Director of Neighborhood Services Curtis Howard shared the updates with Plano City Council, which include a lower minimum home age and standard minimum homeowner investment, during the July 22 preliminary open meeting.
Two-minute impact
Howard said the improvements only apply to exterior renovations or mobility and accessibility enhancements within a home. Initial changes to the program were initially presented in May.
The changes are the first to the program since 2017 and is a way to invest in the city’s aging housing stock.
“What we’re looking at is basically economic development and making sure our home stock continues to look good through this program, and a subset of that is to deal with residents and what they need,” Howard said. “If we have people aging in place or with mobility issues, we have the ability to provide assistance to them.”
The details
According to city documents, the property must satisfy certify certain criteria to be eligible for the rebate, including:
- The appraised value of a home cannot be above $478,975
- The age of the home must be at least 30 years old
- The minimum homeowner investment is $20,000 with a maximum rebate of $5,000
- A property must be owner-occupied and not a rental
“I think this is great,” Mayor pro tem Maria Tu said. “It simplifies everything and it’s not such a maze where you have to figure out what is approved and what is not.”
What’s next?
Changes to the program will take effect starting with rebate applications during the 2024-25 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
