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Clearwater CRA revises North Greenwood residential and commercial grant rules to increase flexibility
Summary
The Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency approved immediate changes to North Greenwood exterior residential and commercial grant programs to allow value of waived community service hours to be added back into grant amounts and to raise commercial caps and administrative authority.
The Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency on April 28 approved revisions to the North Greenwood residential exterior improvement grant program and the North Greenwood commercial grant program to provide more flexibility for applicants.
For the residential program, CRA specialist Julia Baltus told trustees that staff revised a sentence to clarify that "the amount of the reduction or waiver can be added back to the total grant amount not to exceed $20,000," and added language clarifying that the value of waived community service hours can be added back to the total grant amount. Baltus said the program, originally approved July 15, 2024, was intended to be a living document and the changes result from a six‑month evaluation and feedback from the North Greenwood Citizens Advisory Committee. Trustee discussion included Councilman Menino thanking staff for flexibility that will help elderly applicants who cannot complete service hours.
On the commercial side, CRA division manager Vicki Shire presented a set of recommended changes. Staff proposed language clarifying that if community service hours are waived, the corresponding value may be added back to the total grant amount not to exceed $75,000. Staff also proposed removing a requirement that certain improvements be approved by the police department, removing a restriction that improvements covered by the city's façade improvement program be excluded, and adding authority for the CRA director to approve/deny grant applicants up to $75,000. The revisions would allow program funds to be used as owner equity to satisfy owner funding requirements for other city‑managed assistance programs.
Trustees voted by unanimous consent to approve both sets of revisions. The residential guideline changes were described as effective immediately. The commercial changes align the North Greenwood commercial program with downtown commercial grant authority and aim to broaden the range of eligible projects and reduce barriers for applicants.
Clarifying details in the discussion included staff presenting the changes at the North Greenwood Citizens Advisory Committee on April 7 and noting that the residential program assists eligible homestead property owners with exterior repairs in the North Greenwood CRA area.
