Homeowners in Southern California Cities Can Apply for Earthquake Soft-Story (ESS) Program Grants to Strengthen Homes Against Earthquake Damage.
By Dolores Quintana
Until May 31, eligible homeowners in select cities in the Bay Area and Southern California can apply for a seismic retrofit grant of up to $13,000. The Earthquake Soft-Story (ESS) pilot program, part of the California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP), offers these funds to qualified homeowners in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Los Angeles, and Pasadena. The grant will help these homeowners strengthen their soft-story homes against earthquake damage, which may be prone to partial or full collapse during an earthquake.
The CRMP, established by the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), offers incentive programs to help Californians strengthen their houses against earthquake damage. The Earthquake Soft-Story pilot program is a new addition to this program, and is made possible by a Hazard Mitigation Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that is being administered by the Cal OES.
Eligible homeowners can apply for retrofit funding at www.EarthquakeSoftStory.com between April 25 and May 31, 2023. They can also find program information, select from a list of FEMA-trained, California-licensed general contractors, and view the full list of eligible ZIP Codes here.
Homeowners in 82 ZIP Codes are eligible for these grants, and approximately 375 grants of up to $13,000 each will be awarded depending on the type of house and the appropriate retrofit. Participating homeowners will be selected through a random drawing and notified via email if they have been selected or if they have been placed on the waitlist after registration closes.
Making a soft-story home more resistant to earthquake damage can be as straightforward as having a licensed contractor install new plywood sheathing or steel reinforcements on each side of the garage door and bracing the perimeter walls of the garage. Licensed contractors interested in participating can find all the resources they need to get started in the program on the CRMP website. CRMP offers free FEMA training, free marketing materials, and free listings to general contractors with a valid California license (Type A or B).
The Earthquake Soft-Story program is part of the CRMP, which was established in 2011 to help Californians strengthen their homes against damage from earthquakes. The program is a joint powers authority created by the California Earthquake Authority and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Another program offered by the CRMP is the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program, which offers up to $3,000 to help California homeowners retrofit their houses to reduce potential damage from earthquakes.
