Latest news with #CaliforniaResidentialMitigationProgram
San Francisco Chronicle
15-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
California earthquake retrofit funding canceled by feds, affecting thousands of families
The federal government cancelled more than $30 million in grant funding for seismic retrofits slated to help thousands of California families who live in buildings that could collapse in a major earthquake. The retrofit program was set to open applications soon to eligible building owners across 11 California cities including San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency cancelled the grants last month. 'It's absolutely devastating,' said Stephanie Stephens, mitigation director at the California Residential Mitigation Program, which would have administered the grant. 'That's thousands of individuals that are going to be less safe when the next Big One comes.' The grants were among the more than $3 billion in cancelled Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grants, a program to fund natural disaster mitigation projects nationwide. FEMA slashed the funding on April 5, calling former President Joe Biden's BRIC program 'wasteful and ineffective' and 'more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters.' About $870 million of the cancelled funding was slated for California initiatives, according to the state's Office of Emergency Services. The projects included the retrofits, a $50 million coastal resilience project at the Port of San Francisco, $50 million for flood adaptation in Oakland and Alameda and $2.5 million to build levees in Grayson and Walnut Creek. 'This decision will have severe consequences for local communities that were counting on funds to reduce the impact of natural disasters,' Rhodesia Ransom (D-Stockton) said at a state Assembly Emergency Management Committee meeting Monday. Ransom has introduced a joint resolution to urge FEMA to reinstate the funding, noting that the cancelled grants also jeopardized hundreds of millions of dollars in local, state and private sector matching funds. The retrofit program, which is overseen by the California Earthquake Authority and the California Office of Emergency Services, would have used the BRIC grants to speed the implementation of retrofits that experts say are essential but that can be costly for landlords. Between 750 and 1,500 multi-family buildings, containing five to ten housing units each, could have been retrofitted using the grant money, Stephens estimated. It would have targeted a building type known to be especially vulnerable in a major earthquake: soft story buildings. That generally refers to wood-frame buildings constructed before 1990, where residential units are stacked above a 'soft' first story — often a parking garage, open storage unit or commercial space. A major earthquake can cause those weak first floors to collapse, toppling or trapping the residential units above them. Soft story buildings made up close to half of the 16,000 housing units in San Francisco that were left uninhabitable immediately after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Seismic retrofits can prevent collapse on that scale — but can be expensive. Though CRMP has a separate grant program to support retrofits of soft story single-family homes, it does not include multi-family soft stories. Establishing a multi-family retrofit program seemed like 'a natural next step,' Stephens said. 'There was no statewide seismic retrofit funding source for multi-family buildings — we saw the need.' Many California cities have passed ordinances mandating soft story retrofits for both single- and multi-family buildings, but the high cost of making the seismic upgrades can make compliance challenging, Stephens said. The BRIC grants were intended to help landlords make the potentially life-saving alterations more quickly. The program would have been open to owners of five- to ten-unit buildings in eleven cities with mandatory ordinances: Beverly Hills, Burbank, Culver City, Los Angeles, Oakland, Pasadena, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica, Torrance and West Hollywood. CRMP was planning to prioritize applications from buildings in low-income neighborhoods, Stephens said. Participating landlords would have been eligible to be reimbursed up to $7,000 for design and engineering fees and then up to about $4,200 per unit, for a maximum of about $50,000 per building. That would have covered a significant chunk of owners' costs, because retrofitting a multi-family soft-story building can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000, Stephens said. CRMP had been reimbursed for about $7 million of the planned $40 million award and had finished the program development phase, Stephens said. With the rest of the funding pulled, the program can't move forward. 'There will be $33 million in funding that we will never get to see,' Stephens said. Without the grant, eligible building owners will still be required to make the retrofits to comply with mandatory city ordinances, but they'll have to foot more of the bill. In some cities, including Oakland, landlords could pass on most of the cost of retrofits to tenants, because retrofits can be counted as capital improvements. 'We learned during our outreach efforts that many building owners were struggling to afford these costly retrofits, and were requesting extensions or did not meet their ordinance's deadline to complete their retrofits due to lack of funding,' Stephens said in a statement. The vast majority of San Francisco's nearly 5,000 soft-story buildings — about 94% — have been retrofitted in compliance with the city's mandatory ordinance, according to Laurel Mathews, a senior earthquake resilience analyst for the city. The ordinance went into effect in 2013 and its deadline was in 2021. Oakland passed its own mandatory soft story retrofit ordinance in 2019. At least 24,000 residential units, or about 11% of the city's rental stock, are located in soft-story buildings, according to the city. A similar ordinance in San Jose will go into effect next year, after the city council approved a one-year delay in March. San Jose has about 3,500 soft-story buildings containing about 25,000 housing units, including 15,000 rent stabilized units, according to its legislation. CRMP's two other retrofit programs, which fund upgrades for soft story single-family homes and for homes with raised foundations or crawl spaces, seem safe for now, Stephens said. Those programs are also supported by FEMA grants, but the funds come through the agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and have not been terminated, Stephens said. Stephens said CRMP is being 'proactive' and working with CalOES to look for other ways to support multi-family soft story retrofits. But so far, she said, they have yet to pin down an alternative funding source for the important upgrades.
