El Cerrito Municipal Code Ch. 16.32 Seismic Hazards Identification and Mitigation Program

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, adopted Oct. 19, 2009, amended Ch. 16.32 in its entirety, in effect repealing and reenacting said chapter to read as herein set out. The former Ch. 16.32, §§ 16.32.010—16.32.100, pertained to the seismic hazards identification program and derived from Ord. No. 97-7, Div. 3, 1997.

It is found that in the event of a strong or moderate local earthquake, loss of life or serious injury may result from damage to or collapse of buildings in the city. It is generally acknowledged that the city will experience earthquakes in the future due to its proximity to both the San Andreas and Hayward faults. The purpose of this chapter is to promote public safety by identifying those buildings in the city which exhibit structural deficiencies, and by accurately determining the severity and extent of those deficiencies in relation to their potential for causing loss of life or injury. The council finds it desirable to identify the hazards that these deficiencies may pose to occupants of buildings and pedestrians in the event of an earthquake. The building official has conducted a field survey to identify seismically hazardous buildings, including unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings and will conduct such a survey for multifamily residential soft story buildings as a second phase of a seismic hazards identification program that is consistent with the state Earthquake Protection Law, Health and Safety Code section 19000 et seq.

It is also the purpose of the chapter to protect the public health, safety and welfare by reducing the risk of death and injury resulting from the effects of earthquakes on URM buildings and multifamily residential soft story buildings constructed prior to the adoption and enforcement of building codes that required earthquake-resistant design.

The provisions of this chapter are intended as minimum standards for structural seismic resistance established primarily to reduce the risk of building damage, injury and loss of life. Compliance with these standards will not necessarily entirely prevent injury or loss of life or prevent earthquake damage to rehabilitated buildings. This chapter does not require alteration of existing electrical, plumbing, mechanical or fire safety systems unless they constitute a hazard to life or property.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

For the purpose of this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings:

"Bearing wall" means any wall supporting a floor or roof where the total superimposed load exceeds one hundred pounds per linear foot, or any unreinforced masonry wall supporting its own weight when over six feet in height.

"Building" for the purpose of determining occupant load, means any contiguous or interconnected structure; for the purpose of engineering evaluation, "building" means the entire structure or portion thereof which will respond to seismic forces as a unit.

"Civil or structural engineer" means a licensed civil or structural engineer registered by the state pursuant to the rules and regulations of Title 16, Chapter 5 of the California Administrative Code.

"Complete" or "completion" means compliance with the requirements of this chapter to the satisfaction and approval of the building official.

"High hazard building." Refer to Section 16.32.040.C.1.

"Medium hazard building." Refer to Section 16.32.040.C.2.

"Low hazard building." Refer to Section 16.32.040.C.3.

"Occupant load" means the occupant load for the entire structure as determined in accordance with the city's current California Building Code as adopted through this title, regardless of degree of actual use.

"Owner" means any person, agent, firm, corporation or other entity having legal or equitable interest in property.

"Soft story" means a wood-frame, multi-family apartment house constructed before January 1, 1978, where the ground floor portion of the wood frame structure contains parking or other similar open floor space that causes soft, weak, or open wall lines, and having one or more levels above the ground floor.

"Unreinforced masonry (URM) building" means any building constructed prior to the adoption of the city building code requiring earthquake resistant design of buildings that are constructed of unreinforced masonry wall construction and exhibit any of the following characteristics:

A. Exterior parapets or ornamentation that may fall.

B. Exterior walls that are not anchored to the floors or roof.

C. Lack of an effective system to resist seismic forces.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

A. Pursuant to the California Health and Safety and Government Codes, the building official shall assess the earthquake hazard in El Cerrito and identify buildings subject to being potentially hazardous to life in the event of an earthquake. Potentially hazardous buildings include the following:

1. Unreinforced masonry buildings.

2. Soft story woodframe, multiunit residential buildings.

B. Exemptions. The following buildings need not comply with this chapter:

1. Buildings which have been structurally upgraded in substantial accordance with either the Los Angeles Division 88 Standard for URM buildings or the 1997, or later, edition of the Uniform Code for Building Conservation.

