The Earthquake Brace+Bolt (EBB) seismic retrofit grants are now accessible to numerous homeowners in California, including those residing in Cathedral City and other communities within the Coachella Valley. The initiative offers up to $3,000 in aid to bolster properties against potential earthquake damage.
As stated in a Facebook post by the City of Cathedral City, approximately 300 new zip codes have been incorporated into the program, escalating the total number of included zip codes to 815. Among these is the 92234 zip code, one of four belonging to Cathedral City. The opportunity to apply for an EBB grant arises once annually, with this year's application window closing on February 21, 2024.
The EBB grant program website reveals that eligible zip codes extend throughout the Coachella Valley—encompassing Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Palm Desert, Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage—with some having been recently added. The website provides a zip code lookup feature allowing prospective applicants to verify their area's eligibility prior to submitting an application.
With an EBB seismic retrofit, as per the EBB grant program website, a home's foundation is securely bolted to its frame. If cripple walls exist—a crawl space beneath the house—they are reinforced with plywood. In case of an earthquake occurrence, this bolting and bracing technique helps prevent a house from being dislodged from its foundation.
The EBB grant program website also specifies that the registration period for the EBB program opens annually for a limited span of 30 days. To qualify for a $3,000 seismic retrofit grant: applicants must reside in the house set for retrofitting; the home must be situated within an eligible zip code; it should have been constructed before 1980; it needs to have a raised foundation or cripple walls; and no previous brace and bolt retrofit should have been performed on it. Households meeting certain income criteria may be eligible for additional grants of up to $7,000.
The EBB grant program website also informs that the EBB grant program was established in 2013 and is managed by the California Residential Mitigation Program. This is a collaborative initiative between the California Earthquake Authority and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The program was initiated in 2013 with the objective of enhancing the safety of approximately 1.2 million Californian houses built prior to 1980.