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Parkland commissioners direct staff to develop hardship loan program for Ranches homeowners
Summary
City staff proposed a Road Assessment Hardship assistance program that would offer interest‑free, recorded loans to certain long‑term homestead owners in The Ranches; commissioners endorsed a 10‑year residency threshold and directed staff to return with a formal resolution after mailing notice and opening a Jan. 19–Feb. 19 application window.
City commissioners on Wednesday reviewed a proposed Road Assessment Hardship program designed to help long‑term homeowners in The Ranches pay a new special assessment without being forced from their primary residences.
Finance Director Kelly Schwartz told the commission the program is structured as a loan secured by a recorded lien and is intended to keep eligible residents in their homes while allowing the city to recover funds when title transfers. "We will be placing a 20 year lien on the parcels that receive the assistance," Schwartz said, adding the program is meant to be "more of a loan program rather than a grant."
The proposal grew out of higher assessment figures in The Ranches, a neighborhood of 175 parcels where staff reported 42 percent of properties do not carry homestead exemptions. Of the remaining homesteaded parcels, staff identified roughly 102 properties; five parcels are city‑owned.…
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