2. Detached one- or two-family dwellings.

3. Attached multi-family dwellings containing two or fewer dwelling units and used solely for residential purposes.

4. Structures used solely as warehouses or for similar purposes not for human habitation.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

A. At the time of adoption of this section, the building official had conducted a field survey to identify all known URM buildings within the city. All URM buildings listed in the field survey were investigated by an independent structural engineer selected by the city redevelopment agency, and confirmed to be URM buildings. Any URM buildings not identified within the field survey remain subject to the requirements of this chapter upon notice by the city.

B. The engineer has prepared written structural assessments for those buildings on the list that the engineer found to be URM buildings. The reports analyze the building's structural systems to determine if any individual portion or combination of these systems is inadequate to prevent a structural failure (collapse or partial collapse), in the event of an earthquake. The reports also contain recommended seismic improvements, and cost estimates.

C. The seismic hazard classifications for this chapter are hereby established below, based on the percentage range of probability of partial or significant damage, and/or partial or complete collapse, as determined by the Basic Structural Hazards and Final Structural Scores "S" assigned by the engineer in the structural assessment for each building. Each building within the scope of this chapter shall be placed in one such classification by the building official, as follows.

1. High Hazard Building. Any URM building within the scope of this chapter having a percentage range of probability of partial or significant damage, partial or complete collapse of fifty percent or greater.

2. Medium Hazard Building. Any URM building within the scope of this chapter having a percentage range of probability of partial or significant damage, partial or complete collapse of between fifteen percent and forty-nine percent.

3. Low Hazard Building. Any URM building within the scope of this chapter having a percentage range of probability of partial or significant damage, partial or complete collapse of fourteen percent or less.

D. The city has provided all identifiable owners of studied URM buildings with a copy of the written structural assessment and seismic hazard classification for their respective buildings.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

A. Notification of Building Tenants. A URM building owner shall notify all tenants, in writing, that a structural investigation has been performed and that the report is available at the building official's office. This notice must be sent within thirty days of the date of adoption of this chapter, or by December 18, 2009.

B. Notification of the City. A URM building owner shall provide copies to the building official of each letter sent to the tenants of buildings reported as potentially hazardous, within forty-five days of the date of adoption of this chapter, or by January 2, 2010.

C. Letter of Intent. A URM building owner shall submit a letter to the building official within six months of the date of adoption of this chapter, or by May 18, 2010, indicating the owner's intention for dealing with the potential seismic hazards found to exist in, or on the exterior of the building.

1. For High Hazard URM Building. The property owner shall submit all necessary building permit plans for retrofit mitigation of all URM seismic hazards listed in the engineer's report, to the standards of the 2007 California Building Standards Code, to the city for plan check within one and one-half years of the date of adoption of this chapter, or by May 18, 2011. The owner shall obtain all necessary permit(s) to mitigate all URM seismic hazards and shall complete all abatement work or demolish the building within two and one-half years of the date of adoption of this chapter, or by May 18, 2012.

2. For Medium Hazard URM Building. The property owner shall submit all necessary building permit plans for retrofit mitigation of all URM seismic hazards listed in the engineer's report, to the standards of the 2007 California Building Standards Code, to the city for plan check within two and one-half years of the date of adoption of this chapter, or by May 18, 2012. The owner shall obtain all necessary permit(s) to mitigate all URM seismic hazards and shall complete all abatement work or demolish the building within three and one-half years of the date of adoption of this chapter, or by May 18, 2013.

3. For Low Hazard URM Building. The property owner shall submit all necessary building permit plans for retrofit mitigation of all URM seismic hazards listed in the engineer's report, to the standards of the 2007 California Building Standards Code, to the city for plan check within three and one-half years of the date of adoption of this chapter, or by May 18, 2013. The owner shall obtain all necessary permit(s) to mitigate all URM seismic hazards and shall complete all abatement work or demolish the building within four and one-half years of the date of adoption of this chapter, or by May 18, 2014.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

A. General Economic Hardship Extension. The city council may consider an amendment to this chapter to allow a one-year extension of either submittal of plans or completion of abatement/demolition for all URM buildings, if the council finds that an economic hardship exists at that time, due to a prevalent economic downturn and difficulty in obtaining financing for abatement work.

