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ABAG Soft Story Report - Web Version - v2
ABAG Soft Story Report - Web Version - v2
GUIDANCE DOCUMENT
SOFT
STORY
RETROFIT
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
March 2016
1
Association of Bay Area Governments
Executive Board Leadership and Key Staff
Julie Pierce President, Councilmember, City of Clayton
David Rabbitt Vice President, Supervisor, County of Sonoma
Ezra Rapport Executive Director
Brad Paul Deputy Executive Director and Communications Director
Miriam Chion Planning and Research Director
Duane Bay Assistant Planning and Research Director
Credits
This guidance document was produced with support from the United States Geological
Survey and FEMA.
Our special thanks to David Bonowitz, Laurence Kornfield, Jenny McNulty of City of
Berkeley, Patrick Otellini of City and County of San Francisco, Sharyl Rabinovici, Laura
Samant, and Marko Schotanus of Rutherford + Chekene for their careful review of all or
parts of this document.
2
Noncompliance.…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..…..….35
4
Table of Contents 1
2 Soft Story Retrofit Program Development
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
3
Introduction
Introduction 5
Safer Homes Make Stronger story walls, typically due to garage doors, open parking
stalls, or large storefront windows. These buildings, built
Communities before current building codes, have ground stories that
have a tendency to collapse when shaken hard enough.
While focused on a particular vulnerable housing type,
this document is intended to be part of a wider discussion Approximately 140,000 units in 18,000 of these buildings
about protecting housing and residents in their own exist in the Bay Area.1 ABAG (2003) estimates that soft
communities. In the Bay Area, retaining housing is crucial story buildings will account for approximately two-thirds
to expediting and ensuring effective disaster recovery. of uninhabitable buildings in a major Hayward fault
Limiting catastrophic housing damage and allowing earthquake, and they represented almost half of the
residents to stay in their homes not only helps people who housing lost in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
may lack the resources to quickly recover from a disaster,
but keeps communities intact. In the aftermath of While they are not the only fragile building type, for some
natural disasters, the recovery of the region’s economy is Bay Area jurisdictions, soft story buildings comprise a
interdependent with the recovery of the region’s housing. significant percentage of the residential units. This puts
If residents can stay in their homes, they will be better able residents, primarily renters, at risk. Protecting soft story
to participate in the rebuilding of their neighborhoods and buildings from collapse through retrofit saves lives and can
cities, go to work and support local business, and improve prevent community devastation.
the recovery trajectory of the entire region.
Some Bay Area jurisdictions have begun to recognize soft
story buildings as a problem and have already developed
Soft Story in the Bay Area and adopted policies to inventory, assess, and retrofit
these buildings. These regional leaders can help inform
The term “soft story” as used throughout this report refers
other Bay Area jurisdictions by sharing lessons learned,
specifically to older, wood-frame multi-story buildings
what works and what doesn’t.
with an especially weak, flexible, or otherwise vulnerable
ground story. Often (but not always), the soft story
deficiency is indicated by large openings in the ground 1 Information compiled from various city building inventories,
available here: http://resilience.abag.ca.gov/housing/softstory/
TABLE 1 Prevalence of Particular Best Practices in “Soft Story Leadership Communities” (as of March, 2016)
Alameda 70
√ √ √ √
Fremont 22
√ √ √ √ √
* Identified in initial inventory. The number of buildings actually subject to retrofit may be less.
** This inidicates that an engineering report was a formal deliverable. San Francisco did not require an engineering evaluation to be
submitted, but it is implicit that a building owner would have an engineering evaluation performed prior to submitting plans for permit.
phases.
Introduction 7
TABLE 2 Commonly-found Fragile Housing Types in the Bay Area
Hillside Located in a “zone of required investigation” for Hillside homes may also have structural damage
earthquake-induced landslide. due to ground shaking
Single family cripple wall Contains a crawl space and/or stairs leading up Commonly found in bedroom communities, rare
to the front door. in city centers and dense suburbs. Common
in older, more established regions such as San
Francisco and Alameda counties.
Single family house over Garage with living space above it that lacks Commonly found in dense pre-1950’s suburbs
garage interior walls and may be unable to support the like San Francisco, or post 1950’s suburbs with
living space above it. attached multicar garages. Highly prevalent in
more recently urbanized areas such as Santa
Clara and Contra Costa counties.
