Beverly Hills Municipal Code Art. 2 Required Strengthening of Unreinforced Masonry Bearing Wall Buildings;…

A. The director of building and safety shall categorize each building within the scope of this chapter in one of the rating classifications set forth in section 9-5-301, table 9-5-1 of this chapter. The total occupant load of the entire building shall be used to determine the rating classification except that for purposes of this chapter, portions of buildings constructed to act independently when resisting seismic forces, and having exits pursuant to section 3303 of the uniform Building Code with independent travel paths, may be placed in separate rating classification. (Ord. 92-O-2153, eff. 10-23-1992)

A. Structural Analysis: The owner of each building within the scope of this chapter shall, upon service of a notice as provided in section 9-5-203 of this article, and within the time limits set forth in this section, cause a structural analysis to be made of the building by a California state licensed engineer or California state licensed architect and, if the building does not comply with the minimum requirements of this chapter, the owner shall cause it to be structurally altered to conform to such standards or shall cause the building to be demolished. All analyses and structural alterations for seismic resistance shall be performed in substantial compliance with the standards set forth in the "Technical Appendix: Required Strengthening Of Unreinforced Masonry Bearing Wall Buildings", adopted by the city council and incorporated herein by reference. The technical appendix shall be kept on file in the office of the department of building and safety and shall be made available to the public.

1. The owner of a building within the scope of this chapter shall comply with the requirements set forth above by submitting a structural analysis, or plans for demolition to the director of building and safety within the stated time limits set forth in this subsection A1. These time limits shall begin to run from the date the notice is served in accordance with section 9-5-203 of this article.

The owner shall submit an analysis or plans for demolition or wall anchors that fall within one of the following categories:

a. Within two hundred seventy (270) days after service of the notice, the owner of a building within the scope of this chapter shall submit a structural analysis which shall demonstrate that the building meets the minimum requirements of this chapter or is exempt from this chapter; or

b. Within two hundred seventy (270) days after service of the notice, the owner of a building within the scope of this chapter shall submit a structural analysis and plans for structural alterations of the building to comply with this chapter; or

c. Within two hundred seventy (270) days after service of the notice, the owner of a building within the scope of this chapter shall submit plans for the demolition of the building.

d. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection A1d, within one hundred eighty (180) days after service of the notice, the owner of a building within the scope of this chapter shall submit plans for the installation of wall anchors in accordance with the requirements specified in technical appendix section TA-9-5-6. This subsection A1d shall not apply to any building designated in rating classification I or any building designated in rating classification II which has an occupant load of three hundred (300) or more.

2. Each structural analysis prepared pursuant to this chapter shall be reviewed by the director of building and safety, or his designee, who shall have the sole discretion to determine the adequacy of the analysis. The director shall determine that an analysis is adequate if the director determines that the analysis meets the purposes and requirements of this chapter. The city may hire independent consultants to assist with the review of these analyses. If the director of building and safety determines that the submitted report is inadequate, the specified inadequacies shall be immediately corrected by the property owner's engineer or architect to the satisfaction of the director of building and safety. In no case shall such corrections extend the time for compliance with the schedule set forth in subsection A1 of this section and table 9-5-2, section 9-5-301 of this chapter.

3. After plans submitted pursuant to subsection A1b, A1c or A1d of this section are approved by the director of building and safety, the owner shall:

a. Give notice by certified mail within thirty (30) days to all adjacent property owners having a common boundary with the subject building, as shown on the last equalized assessment role, that the subject unreinforced masonry bearing wall building has been determined to be within the scope of this chapter; and submit proof of delivery of such notice within fifteen (15) days after compliance with this requirement;

b. Submit a construction management plan satisfactory to the director of building and safety for all structural alterations, demolitions and reconstructions; and

c. Obtain a building permit and thereafter commence and complete the required construction or demolition within the time limits set forth in table 9-5-2, section 9-5-301 of this chapter.