B. Individual Economic Hardship Extension. A panel consisting of the community development director, finance director, and building official may, upon application, grant a one-year individual property owner economic hardship extension separate and apart from the general hardship extension described in section A. above. An approved individual property owner economic hardship extension may be for submittal of plans, completion of abatement/demolition, or both. Individual hardship extensions shall be granted only where the owner demonstrates that financing is unavailable to pay for the required seismic retrofit work. A property owner requesting individual hardship shall provide the panel, as part of the application, with statements from at least two banks that they are unable to provide the needed financing to the subject individual owner, for the URM mitigation required pursuant to this chapter. The decision of the panel may be appealed to the city manager or designee. The decision of the city manager or designee shall be final.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

The property owner may appeal to the building official for a one-year extension for submittal of plans, or completion of abatement/demolition, if based on an historic analysis of their building, that is found acceptable to the city, the building is demonstrated to be a significant historic resource eligible for inclusion on a local, state or national register of historic places, pursuant to any applicable historic building regulations promulgated by the city, state, or the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Historic Preservation.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

The building official shall submit an annual report to the council on the status of the URM seismic hazards mitigation program. The report shall include information regarding the number of buildings that have had any action taken, or to be taken by individual building owners to correct these inadequacies.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

The building official shall submit a report to the state seismic safety commission which shall include the following:

A. A listing of the number of buildings identified and the total square footage, broken down by use;

B. A copy of this chapter;

C. A summary of the status of the mitigation program listing the number of building owners notified, the number of buildings strengthened, and whether or not the city provided any incentive programs to the building owners;

D. Any suggestions for other cities going through the seismic hazard identification and mitigation process.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

It is unlawful for the owner of a URM building identified as being included in the scope of this chapter to fail to comply with the provisions of this chapter within the time period specified in Section 16.32.050, or to fail to submit a letter of intent within the time period specified in Section 16.32.050, or to fail to post an earthquake warning sign per the provisions of Section 16.32.140. If the property owner in charge or control of the subject building fails to comply with any order issued by the building official pursuant to this chapter within the time limit set forth in this chapter, the building official shall verify that the record owner of this building has been properly served. If the order has been served on the record owner, then the following remedies are available to the city:

A. The building official may order that the entire building be vacated and that the building remain vacated until such order has been complied with. If compliance with such order has not been accomplished within ninety days after the date the building has been ordered vacated, the building official may order its demolition in accordance with the provisions of Sections 107, 108, and 109 of the International Property Maintenance Code or Section 203 of the Uniform Administrative Code.

B. The city may seek injunctive relief on behalf of the public to enjoin a building owner's violation of this chapter.

C. A building owner violating this chapter shall be guilty of an infraction. Such building owner is guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which such violation of this chapter is committed, continued or permitted by such building owner.

D. The remedies listed in this section are not exclusive.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

The building owner or his/her agent shall obtain all required permit(s) prior to commencement of work in accordance with the requirements established by the El Cerrito Municipal Code whether the building is to be demolished or altered for compliance.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

A. The building official shall be responsible for the administration of this chapter.

B. The building official shall issue a notice to the owner of each building within the scope of this chapter within thirty days of the adoption of this chapter, or by December 18, 2009. The notice shall be served either personally or by certified registered mail upon the owner as shown in the records of the Contra Costa County tax assessor.

C. The notice shall be in writing and shall specify that the subject building has been determined by the building official to be within the scope of this chapter, and therefore the owner is required to comply with the requirements of this chapter. The notice shall specify (1) the seismic hazard classification of the building, (2) the owner's alternatives, and (3) the time limits for compliance per Section 16.32.050 above.

D. The owner or his/her agent may obtain relief from the notice by submitting to the building official proof that the building is not within the scope of this chapter. Proof shall include the investigative method employed and shall be certified by a civil or structural engineer or architect licensed by the state of California. The building official may require additional information to substantiate the relief requested.

