Chapter 15.10
EARTHQUAKE HAZARD REDUCTION IN EXISTING BUILDINGS
Sections:
Article I. General Standards
15.10.040 Rating classifications.
15.10.050 General requirements.
15.10.070 Structural analysis – Engineering reports.
15.10.090 Responsibilities of building owners – Notification of building tenants.
15.10.100 Adoption of standards.
Article II. Phase II
15.10.110 Phase II – Earthquake hazard reduction.
15.10.120 Administrative provisions.
15.10.130 Installation of wall anchors.
15.10.140 Structural alteration of unreinforced masonry buildings.
15.10.150 Demolition of unreinforced masonry buildings.
15.10.170 Adoption of standards.
Article I. General Standards
15.10.010 Purpose.
A. 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 unreinforced masonry bearing wall buildings. Such buildings have been widely recognized for sustaining life-hazardous damage, including partial or complete collapse during moderate to strong earthquakes.
B. The provisions of this chapter are intended as minimum standards for structural seismic resistance established primarily to reduce the risk of life loss or injury. Compliance with these standards will not necessarily prevent loss of life or injury or prevent earthquake damage to rehabilitated buildings. This chapter does not require analysis or alteration of existing electrical, plumbing, mechanical or fire safety systems unless they constitute a hazard to life or property.
C. This chapter provides systematic procedures and standards for identification and classification of unreinforced masonry bearing wall buildings based on their present use. Priorities, time periods and standards are also established under which these buildings are required to be structurally analyzed. (Ord. 772 § 1 (Exh. A), 1990)
15.10.020 Scope of chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all buildings which have been inspected by the building official and are presumed to have unreinforced masonry bearing walls, and/or present external hazards as defined herein. Said buildings are identified in Appendix A, attached to the ordinance codified in this chapter and kept on file in the office of the city clerk, and/or are the subject of an order by the building official issued pursuant to this chapter. This chapter shall not apply to detached one-family or two-family dwellings and detached multifamily dwellings containing less than five dwelling units and used solely for residential purposes. (Ord. 772 § 1 (Exh. A), 1990)
15.10.030 Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the applicable definitions set forth in Sections 2302 and 2312 of the California Building Code, current edition (“CBC”), and the following definitions, shall apply:
“Building,” for the purpose of determining occupant load, means any contiguous or interconnected structure; for purposes of engineering valuation, means the entire structure or a portion thereof which will respond to seismic forces as a unit.
“Capacity for transfer” means the maximum allowable capacity of a structural system or connection to resist in a ductile manner the lateral forces it would encounter due to earthquake forces.
“Essential building” means any building housing a hospital or other medical facility having surgery or emergency treatment areas; fire or police stations; municipal government disaster operations and communication centers.
“External hazard” means 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:
1. Nonstructural exterior wall panels, such as masonry infill or decorative precast concrete;
2. Parapets;
3. Marquees, awnings or other roof-like projections from a building;
4. Unreinforced concrete walls;
5. Masonry or stone wall veneer and wall ornamentation, including cornices or other decorative appendages;
6. Masonry chimneys;
7. Tile roofing;
8. Wall signs and exterior lighting fixtures hung from a building exterior;
9. Fire escapes or balconies.
“Geometry” means a building’s shape or configuration, including setbacks of wall/column lines, reentrant corners, discontinuities in vertical and horizontal lateral force diaphragms, open storefront and building stiffness variations due to the distribution of resisting elements or the use of materials of differing properties within the same structural element, or other irregularities in plan or elevation.
“High risk building” means any building, not classified as an essential building, having an occupant load of fifty or more, as determined by CBC Section 3302(a), or the building official, where applicable. Exceptions to this category shall include the following:
1. Any building having exterior walls braced with masonry crosswalls or wood frame crosswalls spaced less than forty feet apart in each story. Crosswalls shall be full story height with a minimum length one and one-half times the story height; or
2. Any building used for its intended purpose, as determined by the building official, for less than twenty hours per week.
“Historical building” means any building designated as a historical building by an appropriate federal, state or city jurisdiction.
“Low risk building” shall mean any building, not classified as an essential building, having an occupant load of fewer than ten occupants, as determined by CBC Section 3302(a), or the building official, where applicable.
“Medium risk building” shall mean any building, not classified as a high risk building or an essential building, having an occupant load of at least ten but fewer than fifty occupants, as determined by U.S.C. Section 3302(a), or the building official, where applicable.