4. If an owner has installed wall anchors pursuant to subsection A1d of this section, the owner shall thereafter comply with subsection A1b or A1c of this section and the time limits contained in this subsection A4 shall apply. However, this subsection A4 shall not apply to any building designated in rating classification I and any building designated in rating classification II which has an occupant load of three hundred (300) or more.

a. Within one year and two hundred seventy (270) days from the service of the notice, the owner shall submit plans for either structural alterations pursuant to subsection A1b of this section or demolition pursuant to subsection A1c of this section;

b. The building permit must be obtained within two (2) years from the date of service of the notice;

c. All structural alterations or demolition shall begin within one hundred eighty (180) days after issuance of the building permit; and

d. Completion of all work must be made within four (4) years from the date of service of the notice.

5. Documentation that a building qualifies for an exemption from this chapter shall be submitted to the director of building and safety before a building may be relieved of the requirements of this chapter pursuant to this section. The director of building and safety may require additional tests, inspections or reports to substantiate the claim of exemption.

B. Information Required On Plans For Structural Alterations: The following construction information shall be included in the plans for structural alterations prepared pursuant to subsection A1b of this section:

1. A description of the building including:

a. The street address,

b. The types of uses within the building, with separate uses that generate different occupant loads indicated on a plan showing the square footage of each different use,

c. The date of original construction, if known, and the date, if known, of any subsequent construction, and

d. The name and address of the original designer and contractor, if known, and the name and address of the designer and contractor, if known, for any subsequent additions or substantial structural alterations;

2. Accurately dimensioned floor and roof plans showing existing walls and the size and spacing of floor and roof framing members and sheathing materials. The plans shall indicate all existing and new crosswalls and their materials of construction. The location of the crosswalls and their openings shall be fully dimensioned or drawn to scale on the plans;

3. Accurately dimensioned wall elevations showing openings, piers, wall classes, thicknesses, heights, wall shear test locations, and cracks or damaged portions requiring repairs;

4. The general condition of the mortar joints and, if necessary, where the joints require pointing;

5. Where the exterior face is veneer, the type of veneer, its thickness, bonding and ties, if any, to the structural wall masonry;

6. The type of interior wall and ceiling surfaces;

7. The extent and type of existing wall anchorage to floors and roof when used in the design;

8. The extent and type of external hazard corrections, including corrections to parapets, which were previously performed, if any;

9. Repair details, if any, of cracked or damaged unreinforced masonry walls required to resist forces specified in this chapter;

10. The design method used;

11. All crosswalls and shear walls; and

12. All other plans, sections and details necessary to define required retrofit construction specified in this chapter.

C. Historic Structure Review: Prior to the issuance of a demolition or building permit for work required pursuant to this chapter, the owner of a historic building or structure which has been listed on the state or national historic building register, or has received a rating of 4E or better by the Beverly Hills historic resources survey, must provide photographs and documentation of the subject building to the architectural commission sufficient to enable the architectural commission to determine the historical or cultural significance of the subject building. (Ord. 92-O-2153, eff. 10-23-1992)

A. Service Of Notice:

1. The director of building and safety shall issue a notice as provided in this section to the owner of each building within the scope of this chapter. The notice shall be in writing and shall be served either personally or by certified or registered mail upon the owner as shown on the last equalized assessment roll. Service may also be made upon the person, if any, in apparent control of the building.

B. Priority Of Service Of Notice: In order to avoid construction conflicts, the notices which trigger the time limits provided in this article shall be mailed to property owners in phases as set forth in table 9-5-3, section 9-5-301 of this chapter. The owners of the buildings housing the largest occupant loads shall be served first. The minimum time period prior to the service of the notice shall be measured from the effective date of the initial ordinance establishing this chapter. The director of building and safety may, upon receipt of a written request from an owner, notify such owner of the need to bring the building into compliance with this chapter prior to the normal service date for such building set forth in this chapter provided that the director determines that the notice will not lead to construction conflicts.

C. Contents Of Notice: The notice shall specify that the building has been determined by the director of building and safety to be within the scope of this chapter and, therefore, is required to meet the minimum seismic standards of this chapter. The notice shall specify the rating classification of the building and shall be accompanied by a copy of section 9-5-202 of this article, which sets forth the owner's alternatives and time limits for compliance.

