City to Offer Green Living Rebates

Hermosa Beach residents and businesses making environmentally friendly changes to their homes or investing in "green" vehicles will be eligible for rebates starting Thursday, Mayor Howard Fishman said in a statement Monday.

The city to residents as part of an effort to reduce Hermosa’s carbon footprint, protect the health of residents and the local environment and help the community save money, the statement said.

For example, residents or businesses making green upgrades to their properties could save on the city’s building and planning permit fees—and an example of a green upgrade could be a wind installation on the property (which would be eligible for $3,025 in savings, according to the city.) 

"We recognize that adopting the latest in green technology can be expensive, and we hope that these incentives make it a more affordable proposition for the community and ultimately save them money," Fishman said. "As a city, we have made a commitment to protect our environment, and we are constantly looking for ways to fulfill that mission. We hope that these incentives encourage folks to go green next time they build or upgrade their home or car."

As stated by the city, the green building, energy and vehicle rebates include:

• 50 percent rebate on building permit fees for Energy Upgrade California qualifying improvements;
• 50 percent reduction in building permit fees for city-approved energy efficiency upgrades or for buildings obtaining LEED or Build-It-Green certification;
• Waiving of building permit fees for solar panel installations;
• Waiving of building permit fees for small wind energy systems;
• Waiving of permit fees for installation of fueling/recharging station for 100 percent alternative fuel vehicles;
• Waiving of preferential parking district permit fees for 100 percent electric or compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles;
• Waiving of city silver parking meter fees for 100 percent electric or CNG vehicles.

Many of the rebates offered by the city are in addition to state and county programs that also offer rebates or incentives for green improvements. A full list of those extra rebates can be found online at www.sbesc.com.

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