San Jose Municipal Code Part 6 Structural Design (chapter 16)

The amendments set forth in this part are reasonably necessary because of the following local geological, topographical and climatic conditions:

A. Local geological conditions - The San Francisco/Bay Area region is densely populated and/or located in an area of high seismic activities. San José is bound by two major faults such as Hayward and San Andreas faults capable of producing major earthquakes.

B. Considering that certain important and critical buildings and structures must be operational in the event of an emergency, the need to incorporate this modification into the code will help to assure that new buildings and additions to existing buildings are designed and constructed in accordance with the scope and objectives of the California Building Code.

C. The seismic separation is necessary to permit adjacent buildings, or parts thereof, to respond to earthquake ground motion independently and preclude possible structural damage due to pounding between buildings and other structures. The need to incorporate this modification into the code will help to assure that new buildings and additions to existing buildings are designed and constructed in accordance with the scope and objectives of the California Building Code.

(Ords. 28166, 28838, 29806.)

Editor's note— Section 24.03.620, pertaining to Modification to ASCE 7-05, Section 12.8.1.1, was repealed by Ordinance 29334, adopted November 5, 2013.

Editor's note— Section 24.03.630, pertaining to Modification to ASCE 7-05, Table 12.8-2, was repealed by Ordinance 29334, adopted November 5, 2013.

Editor's note— Section 24.03.630, pertaining to Modification to ASCE 7-05, Table 12.8.7, was repealed by Ordinance 29334, adopted November 5, 2013.

Editor's note— Ord. 31256, § 29, adopted Nov. 18, 2025, repealed § 24.03.650, which pertained to modification to ASCE 7-16, Section 12.12.3 and derived from Ords. 28166, 28838, 29334, 30326.

Editor's note— Section 23.03.660, pertaining to Modification to ACI 318 Section 14.8.3 and 14.8.4, was repealed by Ordinance 29334, adopted November 5, 2013.