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LA To Reimburse Property Owners Up To $10K For Sidewalk Repairs

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) – Property owners who make repairs to their sidewalks will now be eligible to receive up to $10,000 in rebates from the city of Los Angeles.

The L.A. Bureau of Engineering announced Tuesday that it is raising the reimbursement cap across the board to $10,000 for both homeowners and commercial property owners who undergo their own sidewalk repairs.

The cap had previously been set at $2,000 for residential owners and $4,000 for commercial owners.

The previous rebate cap was designed to cover half of the estimated costs of repair. It's unclear whether the new cap keeps that share the same.

To receive the rebate, owners must first apply with the city to participate in the program. A city employee will then visit the site to determine a repair estimate that is compliant with the American with Disabilities Act. Based on the estimate, they will then provide the owner a rebate offer.

Property owners must then pay for their own repairs in order to receive the rebate.

The Safe Sidewalks LA program is the result of a $1.4 billion agreement between the Los Angeles City Council and disabled residents and their advocates in April 2015 to make sidewalks safer. It settled an ADA lawsuit that had been brought by several groups.

The settlement, in which the city agreed to spend $31 million a year for 30 years, will install curb ramps throughout the city, fix sidewalks that are broken and torn up by tree roots, install accessible sidewalks and remove many other barriers.

The rebate program was launched in late 2016. So far it has had more than 1,100 applicants. However, after conducting a survey, the city determined that more people would take part in the program if the rebate was bigger.

"The new cap should entice and empower more property owners to partner with the City, and the result will be more sidewalks repaired quicker, less liability for the City and property owners, and happier constituents," City Councilman Bob Blumenfield said in a statement.

To apply for the program, click here.

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