“Occupant load” means the total occupant load of a building as determined by CBC Section 3302(a), or the actual maximum number of occupants in a building if that number is less than seventy-five percent of the number determined by reference to the CBC. The number of actual occupants may be documented by counting actual seating capacity if permanent seating is provided in the occupancy, or by employee and client counts which can be substantiated as a practical maximum use of the space in the building. The building official shall be responsible for determining occupancy loads.
“Solution” means any justifiable method that will provide for the transfer of lateral forces through a system or connection to a degree which will substantially eliminate a potential collapse failure. A general description of the methods and materials proposed to be used shall be included in sufficient detail to allow for a cost estimate of the solution to be made (i.e., adding shear walls, overlaying horizontal diaphragms, strengthening critical connections, etc.).
“Unreinforced masonry bearing wall” means any wall supporting a floor or roof where the total superimposed load exceeds one hundred pounds per linear foot and the area of reinforcing steel is less than fifty percent of that required by U.S.C. Section 2407(h), or any unreinforced masonry wall supporting its own weight when over six feet in height.
“Unreinforced masonry (URM) building” means any building containing walls constructed wholly or partially with any of the following materials:
1. Unreinforced brick masonry;
2. Unreinforced concrete masonry;
3. Hollow clay tile;
4. Adobe or unburned clay masonry;
5. External hazards. (Ord. 1044 § 2 (Att. D), 2017; Ord. 772 § 1 (Exh. A), 1990)
15.10.040 Rating classifications.
The rating classifications, Essential Building (I), High Risk Building (II), Medium Risk Building (III) and Low Risk Building (IV), as exhibited in Table No. 15.10-A, attached to the ordinance codified in this chapter and kept on file in the office of the city clerk, are hereby established, and each building within the scope of this chapter shall be placed in one such rating classification by the building official. The total occupant load of the entire building shall be used to determine the rating classification.
Exception: For the purposes of this chapter, portions of buildings constructed to act independently when resisting seismic forces may be placed in separate rating classifications. (Ord. 772 § 1 (Exh. A), 1990)
15.10.050 General requirements.
The owner of each building within the scope of this chapter shall cause a structural analysis to be made of the building by a licensed civil or structural engineer or architect licensed by the state, and shall be responsible for submitting said structural analysis to the building official in the form of an engineering report within two hundred seventy days after the service of an order. Such analysis, which shall be subject to approval by the building official, shall demonstrate that the building meets the minimum requirements of this chapter, or shall recommend an appropriate solution as specified in SMC 15.10.070. Adequate plans or drawings appropriate to the calculations shall be prepared and provided to the building official along with the engineering report. (Ord. 772 § 1 (Exh. A), 1990)
15.10.060 Administration.
A. Service of Order. The building official shall issue an order, as provided in subsection B of this section, to the owner of each URM building within sixty days after the effective date of this section. This order shall be final after the period allowed for objection if no such objection shall be filed, or on the date of final determination by the building official in the event a timely objection is filed.
B. Contents of Orders. The order of the building official 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, or upon the person, if any, in apparent charge or control of the building. The order shall specify that the building has been determined by the building official to be an unreinforced masonry building subject to the provisions of this chapter. The order shall specify the rating classification of the building and shall be accompanied by a copy of this chapter.
C. Objection to Order. The owner or person in charge or control of the building may object to the building official’s initial determination that the building is within the scope of this chapter. Such objection shall be filed in writing with the building official within thirty days from the service date of the order and set forth the grounds for consideration. Any such objection shall be reviewed and decided by the building official within sixty days of its receipt.
D. Recordation and Posting. Once the order is final, the building official shall file with the office of the county recorder a certificate stating that the subject building is within the scope of this chapter. The certificate shall also state that the owner thereof has been ordered to structurally analyze the building. Notice shall also be posted on the premises in a form to be provided by the building official.
If the building is subsequently found not to be within the scope of this chapter, or as a result of structural alterations or an analysis is found to be structurally capable of resisting minimum seismic forces required by this chapter, or is demolished, the building official shall file with the office of the county recorder a certificate terminating the status of the subject building as being classified within the scope of this chapter.
E. Unoccupied Buildings. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or this code, no certificate of occupancy shall be issued to any unoccupied building or part thereof until the building official determines that the building is in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 772 § 1 (Exh. A), 1990)
15.10.070 Structural analysis – Engineering reports.
A. General. Each building shall be evaluated on an individual basis without prejudice or comparison to similar type or age buildings which may have greater or lesser earthquake resistance. Generalities or stereotypes are to be avoided in the evaluation process by focusing on the specifics of the structural systems of the building in question and the local geology of the land on which the building is constructed.
