Qualified small business landscape professionals are now eligible for significant discounts on purchases of zero-emission equipment such as lawn mowers, blowers, and edgers. State-issued vouchers are available to cover 70% of the manufacturer suggested retail price for over 450 electric landscaping products including batteries and chargers. Landscapers can redeem vouchers at the point of sale at approved dealers throughout California including over 20 San Diego locations.
The California Air Resources Board created the Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project (CORE) to promote the transition to zero-emission equipment across multiple categories. CORE allocated more than $27 million specifically to support professional landscape services operated by small businesses or sole proprietors.
Eligibility for vouchers requires professional landscapers have principal operations in California; be independently owned and operated; and have 100 or fewer employees and average annual gross receipts of $15 million or less over the previous three years.
Coronado residents are encouraged to reach out to local landscapers to share details of this voucher program and ensure they understand the steps and urgency to participate.
To claim the voucher, landscapers will need to provide a California issued photo driver’s license or identification card and at least one of the following supporting documents: C-27-Landscape Contractors License Number; Entity number from the California Secretary of State; copy of a current and valid business license; or a business card and dealer signed statement that the equipment is to be used for professional landscaping services in California.
Participation in the CORE voucher purchase program requires the following four steps:
- Select eligible landscaping equipment from the equipment catalog at https://californiacore.org/equipmentcatalog/.
- Select an approved equipment dealer from the list at https://californiacore.org/dealerlist/.
- Submit the online “contact dealer” form for the selected dealer with voucher request information at https://californiacore.org/dealerlist/.
- Purchase the CORE-discounted equipment from the selected dealer.
Voucher requests are filled on a first-come, first-served basis for a limited time so local landscapers are encouraged to redeem vouchers as soon as possible.
Effective 2021, Coronado banned gas-powered leaf blowers but was unable to provide financial support for landscapers to transition their equipment. The state run CORE program now offers significant funding to encourage landscapers to switch to electric equipment that reduces the noises and air pollution of gas powered tools.
Additional information on the California CORE voucher program is available at http://californiacore.org under the Participate/Professional Landscape tab and by selecting the role of “equipment user.”
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