E. Forty-five days after the notice is served, the building official shall record with the office of the Contra Costa County recorder a certificate stating that the subject building is within the scope of this chapter, and that the owner thereof has been ordered to have the building altered to comply with this chapter or demolish the building.

F. If the building is found not to be within the scope of this chapter, or as a result of structural analysis and alteration is found to comply with this chapter, or is demolished, the building official shall file with the office of the Contra Costa County recorder a certificate terminating the status of the subject building or property as being classified within the scope of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

A. Any seismic retrofit of a URM building shall provide for the reasonable adequacy of all of the following:

1. Unreinforced masonry walls to resist normal and inplane seismic forces.

2. The anchorage and stability of exterior parapets and ornamentation.

3. The anchorage of unreinforced masonry walls to the floors and roof.

4. Floor and roof diaphragms.

5. The development of a complete bracing system to resist earthquake forces.

B. Any seismic retrofit of a URM building that occurs within the time limits listed in Section 16.32.050.C.1, 2, or 3, including any extension granted through this chapter shall comply with the 2007 California Building Standards Code as adopted through this title. Those standards provide for retrofit design to meet the requirements of the 1997 Uniform Code for Building Conservation.

C. Any seismic retrofit of a URM building that occurs after the time limits in Section 16.32.050.C.1, 2, or 3, including any extension granted through this chapter, shall comply with the then current California Building Standards Code as adopted through this title.

D. The property owner shall cause to be submitted to the building official the necessary number of complete sets of plans and supporting documentation for the work proposed in accordance with requirements of this chapter. In addition to the required analysis, the licensed engineer or architect responsible for the plans shall determine and record on the submitted plans the information required by both this section, and the 2007 California Building Standards Code, or the then current California Building Standards Code, as determined by Section B and C above.

E. Plans for all structural elements related to the seismic retrofit shall contain:

1. An overall description of the subject building, listing and describing specific conditions which constitute or contribute to structural hazards, problems, questions, etc., and, in each case, details of the necessary repairs and alterations.

2. The type(s), description, dimensions and condition of the existing foundation of the building, and necessary repairs and alterations.

3. The type(s), description and dimensions of existing walls, and necessary repairs and alterations.

4. The size(s), spacing(s), and span(s) of floor and roof members and the necessary repairs and alterations.

5. The extent, type and condition of existing wall anchorage to floors and roof, and the necessary repairs and alterations.

6. The extent, type and condition of parapet walls and their connection to walls and roof, and the necessary repairs and alterations.

7. Complete, accurately dimensioned floor plans showing the use of all affected rooms and spaces.

8. Masonry wall elevations with dimensioned openings, corbels, piers, wall thickness(es) and height(s).

9. Extent, type, size, condition and adequacy of headers, lintels, etc., over openings in masonry-bearing walls, and the necessary repairs and alterations.

10. The location and extent of cracks or damaged portions of masonry walls, parapets, etc., and the necessary repairs and alterations.

11. The condition of mortar joints throughout, whether pointing is required, and the extent of this need.

F. Where use of existing materials is proposed in the structural design, and established design values acceptable to the building official do not exist, in-place testing of such materials shall be performed by an approved special inspector in accordance with the California Building Standards Code. The methodology and results of such tests shall be submitted as part of a special inspection report with the permit application. The building official shall approve in advance the number and location of such tests.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)

The owner of a URM building within the scope of this chapter shall post, at a conspicuous place near the primary entrances to the building, a sign provided by the building official stating "This is an unreinforced masonry building. Unreinforced masonry buildings may be unsafe in the event of a major earthquake." The sign shall be posted within sixty days of receipt by the building owner of installation standards established by the building official. If the subject building is subsequently found not to be within the scope of this chapter, or as a result of structural analysis and alteration is found to comply with this chapter, or is demolished, the building official shall terminate the requirement for the sign posting, and the sign shall be removed.

(Ord. No. 2009-05, § 1, 10-19-2009)