CBS News
25-03-2025
- General
- CBS News
San Leandro provides retrofitting workshops for local homeowners
Homeowners in the East Bay are getting a chance to learn how they can do retrofitting work on their residence themselves while taking advantage of state grants available to help cover the cost of retrofitting their home against earthquakes. San Leandro resident Cody Drake is in the beginning stages of strengthening his home. The Hayward fault runs parallel to the city of San Leandro, where he and his wife feel the earth shift from time to time. "I heard some stuff in the house creaking. I knew what it was," said Drake. The threat of major wildfires and earthquakes has homeowners searching for ways to better protect themselves. He's been inspecting the foundation of his house, zeroing in on what needs to be addressed. "They didn't attach any bolts here to keep it from moving around. So I'm going to put a bolt through here and a bolt through there," explained Drake. Like many homeowners, Drake can't freely spend tens of thousands of dollars on seismically retrofitting his property. "I found that there was this grant program available," said Drake. He did not receive any funding when he initially applied a couple years ago, but his persistence paid off. Drake will receive a total of $16,000 for an Earthquake Bolt and Brace project and an Earthquake Soft Story project through the California Residential Mitigation Program and the Federal Emergency Management Agency . "It's gonna be a lot of work, especially for a big guy like me, getting in those small crawl spaces," said Drake. A city-run workshop in the East Bay to strengthen and seismically retrofit their homes is a way for homeowners to do the work themselves, instead of hiring contractors. To give homeowners the knowledge to do it themselves, Chief Building Official Michael Jeffery teaches "home strengthening" workshops. Some homeowners will hire contractors, while others will be equipped to do it themselves after completing the course. "The fact they'll be armed with knowledge will definitely make the contractor sharpen his pencil," said Jeffery. "The class gives a lot of insight into the into how the process works," said Drake. Jeffery and his staff continue to devote resources into the $30 dollar workshops because they believe it's good for the homeowner, and the larger community. "The less people we displace the less burden on emergency services and Red Cross. Across the board, it's a win win," said Jeffery. Drake is close to completing the course, and ready to put in the work. "It's sweat equity to improve the property value, and make us safer," said Drake. Coupled with classes and grants to help pay for costs, it's a no-brainer for Drake and other homeowners to make their homes safer ahead of the next big quake. Even non-San Leandro residents can register and participate in the workshops. While the latest round of workshops was held earlier in March, another set of classes are scheduled to take place in July. More information will be made available on the San Leandro city government website . Interested homeowners can also see if they qualify for grants. Homeowners can visit for more information before visiting to see if they qualify. Homeowners can register at CRMP/ESS Registration before the opportunity runs out.
Associated Press
12-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Earthquake Brace + Bolt Grants Now Available to More Eligible California Homeowners
Seismic-retrofit program offers grants of up to $3K to help improve safety of older homes in more than 1,100 ZIP Codes SACRAMENTO, CA, February 12, 2025 (EZ Newswire) -- The 2025 Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant application window is open, according to an announcement today by the California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP). The California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP) announces the opening of their Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant application window for 2025. California homeowners are now eligible to apply for Earthquake Brace + Bolt ( EBB) seismic retrofit grants, to help make their home less vulnerable to earthquake damage. This year, 303 new ZIP Codes have been added, making the total number of eligible ZIP Codes 1,118. Opening January 15, 2025, and continuing through, March 26, 2025, eligible homeowners can apply for up to $3,000 in seismic retrofit grants at More than $20 million in grant funding will be available to help offset the cost of seismic retrofits that bolt older houses to their foundations and brace the crawl space walls, when present, making them less vulnerable to earthquake damage. Since the 2013 EBB program launch, more than 28,500 California homeowners have received grant assistance for strengthening their homes against earthquake damage. The EBB grant program is administered by the California Residential Mitigation Program ( CRMP), a Joint Powers Authority between the California Earthquake Authority ( CEA) and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services ( Cal OES). 'Strengthening homes through the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program not only reduces the risk of costly damages but also gives homeowners peace of mind knowing their properties are better prepared to withstand seismic events,' said Janiele Maffei, Chief Mitigation Officer, California Earthquake Authority. 'By striving for more applications this year, we are working to make a significant impact in protecting California homes and families from the devastating effects of earthquakes.' Income-eligible homeowners may also qualify for supplemental grants. Up to $7,000 in additional grant funds are available for households with an annual income at or below $89,040, which may provide up to 100% of the funds needed to cover a seismic retrofit. Grants are contingent upon meeting eligibility requirements and available funds. 'Earthquake retrofits are a cornerstone of creating a safer and more resilient California. By securing older homes with proven seismic strengthening measures, we not only protect families and their investments but also reduce the potential strain on communities during a major earthquake,' said Tom Welsh, Chief Executive Officer of the California Earthquake Authority. 'Every home retrofit brings us closer to a more resilient California.' Beginning January 15 through March 26, 2025, eligible homeowners can apply for a retrofit grant at where they can also find detailed program information, select a trained California-licensed general contractor and view the full list of ZIP Codes and program areas. New EBB program ZIP Codes include areas in and around Los Angeles County, Riverside and San Diego. About Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) Established by the California Residential Mitigation Program, EBB offers up to $3,000 to help California homeowners retrofit their house to reduce potential damage from earthquakes. A residential seismic retrofit makes a house more resistant to earthquake activity, such as ground shaking and soil failure, by bolting the house to its foundation and adding bracing around the perimeter of the crawl space. For more information, including an online media kit, please visit About the California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP) CRMP was established in 2011 to help Californians strengthen their homes against damage from earthquakes. CRMP is a joint powers authority created by the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). For more information, please visit: .