B. Level of Investigation. Some buildings will require extensive testing and field investigation to uncover potential structural deficiencies while others will allow the same level of overall evaluation by a less complicated process due to simplicity of design or the availability of original or subsequent alteration design and construction documents. It is the responsibility of the engineer performing the evaluation to choose the appropriate level of investigation which will produce a report that is complete and can serve as a sound basis for a conclusion on the collapse hazard the building may present.
C. Format for the Report. The following is a basic outline of the format each engineering report should follow. This outline is not to be construed as a constraint on the professional preparing the report, but rather as a skeletal framework within which individual approaches to assembling the information required by this chapter may be accomplished. It also will serve as a means for the building official to evaluate the completeness of each report. No report shall be deemed complete without a recommendation addressing an appropriate solution to identified deficiencies. All reports shall be accompanied by adequate plans or drawings appropriate to the required calculations and recommendations.
1. General Information. A description of the building including: (a) the street address; (b) the type of occupancy use within the building, with separate uses that generate different occupant loads indicated on a plan showing the square footage of each different use; (c) plans and elevations showing the location, type and extent of lateral force resisting elements in the building (both horizontal and vertical elements); (d) a description of the construction materials used in the structural elements and information regarding their present condition;
(e) the date of original construction, if known, and the date, if known, of any subsequent additions or substantial structural alterations of the building; and (f) 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. Investigation and Evaluation of Structural Systems. The report shall refer to the information contained in the URM Building Standards, on file in the building division, with respect to all items to be investigated and the methods of investigation for each type of building.
3. Test Reports. All field and laboratory test results shall be included in the report. Evaluation of the significance of these test results shall be made with regard to each structural system or typical connection being evaluated. This evaluation may be limited to a statement of the adequacy or inadequacy of the system or connection based on the lateral load demand it would be required to resist by calculation. If tests reveal inadequacy, a conceptual solution must be included in the report.
4. Conclusions. Based on the demand/capacity ratio and the specific evaluation items contained in the URM Building Standards, on file in the building division, a statement shall be provided explaining the overall significance of the deficiencies found to exist in the building’s lateral force resisting system regarding potential collapse or partial collapse failure.
5. Recommendations. An appropriate solution, which could be used to strengthen the structure to alleviate any collapse or partial collapse threat, shall be specified.
D. Exceptions and Alternatives. Exceptions to the specific items required to be included in an engineering report may be granted by the building official upon review of a written request from the engineer preparing the report. Such a request shall provide evidence that adequate information concerning the required item(s) can be determined by alternate means or that a conclusion can be made about the item(s) without following the solution called for in the appropriate section of this chapter. The purpose of granting such exceptions shall be to reduce the costs or disruption that would result from taking required actions, when it can be shown that they are unnecessary to provide information available by other equivalent means. In no case will an exception be granted which would result in an item not being completely evaluated. The decision of the building official in granting exceptions is final. (Ord. 772 § 1 (Exh. A), 1990)
15.10.080 Review of reports.
A. The building official shall utilize the services of civil or structural engineers to assist in determining if the submitted engineering reports conform to the requirements of this chapter.
B. The cost of this review shall be recovered by a fee paid by the building owner, based on the time required for the review. This fee amount shall be deducted from the plan checking fee collected for any future construction work that deals directly with correcting any of the structural inadequacies specified in the engineering report.
C. Copies of the engineering reports shall be available to interested individuals for a standard copying fee or may be reviewed at the building division office. (Ord. 772 § 1 (Exh. A), 1990)
15.10.090 Responsibilities of building owners – Notification of building tenants.
A building owner shall notify all tenants, in writing, that a structural investigation has been performed and that the report is available at the building division office. This notice must be sent within thirty days of the date the report is submitted to the building official. (Ord. 772 § 1 (Exh. A), 1990)
15.10.100 Adoption of standards.
The building official shall promulgate standards relating to analysis and design, and materials of construction, which shall be kept on file in the building division. These standards shall govern and regulate the contents of engineering reports and the implementation of this chapter. (Ord. 772 § 1 (Exh. A), 1990)
Article II. Phase II
15.10.110 Phase II – Earthquake hazard reduction.
SMC 15.10.110 through 15.10.190 shall constitute Phase II of the regulations governing earthquake hazard reduction in existing buildings. Ordinance 772, adopted on May 3, 1990, shall remain in full force and effect unless provided otherwise. In the event of a conflict, Phase II shall supersede previously adopted provisions of Ordinance 772, set out in Article I of this chapter. (Ord. 826 § 1 (Exh. A), 1993)
15.10.120 Administrative provisions.
A. The owner of each building within the scope of this chapter shall, upon service of an order from the building official and within the time limits specified herein, cause such building to be structurally altered to conform to city standards or cause the building to be demolished.