Unreinforced masonry Masonry buildings that lack any structural 1% of total regional housing stock, most
support aside from mortar. significant in San Francisco and Alameda counties.
Mandated to be inventoried by state law.
Multi-family cripple wall Contains a crawl space and/or stairs leading up Commonly found in pre-1920’s neighborhoods.
to the front door.
Multi-family soft story Contains large openings on the first floor, Pre-1950: mixed or high density suburban
typically for parking or commercial space, with neighborhoods. Significant in older cities – over
residential units on the upper floors. 10% in San Francisco.
Post-1950: Fairly prevalent, especially in San
Mateo County. Also found in large subdivision
developments (Fremont, Hayward).
Multi-family non-ductile Concrete structures lacking steel reinforcement Commonly found in high-density suburban
concrete to add ductility, or the ability to bend without neighborhoods.
breaking.
Source: FEMA P-807, Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Multi-Unit Wood-Frame Buildings with Weak First Stories, 2012
2
16 Soft Story Retrofit Program Development
Section 2
Collecting data on your housing stock and the population The project lead for developing the policy will need to
that lives in it can help with understanding the magnitude be able to knowledgeably navigate the jurisdiction’s
and scope of the degree that housing contributes to a decision-making and policy adoption process and be able
jurisdiction’s vulnerability. to communicate clearly and persuasively about why the
program is important for community safety. This person
will therefore likely be from a high-level department, such
3 “Level of performance” refers to the habitability after a disaster. as the City Administrator’s Office, City Manager’s Office,
This can range from immediate occupancy after a disaster, safe and or Mayor’s Office. This person must also be motivated
repairable (life safety), to not safe due to possible collapse, falling
hazards, fire, or hazardous materials release. For more information to see the project through to implementation, despite
about performance standards and expectations in residential homes, the inevitable setbacks; in some jurisdictions, the policy
see SPUR’s Safe Enough to Stay report (http://www.spur.org/sites/ lead was someone who cared passionately about seismic
default/files/publications_pdfs/SPUR_Safe_Enough_to_Stay.pdf)
safety, and in others motivation came from strong political
For more information about community performance expectations pressure or focused leadership. After the policy is
for all building types, see SPUR’s The Dilemma of Existing Buildings adopted and the program transitions to implementation,
report (http://www.spur.org/sites/default/files/migrated/anchors/
SPUR_The_Dilemma_of_Existing_Buildings.pdf) the project lead role may transition to a more technical
Percent of cost of
Maximum increase limits Amortization period
City improvement allowed to be
for tenants allowed
passed through to tenant
$30.00 or 10% of the tenant’s
San Francisco 100% petition base rent annually, 20 years
whichever is greater
Los Angeles 50% $38 per month 10 years
was approximately $50,000 per building ($5,000 per sharing policy for seismic retrofits, the issue was debated
unit).4 Soft story retrofit programs will likely garner in council for over a year before an agreement was made
more political support if the jurisdiction understands the and passed.5 It is important that jurisdictions allow
interests of building owners and assists them in meeting sufficient time and support, and prepare local leaders
the requirements without placing undue burden on them. sufficiently, for this conversation to avoid significant delays
Financial assistance programs can engender stronger in getting an ordinance passed.
support from both elected officials and the public. Even
modest assistance can make a difference in how the In many jurisdictions with rent control, building owners
program is received and how supported building owners are allowed to pass through capital improvement costs to
feel throughout the process. tenants above and beyond allowed annual rent increases,
while other costs are considered routine maintenance
Building owners whose buildings are occupied by tenants to maintain a habitable building and the building owner
will likely want to pass through as much of the retrofit cannot pass them through. Seismic improvements are
cost to the tenants as possible in order to maintain the not considered by the State of California to be included
profitability of their building. They may argue that the in basic habitability standards, but are considered capital
expense of retrofit places an undue burden on them improvements and therefore eligible for pass through.
and that retrofitting the building provides an additional But unless a jurisdiction has rent control provisions in
amenity to the tenant that the tenant should pay for. On place already, it will be very difficult to regulate pass
the other hand, tenants and tenant rights groups may through costs. Few cities in California have rent control,
argue that tenants deserve life safety improvements as however, some Bay Area jurisdictions do.
a condition of their lease, and should not be burdened
with any of the cost. Increasing rents due to retrofit costs Every jurisdiction has different guidelines for passing
may also place undue burden on low-income residents through costs to tenants, including the percentage of the
and exacerbate existing housing affordability problems cost that can be passed along and the timeframe over
and displace the most vulnerable low-income residents which the cost must be amortized to limit cost increases
into unsafe housing, other parts of the region, or into to tenants. Jurisdictions with rent control, or who know
homelessness. they will have to make decisions about rent pass through,
should include their local Rent Board in conversations
about the program as early as possible.
