San Francisco County Municipal Code Ch. 5G Building

501G.1 Intent. This Chapter 5G is intended to advance public safety through a building inventory assessment and notification process regarding the seismic safety risks for Rigid-Wall-Flexible-Diaphragm and certain Concrete Buildings vulnerable to earthquake damage and collapse. There is no mandatory requirement to seismically retrofit Rigid-Wall-Flexible-Diaphragm or Concrete Buildings, except when triggered by addition, alteration, repair, change of occupancy, relocation, or other work regulated by the Existing Building Code. It is the intent of the Board of Supervisors that, absent a compelling public safety necessity, buildings that are exempted as a result of the inventory assessment of Section 501G.4 and buildings that are voluntarily retrofitted pursuant to Appendix A, Chapter A2 for Rigid-Wall-Flexible-Diaphragm buildings or Chapter A6 for Concrete Buildings, will be exempt from any local mandatory seismic retrofit requirements for 20 years after the effective date of the ordinance in Board File No. 250211. Such a building shall not be exempt from requirements associated with any addition, alteration, repair, change of occupancy, relocation, or other work regulated by this Code. All seismic retrofit work must be duly permitted, completed, and inspected to qualify for the exemption. (Added by Ord. 70-25, File No. 250211, App. 5/9/2025, Eff. 6/9/2025) 501G.2 Definitions. In addition to the definitions in San Francisco Building Code Chapter 2 and San Francisco Existing Building Code Chapter 2, the following shall apply for purposes of this Chapter 5G: Rigid-Wall-Flexible-Diaphragm (“RWFD”) Building. A one-story building or building portion, not counting mezzanines, with a seismic force- resisting system that would be classified by the latest edition of ASCE 41 as either PC1, RM1, or C2a with flexible roof diaphragm. Concrete Building (“CB”). A building where (1) vertical elements of concrete construction, such as walls or columns, support gravity load from floors or roofs; and/or (2) vertical elements of concrete construction are part of the lateral-force-resisting system. 501G.3 Subject Buildings. The building inventory assessment required by this Chapter 5G shall apply to the following, which are defined as Subject Buildings: (a) Rigid-Wall-Flexible-Diaphragm buildings where the total footprint area of all RWFD portions is larger than 3,000 square feet, and any RWFD portion was constructed or permitted for construction before July 1, 1999 or designed based on a code adopted or amended before that date and has not been retrofitted pursuant to Appendix A, Chapter A2; and (b) Concrete Buildings not exempted below. (c) This Chapter refers to any such RWFD or CB as a subject building unless and until it is found to not meet the requirements of Section 501G.3(a), or it is found to be exempt from the inventory assessment pursuant to Section 501G.4. Any building for which the Department has sent notification or screening instructions referring to this Chapter is also a subject building until it is found to be exempt. 501G.4 Exemptions for Certain Concrete Buildings. Concrete Buildings for which one or more of the following apply are not subject buildings, as determined by Department approval of a Screening Form as required by Section 502G.1: (a) Age. The building complies with Section 304.4.1. (b) One-story. The building has no more than one story above grade plane, as defined in San Francisco Building Code Chapter 2, excluding mezzanines. (c) Two-story. The building conforms to all the following: • The building has no more than two stories above grade plane, excluding mezzanines; • The building does not include concrete columns or wall piers; and • The building includes a structural reinforced concrete diaphragm at the second floor, the roof, or both. (d) Complete steel frame. Steel columns support all the gravity floor load and roof load, and steel columns are connected to steel beams. (e) Concrete used only for floors, roofs, foundations, or basements. All concrete elements that define the building as a Concrete Building extend less than four feet above adjacent grade. (f) Previous retrofit. There is building permit documentation that the building has been seismically retrofitted to meet one of the following: • Section 304.3 of the 2022 SFEBC

• Section 303.4 of the 2019 SFEBC • Section 301.2 of the 2016 SFEBC • Section 3401.10 of the 2013 SFBC • Section 3401.8 of the 2010 SFBC • Section 3403.5 of the 2007 SFBC (g) One- and two-family dwellings. The building conforms to all the following: • The building contains no more than two dwelling units. • The building contains only Group R 3 occupancy and incidental Group U occupancy. (h) Light -frame over one-story concrete podium. The building conforms to all the following: • All concrete elements that define the building as a Concrete Building extend no more than one story above grade plane. • All stories above the concrete story consist of light-frame (wood or cold-formed steel) construction. 502G.1 Screening Process. The owner of each subject building shall comply with the reporting requirements of this Section 501G.1. 1 The Department shall notify owners of potential subject buildings that such buildings may be included in the CB and RWFD building assessment inventory. The Department shall provide owners with a Screening Form to confirm the existing structural systems and determine whether exemptions apply. The owner of each building who has been notified that their building is within the scope of this Chapter 5G, as well as all other owners of buildings that may be subject to this Chapter, shall submit to the Department within the time limits set forth in 502G.2 a properly completed Screening Form. Where required by the Screening Form, the owner shall engage an appropriately licensed design professional to complete the form. If the owner believes exemptions apply, as specified in Section 501G.4, the owner and their design professional, where required, shall denote this on the completed Screening Form and shall return the form to the Department. Additional information shall be provided to the owner informing the owner about the seismic retrofit requirements of Appendix A available to reduce seismic vulnerability. CODIFICATION NOTE

So in Ord. 70-25. 502G.2 Screening Form. Within six months of the effective date of the ordinance in Board File No. 250211 enacting Chapter 5G, the Department shall create a list of potential subject buildings and associated mailing list of owners, issue Screening Forms to the mailing list that outline the applicable exemptions, identify the information necessary to confirm whether an exemption applies, and set an 18-month deadline to submit the completed Screening Form. 502G.3 Concrete Building Website. The Department shall maintain a webpage providing information about the screening process, the status of subject buildings, and links to the seismic retrofit provisions of Appendix A, which owners may voluntary choose to implement to have the building removed from the CB and RWFD inventory.