California offering up to $13,000 to retrofit 'soft-story' homes in Berkeley, Oakland, SF
Homeowners in Oakland, San Francisco and Berkeley whose homes include a living space above a garage, known as a "soft-story," may be eligible for thousands of dollars to retrofit the structure as part of a pilot program funded by the federal government.
The Earthquake Soft Story (ESS) pilot grant program provides eligible California homeowners up to $13,000 toward a seismic retrofit for homes with soft stories. The program is managed by the California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP) and funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program.
An ESS retrofit would strengthen the garage walls and structure to help prevent the living space over the garage from collapsing into the garage during an earthquake.
The pilot program is limited to certain zip codes in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Pasadena and Los Angeles. Homes in the program area need to have been built prior to 2000.
Homeowners can learn more about the ESS Program and register for a grant at the CRMP website.