Rent Control
Delving into this issue of who pays for improvements
Conversations around tenant pass through will likely
may trigger the need to update or adopt pass-through
present one of the most significant political hurdles to
ordinances. The City of San Francisco updated their pass-
getting a policy passed. Even if actual rent increases
through guidelines to include seismic improvements as
will be minimal, the pushback will likely come from
capital improvements, and also updated their hardship
disagreements on who should shoulder the burden, and
appeal procedures (Ordinance No. 203-13). The City of
politicians want to support their constituents’ interests. In
Oakland is currently considering a separate pass through
Los Angeles, whose City Council recently approved a cost-
provision for seismic work than for capital improvements
21
pass through. In many cases, pass-through results in very ordinance (Ordinance No. 173-14) to outline procedures
little additional rent if amortized over a long period of and requirements for landlords to compensate tenants for
time, and the percentage of costs allowed to be passed temporary loss of services, including parking.
through may also make little difference in the monthly
rent increases for tenants. If a jurisdiction is considering Real Estate Transfer Disclosures
controlling rent increases through pass-through
provisions, a financial analysis should be done so that all Existing state real estate disclosure laws do not require
stakeholders understand exactly how much additional building owners to disclose specific known seismic
rent will likely be passed through to tenants. deficiencies when a building of five units or more is sold,
but do require that the buyers are informed of seismic
Public Assistance safety provisions through the California Seismic Safety
Commission brochure. This brochure, entitled Commercial
There may also be a role for public financing in paying for Property Owner’s Guide to Earthquake Safety, includes a
retrofits. In some jurisdictions, especially those with many section on the risks of soft story buildings. Aside from local
low income residents and no rent control or pass-through mitigation efforts such as mandatory soft story programs,
protections, retrofit may not be feasible without severely sellers are also not required to evaluate the vulnerability of
negatively impacting residents and building owners. their building or to strengthen any known weaknesses.
Similar to financing affordable housing, jurisdictions
may decide that there’s a place for public assistance to Jurisdictions could note information about a building’s
ensure that low income residents have access to safe program status as part of its tax assessor/official record.
housing. Low income residents are already more likely This could be the certificate of occupancy issued after
to be less resilient after a major disaster, because they retrofit is complete (this would mean including language
have fewer resources, both financial and social, to be in the ordinance requiring a new certificate of occupancy
able to effectively prepare for, respond to, and recover after retrofit) or documentation of whether the building is
from disasters. Keeping the most vulnerable residents on a list of buildings subject to the ordinance. This would
in fragile housing exacerbates their existing vulnerability. allow potential buyers to determine the compliance status
Jurisdictions have successfully used CDBG funds to of properties through a title search, including whether the
retrofit housing for low-income owners, and FEMA Hazard building is subject to an existing mandate and whether or
Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds are eligible not it has complied.
to use for retrofits as well. The role of public money
in private buildings is something that each jurisdiction Owner Awareness of Potential
should determine individually, based on local goals and Hazards to Occupants
demographics.
Owners have a responsibility to maintain their properties
in a safe condition. Following earthquakes, those who
Non-Financial Impacts to Tenants are harmed might believe the owner is responsible for
Some soft story retrofits may require bulky structures in damages. Owner notification programs such as those
parking areas or ground floor commercial or residential taking place in Berkeley, Oakland, and Alameda are part of
units that affect the use of the ground story, for instance a broader societal trend recognizing the seismic hazards
by reducing the number of parking spots available to of soft-story buildings that will make it harder for owners
tenants or the rentable are. Additionally, parking or other to avoid liability in the future. However, it must be noted
common area services may be temporarily unavailable as that retrofit programs may only raise selective awareness;
the retrofit is under construction. Many cities, including for example, soft story retrofit programs typically target
Alameda, include language in their ordinances that detail wood-frame multi-family buildings with five units or more,
what rights tenants have if they lose parking due to a but this does not mean that a similar 4-unit building
retrofit, and also accommodations in zoning for minimum across the street has a lesser obligation to the public to
and maximum parking for building owners if they lose maintain life safety in the event of an earthquake.