D. Recordation: At the time that the director of building and safety determines that the structural analysis of a building within the scope of this chapter is adequate and the building requires seismic safety renovations, the director shall record in the office of the Los Angeles County recorder a certificate stating that the subject building is within the scope of this chapter and requires seismic safety renovations. The certificate shall also state that the owner thereof has been notified of the need to structurally analyze the building and structurally alter or demolish the building if compliance with this chapter has not been demonstrated.

Once the building has been structurally altered so that it is capable of resisting minimum seismic forces as set forth in this chapter, or has been demolished, the director of building and safety shall record in the office of the Los Angeles County recorder a certificate indicating that the subject building is no longer classified within the scope of this chapter.

E. Appeals:

1. The owner or person in charge or control of the building may appeal the director of building and safety's decisions or determinations relative to the application and interpretation of this chapter to the seismic safety appeals board as established by section 2-2-1301 of this code.

2. Such appeal shall be filed with the board within sixty (60) days from the service date of the notice or within sixty (60) days of the date of the subject decision. The appeal shall contain a statement of facts on which the appeal is based sufficient to enable the board to understand the nature of the controversy, the basis of the appeal and the relief requested.

3. Upon receipt of such appeal, the board shall, by United States mail, notify adjacent property owners having a common boundary line with the subject building. Such property owners shall be given a period of ten (10) days from the date the notice was mailed to comment on the appeal, in writing, to the board.

4. The board shall prepare a written decision regarding the appeal stating all determinations and findings thereof in a clear and concise manner.

F. Enforcement: If the owner, or person in charge or control of a building fails to comply with any requirement of this chapter within any of the time limits set forth in subsection 9-5-202A of this article, the director of building and safety shall verify that the record owner of the building has been properly served with notice of the applicability of this chapter. If the notice has been property served on the record owner, then the director of building and safety may order that the entire building be vacated and that the building remain vacated until compliance with this chapter has been achieved. If compliance with this chapter has not been accomplished within ninety (90) days after the date that the building has been ordered vacated, or such additional time as may be granted by the seismic safety appeals board, the director of building and safety may order its demolition in accordance with the provisions for abatement of a nuisance contained in title 5, chapter 7 of this code. (Ord. 92-O-2153, eff. 10-23-1992; amd. Ord. 99-O-2330, eff. 8-6-1999)

A. Except as provided in subsection C of this section, the owners of all nonresidential buildings which are altered or reconstructed during the process of complying with the seismic safety requirements set forth in this chapter shall be entitled to a waiver of the following requirements and fees provided that there is no change in the use of such building that would require provision of additional parking pursuant to this code:

1. Development plan review requirements of title 10, chapter 3, article 31 of this code;

2. Park and recreational facilities tax requirements pursuant to title 3, chapter 1, article 7 of this code;

3. Street and alley dedication and improvement requirements pursuant to title 10, chapter 6 of this code; and

4. Fine arts ornamentation requirements pursuant to title 3, chapter 1, article 8 of this code.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, and as an incentive to maintain the existing scale of buildings within the city, the following provisions shall apply to those buildings that are remodeled or reconstructed at the same time that seismic safety measures are constructed pursuant to this chapter:

1. If the remodeled or reconstructed building is located within the minimum existing setback and the maximum existing height of the existing building, and the remodeled or reconstructed building does not have a greater floor area than the existing building, then the owner shall receive an exemption from any provision contained in title 10, chapter 3 of this code that would require the provision of additional parking or compliance with zoning requirements that were not applicable to the existing building because the zoning requirements were adopted after construction of the existing building provided, however, that the owner shall not be exempt from the architectural review requirements and procedures of title 10, chapter 3, article 30 of this code.

2. If the remodeled or reconstructed building includes an addition to the existing building that does not exceed seven hundred (700) square feet in area or thirty five feet (35') in height, and the remodeled or reconstructed building does not otherwise exceed the minimum existing setback and maximum existing height of the existing building and does not otherwise have a greater floor area than the existing building, then the owner shall be exempted from any provision of this code that would require additional parking. However, in order to receive such exemption, the owner must pay a fee for the cost of construction of additional off street parking spaces at a rate to be calculated pursuant to subsection F of this section.

