerton's Community Preservation officers and has lead to the City Attorney filing misdemeanor charges against the property owner.  The case is pending.



In this picture you can clearly see the smokey grey fig tree nowhere over the wall.  Absolutely no violation exists yet the on-call contract city attorney is happy to waste tax dollars on a trial by jury. 

If you think that the on-call contract city attorney is wasting taxpayers’ dollars and if you think that the city selectively enforces the municipal code to harass certain people, join the club.   Selective enforcement that wastes very scarce tax dollars on enforcing poorly conceived policies undermines and destroys the fabric of our community.  Unlike its name implies, Community Preservation is damaging our city when enforcement officers pick and choose what they want to enforce and to whom they persecute.  This case smells of abuse and harassment under color of authority. 

City Attorney's Felonious Fig Tree Fight - Part 1

Standing before the Fullerton City Council January 18, 2011 was Shannon Ellis, a long-time Fullerton resident, mother, Boy Scout mom, West Fullerton Little League team mom, and Fullerton College employee.  Despite her selfless dedication to her husband, children, and West Fullerton neighborhood, she wasn’t at City Hall to receive any awards or certificates.  Instead, Shannon was there to express her frustration for what many are characterizing as the systematic harassment of her family by Fullerton’s Community Preservation officers. 

Shannon gives some background to her problem and explains how she has a pending criminal case as a result of her fig tree. 

 During summer months the fig tree grows quickly and produces fruit.  Admittedly, during these summer months the tree extends beyond her 6-foot tall block wall and over the sidewalk on the other side of the wall, much like others around Fullerton as shown below.

But the Fullerton Community Preservation officers will have none of her fig tree over the wall.  Instead, they will turn a blind eye to similar encroachments like those shown above so that they can focus their combined efforts on eradicating a fig tree from the sleepy 2400 West Olive neighborhood.

Just a few blocks north on West Avenue, residents have felt a similar squeeze by City Hall in the form of parking tickets.    Fullerton police officers have been targeting the neighborhood and citing pickup trucks which are classified by the California Department of Motor Vehicles as commercial vehicles.  Also being cited by the police officers are toy haulers and recreational trailers that are not attached to the tow vehicle. 

These are but a snippet of the gauntlet Fullerton residents and taxpayers face having a Fullerton address. 

Is it just dumb luck that enforcement officials are patrolling West Avenue and West Olive while ignoring neighborhoods in North Fullerton with similar conditions?  Doubtful. 

With the amended ordinances which will make it a crime to leave your trash cans out or throw a tarp to cover your leaking roof having been approved, many residents are concerned just how far the City’s Community Preservation officers will take these issues. 

Despite assurances from “staff” seen here...

...that the ordinances will not be unfairly enforced, the abuse continues.   As mentioned, Shannon is going to trial where she faces jail time and a stiff fine if she is found guilty – for a fig tree that has been cut back and is in full compliance with the Fullerton Municipal Code.   

“We have gone to court half-dozen times now,” Shannon writes in an email to me.  “Each time the city attorney has said we have not done enough…they are never going to be happy with anything we do.”

Unmaintained City-Owned Trees



Moreover, she sees the City as “always out ‘beautifying’…other upscale areas of Fullerton but they barely come around to remove graffiti and trim trees in the areas they are ticketing.”

Shannon notes that she has been charged for not maintaining property she doesn't even own.  Public records do not list her as the property owner.  

"Non-compliant" trees over the public right-of-way

"Non-compliant" trees and cacti over the public right-of-way

Stay tuned, more to come...