Beverly Hills Municipal Code Art. 1 General Provisions

The purpose of this chapter is to promote public safety and welfare by reducing the risk of death or injury that may result from the effects of earthquakes on existing unreinforced masonry bearing wall buildings. The provisions of this chapter are minimum standards for structural seismic resistance and established primarily to reduce the risk of loss of life or injury. Compliance with this chapter will not necessarily prevent loss of life or injury nor necessarily prevent earthquake damage to rehabilitated buildings. (Ord. 92-O-2153, eff. 10-23-1992)

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions, in addition to those found in the Building Code shall govern the construction of this chapter:

BEARING WALL: Any wall supporting a floor or roof where the total superimposed load exceeds one hundred (100) pounds per linear foot, and any unreinforced masonry wall over six feet (6') in height supporting any weight including its own weight.

BEVERLY HILLS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE: The Beverly Hills Administrative Code provisions set forth in chapter 1, article 1 of this title.

BUILDING: Any structure, or contiguous or interconnected structures, intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy. For the purpose of the structural analysis pursuant to subsection 9-5-202A of this chapter, "building" shall also mean an entire structure or a portion thereof which will respond to seismic forces as a unit.

CIVIL ENGINEER OR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER: A civil or professional engineer licensed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the California Business and Professions Code.

CROSSWALL: A wood framed wall sheathed with any of the materials specified in technical appendix tables TA-9-5-3 or TA-9-5-4.

ESSENTIAL BUILDINGS OR FACILITIES: Those structures or buildings which, in the opinion of the Director of Building and Safety, must be safe and usable after an earthquake for emergency purposes in order to protect the health and safety of the general public. Such facilities shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

A. Hospitals and other medical facilities having surgery or emergency treatment areas.

B. Fire and police stations.

C. Municipal government disaster operation and communications centers.

EXTERNAL HAZARD: An object attached to or forming the exterior facade of a building which may fall onto pedestrians or occupants of adjacent buildings. Examples of this type of hazard include, but are not limited to, the following:

A. Nonstructural exterior wall panels, such as those composed of masonry infill or decorative precast concrete.

B. Parapets.

C. Marquees, awnings or other rooflike projections from a building.

D. Masonry or stone wall veneers and wall ornamentations, including cornices or other decorative appendages.

E. Masonry chimneys.

F. Tile roofs.

G. Wall signs and exterior lighting fixtures hung from building exteriors.

H. Fire escapes or balconies.

HAZARDOUS BUILDINGS OR FACILITIES: Structures housing, supporting or containing sufficient quantities of toxic or explosive substances to be dangerous, in the opinion of the city of Beverly Hills fire chief, to the safety of the general public if released.

HIGH RISK BUILDING: Any nonessential building having an occupant load of one hundred (100) occupants or more except that a high risk building shall not include the following:

A. Any building having exterior walls braced with masonry walls or wood frame crosswalls which are spaced less than forty feet (40') apart in each story and which are full story height with a minimum length of one and one-half (11/2) times the story height, or

B. Any building used for its intended purpose, as determined by the director of building and safety, for less than twenty (20) hours per week.

LOW RISK BUILDING: Any nonessential building having an occupant load of less than twenty (20) occupants.

MEDIUM RISK BUILDING: Any building, not classified as a high risk, hazardous or essential building as defined in this section, having an occupant load of twenty (20) occupants or more.

OCCUPANT LOAD: The total occupant load of a building as determined by using the provisions set forth in section 3302(a) of the uniform building code or the actual maximum number of occupants in that building as determined by the director of building and safety if that number is less than seventy five percent (75%) of the number determined by using the building code.

POINTING: The partial reconstruction of the bed joints of an unreinforced masonry wall.

UNIFORM BUILDING CODE: The uniform building code as adopted and amended by the city of Beverly Hills in this title.

UNREINFORCED MASONRY BEARING WALL BUILDING: A building that contains unreinforced masonry bearing walls.

UNREINFORCED MASONRY WALL: A masonry wall in which the area of reinforcing steel is less than twenty five percent (25%) of the minimum required by the uniform building code for reinforced masonry and is constructed wholly or partially with any of the following materials:

A. Unreinforced brick masonry.

B. Unreinforced concrete masonry.

C. Hollow clay tile.

D. Adobe or unburned clay masonry.

WALL CLASSES: Existing unreinforced masonry walls which are classified by their shear strength, quality of construction and state of repair, deterioration and weathering. (Ord. 92-O-2153, eff. 10-23-1992; amd. Ord. 16-O-2719, eff. 1-20-2017)

A. All buildings having at least one reinforced masonry bearing wall shall comply with the requirements of this chapter except:

1. Detached one- or two-family dwellings and apartment houses containing less than five (5) dwelling units and used solely for residential purposes.

2. School buildings inspected for building safety purposes by the state of California.

3. Historic buildings or structures which have been listed on the state or national historic building register, or have received a rating of 4E or better by the Beverly Hills historic resources survey and which are seismically strengthened according to the provisions of part 8 of title 24 of the California code of regulations (state historical building code). Buildings not already strengthened according to the provisions of the state historical building code shall be subject to the requirements of this chapter.

B. Nothing in this chapter shall apply to buildings which meet the requirements of, or have been structurally upgraded in substantial accordance with, either: 1) division 88 of article 1 of chapter 9 of the Los Angeles City municipal code, or 2) the 1973, or later, edition of the uniform building code. The determination regarding whether a building meets such requirements shall be made by the director of building and safety.

C. Design strengthening methods other than those required by this chapter, may be accepted by the director of building and safety under the criteria set forth in subsection 9-1-105M of this title.

D. This chapter does not require alteration of existing electrical, plumbing, mechanical or fire safety systems unless necessary to comply with other requirements of this chapter. (Ord. 92-O-2153, eff. 10-23-1992; amd. Ord. 16-O-2719, eff. 1-20-2017)

Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the uniform building code as adopted and modified by the city of Beverly Hills, shall apply to all construction and alterations performed pursuant to this chapter. (Ord. 92-O-2153, eff. 10-23-1992)

This chapter shall not apply to "essential facilities" and "hazardous facilities" as defined in this chapter. Such facilities shall meet the uniform building code requirements for new construction by January 1, 1995. (Ord. 92-O-2153, eff. 10-23-1992)