A Sonoma County program that helps homeowners pay for improvements that utilize energy and water more efficiently and hardens buildings against wildfires and earthquakes, is being phased out amid new federal requirements.
The Sonoma County Energy Independence Program, which allows residential property owners to finance improvements over a term of 10 or 20 years with no upfront costs and repay with interest through property tax assessments, is ending on March 1, 2026. The commercial property portion of SCEIP, which is not subject to new federal rules, will continue operating.
“We have looked at the numbers and, unfortunately, implementing the new residential requirements would be fiscally unsustainable,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. “Accordingly, we will need to phase out the residential portion of SCEIP and focus on the commercial side.”…