parking. The City of San Francisco prepared a separate
Owners of buildings a building that conform to older
6 Myrick v. Mastagni (2nd Dist. 2010) 185 Cal. App. 4th 1082; 111
Cal. Rptr 3d 165
23
24 Soft Story Retrofit Program Development
RETROFIT PROGRAM AND
POLICY ELEMENTS
3
Section 3
the Program and are not subject to a soft story program. While it may
seem intuitive that more stories would exacerbate the
soft story condition, Bonowitz and Rabinovici (2012) found
Prior to notifying building owners that they may be subject
that certain two-story buildings may actually be more
to a retrofit program, jurisdictions need to decide how to
vulnerable due to typical materials used, so it is important
determine which buildings are included in the program.
to include two-story buildings in a program. Single-story
Typically, the following characteristics go into developing
buildings may still be fragile, but should be considered
inventory data:
separately from a soft story retrofit program. Buildings on
Age sloped sites can be multi-level, with two or more stories in
some sections and only one story in others. These types
Age is a useful proxy for the adequacy of a building’s of buildings should also be included in the program.
structural design. As the engineering and building
community has learned more about earthquakes and Structure Type
their effects on typical construction types, codes have
Multi-unit, multi-story residential buildings can be of
become more stringent, so newer buildings are built to
almost any structural material and system. Typical soft
better withstand earthquake forces. California Health and
story programs, however, target older wood frame
Safety Code Section 19161(a)(2) sets January 1, 1978, as
buildings with soft or weak first stories because of
a date that jurisdictions may use to distinguish, broadly,
their history of poor earthquake performance. Other
potential soft story buildings. Buildings permitted prior to
construction types, including archaic concrete and
this date are more likely be insufficient to withstand likely
masonry systems, can exhibit structural weaknesses as
earthquakes, so all buildings permitted prior to this date
well. However, it makes sense to begin a retrofit program
should be evaluated and considered for retrofit. However,
with wood frame buildings, given the poor historic
some cities have chosen more recent, and therefore more
performance of these particular wood frame buildings in
stringent, building codes (for example, Oakland chose
past earthquakes, and the relatively easy and inexpensive
1990, or buildings built to the 1988 Uniform Building
retrofit for wood frame soft story buildings as compared to
Code). While this may capture more buildings that may
other structure types.
experience significant damage in an earthquake, it also
affects more building owners. Ground Level Use
Number of Units Soft story buildings are characterized by large open areas
in the ground floor or crawl space. These are typically
Most existing programs target multifamily buildings with
associated with uses other than residential dwelling units,
five or more residential units. This is partly because a focus
such as parking, commercial spaces, or unfinished storage
on larger buildings achieves a greater effect with fewer
areas. Open areas lack the walls that provide strength and
retrofit projects, but also because five is the cutoff at which
stiffness within dwelling units. These conditions make the
residential buildings are considered commercial properties
ground level significantly weaker than the stories above.
eligible for commercial loans. Five units is a useful cutoff for
Additionally, some ground floor uses pose higher hazards
many practical reasons, but it is not based in risk. If policy
than others. Collapse of a parking level will likely affect
makers in a jurisdiction that has many four unit soft story
far fewer people than collapse of a level that contains
buildings believe that including them will significantly serve
commercial spaces such as bars or restaurants with lots
retrofit goals, they may decide to adjust this cutoff.