3. If the remodeled or reconstructed building includes an addition to the existing building that exceeds seven hundred (700) square feet in area, but the total floor area ratio of the remodeled or reconstructed building does not exceed 1.33, and the height of the addition does not exceed thirty five feet (35'), then the owner shall be exempted from any provision of this code that would require provision of additional parking. However, in order to receive such exemption, the owner must pay a fee for the cost of construction for additional parking spaces to be calculated pursuant to subsection F of this section.

C. The provisions of subsections A and B of this section shall not be applicable to owners of nonresidential buildings if remodeling or renovation that accompanies seismic safety measures includes an addition to the building that exceeds seven hundred (700) square feet in area and the total floor area ratio of the remodeled or reconstructed building exceeds 1.33 or the height of the addition exceeds thirty five feet (35').

D. The provisions of subsections A and B of this section shall not be applicable to a building unless, before remodeling, reconstruction, or demolition, the owner of the building to be remodeled or reconstructed provides photographs and documentation showing the minimum existing setback and maximum existing height of the building. Additionally, if an owner elects to demolish the building pursuant to subsection 9-5-202A1c of this article, the owner must commence reconstruction within one year after demolition or the provisions of subsections A and B of this section shall not be applicable to the reconstruction of the building. Finally, the provisions of subsections A and B of this section shall not apply unless reconstruction is completed within two (2) years after demolition. In particular cases of special circumstances, the director of building and safety may grant an extension of these time limits.

E. Notwithstanding section 10-3-2732 of this code, if remodeling or reconstruction of a building altered pursuant to subsection B of this section results in the permanent removal of any existing on site parking spaces, the owner may pay an in-lieu fee for the cost of constructing an equivalent number parking spaces at a rate to be calculated pursuant to subsection F of this section.

F. For the purposes of this article, the construction cost for any additional or replacement parking spaces shall be established at five thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($5,250.00) per space for buildings remodeled or reconstructed pursuant to subsection B1 or B2 of this section. For buildings remodeled or reconstructed pursuant to subsection B3 of this section, the construction cost for additional or replacement parking spaces shall be established at nine thousand nine hundred dollars ($9,900.00) per space. Payment of said fees shall be made prior to the issuance of the building permit for structural alterations approved by the director of building and safety as provided in section 9-5-202 of this article. The foregoing construction cost shall be revised annually by the director of building and safety on July 1 of each year to reflect any change in the cost of construction from the previous year based on the engineering news record construction cost index for the Los Angeles area.

G. Building owners whose unreinforced masonry bearing wall buildings, as defined by section 9-5-102 of this chapter, were in existence on or after January 1, 1990, and who structurally upgraded their buildings in 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, shall be eligible for the incentive plan for nonresidential buildings as set forth in this section, provided that alterations or reconstructions are conducted within the schedule set forth in table 9-5-3, section 9-5-301 of this chapter, and provided that all requirements of this section that can be applied to previously completed alterations or reconstructions have been met to the satisfaction of the director of building and safety. (Ord. 92-O-2153, eff. 10-23-1992)

Once the director of building and safety determines that a building is within the scope of this chapter and the director determines that a structural analysis prepared pursuant to section 9-5-202 of this article is adequate, the building owner shall notify each tenant, incoming tenant and prospective buyer, in writing, that a structural analysis has been prepared as prescribed by this chapter. The notice shall include a description of the purpose of the analysis, and a statement that the analysis is available for inspection in the offices of the department of building and safety. The notice shall be sent within thirty (30) days after the date that the analysis is determined to be adequate by the director of building and safety. The owner shall deliver this notice to each incoming tenant before that tenant signs an agreement to occupy space in the owner's building. The owner shall deliver this notice to any prospective buyer of the building before that prospective buyer signs an agreement to buy the building. Proof of delivery of all notices shall be submitted within fifteen (15) days after compliance with this requirement.

This notice shall continue to be delivered pursuant to this section until a building is demolished, determined to be exempt from this chapter, or determined to be in compliance with all requirements of this chapter. (Ord. 92-O-2153, eff. 10-23-1992)