According to one Lakeport City commercial real estate owner, blight continues to plague one of the city’s shopping centers because there is a lack of lenders willing to offer loans at market rates.

In response to that claim, the Lakeport City Council will decide whether or not to use redevelopment funds to create a commercial loan program. The program would be funded by $300,000 per year in tax increment funds.

The program is legal under California law, however this program is one of the many programs which future is cast in doubt by the current budget proposal pending in the Legislature.

It is a program that will target very specific blight, and the staff report (which can be viewed here) outlines who and what would qualify for the loans. It also lays out certain limitations of the loan.

For instance, qualifying businesses cannot be based out of a home, must have a first floor store front, and the owner of the business or property must not have any more than 12,000,000 square feet of gross lease space. 

With fourteen different qualifying expenditures and fair rates, this should be an effective way to address the city’s blight.  

Information from the Lake County News contributed to this report.