B. The owner of a building within the scope of this chapter shall comply with the requirements set forth above by submitting the following to the building official for review within the stated time limits:
1. Within two hundred seventy days after service of the order, the structural analysis and plans for structural alterations of the building to comply with this chapter; or
2. Within one hundred eighty days after service of the order, plans for the installation of wall anchors in accordance with city requirements; or
3. Within two hundred seventy days after service of the order, plans for the demolition of the building.
C. After plans are submitted to the building division and approved by the building official, the owner shall obtain a building permit and thereafter commence and complete the required construction or demolition within the time limits set forth herein. (Ord. 826 § 1 (Exh. A), 1993)
15.10.130 Installation of wall anchors.
Wall anchors may be installed as a temporary measure and shall extend for a period of five years, the time within which a structure must be structurally altered or demolished. Following the submission of plans as required by SMC 15.10.120, the owner shall obtain a building permit for installation of wall anchors no later than two months after the submission of plans. Construction must commence no later than ninety days after a building permit is issued. Construction shall be completed and the structure ready for final inspection no later than ninety days after the commencement of construction. (Ord. 826 § 1 (Exh. A), 1993)
15.10.140 Structural alteration of unreinforced masonry buildings.
A. Following the submission of plans as required by SMC 15.10.120, the owner shall obtain a building permit for structural alteration of the building no later than three months after the submission of plans. Construction must commence no later than one hundred eighty days after a building permit is issued. Construction shall be completed and the structure ready for final inspection no later than eighteen months after the commencement of construction.
B. This chapter does not require alteration of original existing electrical, plumbing, mechanical or fire safety systems which are in good repair and have not been altered without permits and inspections. (Ord. 826 § 1 (Exh. A), 1993)
15.10.150 Demolition of unreinforced masonry buildings.
Following the submission of plans for demolition of the building as required by SMC 15.10.120, the owner shall obtain a demolition permit no later than three months after the submission of plans. Demolition shall be completed no later than two years after the permit is issued. (Ord. 826 § 1 (Exh. A), 1993)
15.10.160 Extensions of time.
Following the issuance of a permit for structural alteration, installation of wall anchors or demolition, the building official may grant a one-year extension for the commencement of construction upon good cause shown. (Ord. 826 § 1 (Exh. A), 1993)
15.10.170 Adoption of standards.
The building official shall adopt standards relating to analysis and design, and materials of construction, which shall be kept on file in the building division. These standards shall govern and regulate the implementation of this chapter. (Ord. 826 § 1 (Exh. A), 1993)
15.10.180 Order – Contents.
The order prepared by the building official shall be in writing and shall be served either personally or by certified mail upon the owner as shown on the last equalized assessment roll, and upon the person, if any, in apparent charge or control of the building. The order shall specify that the building has been determined by the building official to be within the scope of this chapter and, therefore, is required to meet the minimum seismic standards of this chapter. The order shall also specify that the dates for compliance will not be extended due to the transfer or sale of the property. The order shall be accompanied by a copy of Phase II of the regulations governing earthquake hazard reduction in existing buildings, which sets forth the owner’s alternatives and time limits for compliance. (Ord. 826 § 1 (Exh. A), 1993)
15.10.190 Enforcement.
A. Vacating of Building. If the owner or other person in charge or control of the subject building fails to comply with any order issued by the building official pursuant to this chapter and within the required time limits of this chapter, the building official may order the entire building vacated and the building shall remain vacant 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, or such additional time as may have been granted by the building official, the building official may order its demolition in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, current edition, or other applicable law.
B. Injunctive Relief. The city may seek injunctive relief on behalf of the public to enjoin a violation of this chapter.
C. Misdemeanor. A building owner violating this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Each offense shall be punishable by a fine to be established by resolution of the city council. 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. Chapter 1.16 SMC. The general penalties specified in Chapter 1.16 SMC shall be applicable to violations of this chapter. (Ord. 1042 § 2, 2017; Ord. 826 § 1 (Exh. A), 1993)