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<br />. <br /> <br />A tremendous visual improvement can be made in this <br />project area with simple treatment of signage, <br />painting, awnings, and a sidewalk landscaping. <br />(Several slides were shown to illustrate cluttered and <br />non-uniform signing, disharmonious and clashing facade <br />colors, and other deteriorated and damaged facades, <br />show windows, and landscaping.) <br /> <br />The proposed Facade Loan and Rebate Program will give <br />the Agency the vital tools it needs to address <br />rehabilitation needs below $50,000. These programs <br />will complete a level of rehabilitation loans from the <br />Agency that will range from $0 to $10,000,000. The <br />programs consist of loans from $20,000 to $50,000 at <br />10% interest, 3 points, with a 7-year term and a 20- <br />year amortization. Because the net profit on loans <br />under $20,000 is negligible to negative, a graduated <br />series of rebates will be offered for facade <br />improvements ranging from $0 to $20,000. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The slide presentation concluded with before and after <br />photos from the Mesa North Shopping Center in Costa Mesa, <br />which illustrated the dramatic visual impact that simple <br />facade improvements can have on commercial structures. <br /> <br />The City Manager then called upon the Project Area Manager <br />to discuss some of the problems of the downtown area as they <br />would relate to these two programs. <br /> <br />The Project Area Manager pointed out the design manual which <br />had been given to the members of the Agency and the <br />importance of appropriate guidelines to any loan or rebate <br />program being undertaken by the city. He stated that it <br />would be important to exercise control over any <br />rehabilitation being undertaken under these programs. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The City Manager thanked the Project Area Manager and <br />Commercial Loan Officer and added that these programs were <br />meant to provide an opportunity to those businessmen that <br />did not need to borrow the large amounts, offered in <br />previous rehabilitation programs, to improve their property. <br />He pointed out that the Agency had also supported the <br />construction of parking structures in the downtown area to <br />further help in the improvement of the business climate. He <br />added that a new Standards Board was being formed to help <br />with the enforcement of guidelines such as those outlined in <br />the design manual given to the Agency for consideration. He <br />also called the attention of the Agency to pictures, which <br />had been taken independently by a concerned businessman, <br />depiciting blight, inappropriate signage and deferred <br />maintenance in the downtown area. <br /> <br />3. <br /> <br />It <br />