of people in them. While not all buildings with parking or
Number of Stories retail on the ground story will be found to be structurally
weak, these ground story uses are likely to contribute to
Soft story buildings, by definition, have two or more soft story conditions. Some soft story buildings, especially
stories. The soft story condition occurs when a lower those built in the 50s and 60s, may also have some
city
staff
building
tenants owners
advocacy and
consensus- buildings subject
building to the program
noncompliance retrofit
standards
ASCE 41-13
placarding
RETROFIT
PROGRAM
e.g. FEMA P-807
streamlined
permits
ELEMENTS Chapter A4
phasing &
exemptions & deadlines
accommodations
QV
τ=
Ib
exempt compliance
from timeline
program
non-
compliance
alternate
consequences
compliance
paths exemptions
extensions
Retrofit Standards Additionally, if soft story buildings are spread over a wide
geographical area, it can be assumed that earthquake
Jurisdictions will have to decide what technical standards ground shaking will vary based on location and that some
are acceptable for evaluating buildings and performing buildings will perform better than others based simply
retrofits. Multiple standards have been developed by the on the degree of shaking they experience. Therefore, it
engineering community that are generally accepted as the may be acceptable to set a more moderate performance
current state of practice. However, with the development objective and still have acceptable performance of the
of new methods, questions have arisen about the building stock as a whole.5
consistency between new and old approaches and about
It should be noted that public expectations of
the costs and benefits of each approach to the building
performance may not align with standard technical goals.
owner. This discussion can be left between the owner
Even new buildings are built to a nominal safety standard,
and his or her engineer, or the jurisdiction can work with
meaning that while they are not likely to be damaged
a consultant or the Structural Engineers Association of
in an earthquake to the extent that they lead to loss of
North America (SEAONC)1 to help clarify the differences.
life, they may still be significantly damaged, requiring
Unless a jurisdiction has special circumstances that would
extensive repairs or even demolition. If performance
require unique engineering criteria, it is safe to assume
goals expect buildings to be habitable after a disaster,
that the standards cited by the current San Francisco
this needs to be incorporated into retrofit standards.
program are sufficient for use. However, some standards
This is especially important when asking building owners
require customization (setting performance objectives),
to spend considerable amounts of time and money to
which can vary based on program goals and expected
upgrade their buildings – if they retrofit but still need to
ground shaking.
do extensive repairs after an earthquake because they
To ensure consistent use of standards across all buildings retrofitted to a safety standard, they may be upset and feel
being evaluated, it is recommended to provide some sort as though the time and money invested were wasted. At
of guidance for how to use the accepted standards. San the same time, it may not be reasonable to require higher
Francisco’s Building Department issued Administrative performance standards for retrofitted buildings than for
Bulletins2 to provide guidance on how to interpret their new construction (ie, shelter-in-place standard versus life
retrofit standards, and Berkeley developed a Framework safety). It may also be more difficult to work with older
to guide engineers.3 Both cities have made modifications building technologies to achieve a significantly higher level
to the standards to help clarify their use and to make the of performance simply because older building materials
results of different standards more consistent with each and technologies may not be practical to significantly
other.4 Proper application of engineering criteria not only upgrade without extensive, and possibly expensive,
ensures that buildings are retrofitted to the expected alterations.
Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings P-807 also offers proprietary software, the Weak Story
Tool, to assist engineers in evaluation and retrofit design.6
ASCE 41-13 is a comprehensive technical standard used
to evaluate and retrofit existing structures. It is intended Chapter A4 of most recent edition
to be used for all building sizes and types, not just soft of International Existing Building
story buildings. Though it is not as targeted toward soft Code (IEBC)
story buildings, it does capture a wide range of variables
in terms of building construction, materials, and site IEBC A4 is a prescriptive retrofit code created specifically
conditions, so it can cover most buildings. for wood frame structures with a soft, weak, or open front
condition. It is updated and published triennially as part of
ASCE 41-13 requires the user to select a desired the IEBC; the most recent edition is from 2015. Because
performance level and to pair it with a presumed A4 does not account for older building materials that are
earthquake. Additionally, since ASCE-41-13 is not geared likely present in existing soft story buildings, A4 is not
specifically toward soft story buildings, its provisions appropriate for evaluation of existing buildings , but is
mostly assume evaluation or retrofit of the whole building, a useful and straightforward, if somewhat conservative,
not just the weak first story. If ASCE 41-13 is used for guide for retrofit. Chapter A4 provides a prescriptive
a first story only retrofit program, modification will be retrofit based on 75 percent of current code forces for
needed to clarify the intended scope of work and the new construction. The 75 percent allowance is a traditional
limited benefits. approach for building code provisions for existing
buildings. As a matter of policy, it has long (if debatable)
ASCE 41-13 combines and supersedes previous ASCE
precedent as a standard for acceptably “safe” structures.
