07/07/08
Mayor Newsom Announces Legislation to Improve Seismic Safety
In his ongoing effort to ensure that buildings in San Francisco are as structurally sound as possible, today Mayor Gavin Newsom announced new legislation and issued Executive Directive 08-07 to address seismic safety issues around "soft-story" buildings. The Directive and legislation will expedite development of retrofit guidelines for soft-story, wood-frame buildings and the processing and review of permits for seismic retrofit upgrades of these buildings.
"Although there is no such thing as an earthquake-proof building, engineers agree that proper seismic retrofitting can give buildings a fighting chance against a sizeable earthquake," said Mayor Newsom. "We must take the same measures to insure the safety of our homes and workplaces as we do our families and selves."
Under the Directive, the Building Inspection Commission, the Planning Commission, the Fire Marshal, Department of Building Inspection (DBI), the Planning Department, and the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) are to work together to implement the following efforts:
- Expedite completion of the soft-story component of the Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety (CAPSS) initiative, including the development of retrofit guidelines for soft-story, wood-frame buildings;
- Expedite immediately and waive fees for projects that include seismic strengthening and related Planning Department reviews of soft-story buildings;
- Increase outreach and awareness on the importance of seismic strengthening;
- Create a soft-story, wood-frame exercise scenario in the October 2008 citywide emergency drill.
"Implementation of this executive directive will expand significantly and accelerate ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of life and property in the San Francisco," said DBI Director Isam Hasenin. "Our efforts are focused on better understanding the types of building that are most vulnerable to seismic events in order recommend measures to improve them."
The Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety (CAPSS) initiative is currently identifying the types of soft-story wood-frame buildings in San Francisco and their location, evaluating a range of vulnerability factors, and designing retrofit options and costs, all while engaging and alerting the public to make property owners and tenants aware of potential seismic vulnerabilities. A soft-story building is one that typically has large openings on the ground floor such as multiple garage doors or large storefront windows.
Additionally, the supporting legislation will require City departments that issue building and renovation permits to expedite the review and permitting process for projects where the scope of work includes voluntary seismic retrofit upgrades to soft-story buildings. The legislation also proposes the waiver of those fees associated with the review and permitting of such scope of work.
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OES Registration
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