GARDEN GROVE : City to Offer Loans to Residents Hit by Flood

Residents whose homes sustained damage during the recent floods may qualify for up to $10,000 in low-interest loans under a flood assistance program the City Council unveiled Tuesday.

But residents who were hardest hit by the floods said that the loan offer is meaningless because a majority of them would not qualify under the income limits set by the council.

“Why waste the time,” said Cristy Leone, who was among about 50 residents from three neighborhoods on the city’s west end who attended Tuesday’s council meeting. “About 80% of us would not qualify anyway.”

The council, acting as the Agency for Community Development, allocated $500,000 for the loan program. To qualify, applicants must meet income limits, which officials said are set by state law.

A two-member family must have an annual income not to exceed $56,450; a family of three, $63,500 and a family of four, $70,550 to qualify for the loans.

“If you have a home in that area, you won’t qualify,” said Leone, who owns an electrical contracting business with her husband, Vince.

Community Development Director Matthew Fertal said that “the income (in the neighborhood) may be higher than elsewhere.”

“But we’re not sure of that,” Fertal said. “We have to ask them to submit information so we can determine if, indeed, their income exceeds the limit.”

The council, however, also set aside $100,000 in block grants money for residents who exceed the income limit. The grants will be given on a “case-by-case basis,” officials said.

To qualify for either the grant or the loan, applicants must not have insurance or have received financial assistance from the state and federal governments, officials said.

About 120 homes were damaged during the Jan. 4 floods when the Belgrave flood-control channel overflowed, flooding the Bartlett and Belgrave, Bartlett and Christal and Anthony and Springdale neighborhoods, City Manager George Tindall said Tuesday.