standards used on other Bay Area retrofit programs:
ASCE 31-03 and ASCE 41-06. A further update is expected Like P-807, A4 focuses on ground floor retrofits that
to be published by ASCE in 2017. address the SWOF conditions. Unlike P-807, A4 does not
FEMA P-807, Seismic Evaluation and require an explicit check of possible over-strengthening
Retrofit of Multi-Unit Wood-Frame of the ground story. Therefore, both San Francisco and
a
This standard has been replaced by ASCE 41-13 and should not be use for new retrofit programs
b
Corresponds to an earthquake with a 5% probability of occurring in a 50 year period
c
Though not recommended for evaluation, as explained in footnote on previous page
d
Corresponds to an earthquake with a 20% probability of occurring in a 50 year period
e
These standards have not been reviewed in detail for this document, but we recommend using more widely available and known standards
** Oakland has passed an evaluation ordinance only. A retrofit ordinance is under development.
Berkeley have modified A4 for their programs, allowing a “technical ombudsman” may be identified within the
“need not exceed” cap on the strength of the A4-designed building department to deal with these types of case-by-
retrofit. This is expected to address the worst cases of case technical issues. However, many of the 1920’s soft
over-strengthening and to make the results of A4 and story buildings may not be subject to historic building
P-807 retrofits more consistent. requirements, unlike other vulerable types, such as
unreinfoced masonry buildings.
Historic Buildings
For historic buildings whose exterior may be altered Phasing and Deadlines
due to seismic retrofit, provisions may be necessary that
Many programs, especially those in cities with large number
take into account the California Historical Building Code.
of soft story buildings, have developed phasing, or tier
Retrofits in historic buildings may be more complicated or
systems that allow owners of certain types of buildings
expensive than non-historic buildings due to preservation
more time to retrofit, or to ensure that owners of high
requirements to maintain historic character; additionally,
priority buildings retrofit soonest. Tiers may be utilized
the desire to maintain historic character may also
to address high-risk populations or buildings with a large
allow less intrusive structural work, resulting in lesser
number of occupants first, ensuring the most public good
strengthening. San Francisco’s Planning Department has
in a short time. This is the route San Francisco took, placing
developed guidelines for seismic retrofit work for historic
educational, assembly, or residential care facilities in the
buildings which provide alternatives for solving many
first tier and buildings containing 15 or more dwelling units
structural and nonstructural problems while maintaining
in the second tier. Tiers may also be used to allow more
historic character.7 While the bulletin is geared towards
time for more complicated or disruptive retrofits, such
unreinforced masonry buildings, something similar could
as buildings where the ground floor is a commercial use
be developed for soft story retrofit. The National Park
with a tenant that would be displaced during construction,
Service also has prepared some guidance for seismically
or in liquefaction zones, where retrofit solutions may be
retrofitting historic buildings.8 Retrofit solutions may
more complicated. Additionally, tiers may be used to help
need to vary from common structural standards and
manage demands on building departments and other city
should be considered on a case-by-case basis. A
staff and to avoid an overwhelming influx of plans and
permit requests all at once. This may be very different than
7 http://www.sf-planning.org/Modules/ShowDocument.
aspx?documentid=5065 creating tiers to protect certain populations; for example,
8 http://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/briefs/41-seismic-retrofit.htm in San Francisco, the first tier encompassed a very small
1 Educational, assembly, or residential care Apartment house with more than 10 units
(earliest compliance date) facilities or more than two stories
Noncompliance
Consequences for noncompliance must be well defined
and well matche to the enforcement capability of the
jurisdiction. Many jurisdictions use existing mechanisms in
the building code, including fees, notices, liens, and court
action. Jurisdictions may also develop new consequences,
such as signage, or different or additional fees. Existing
building department staff may not have the capacity to deal
with an influx of noncompliance cases, so it is important to
consider what capacity exists to enforce noncompliance
consequences and choose consequences according to
what is manageable and effective in each jurisdiction.
Placarding
Some jurisdictions have required building owners to
publicly display a placard notifying the public of the status
of the building within the retrofit program. Placarding can
4
Section 4
Implementing a Retrofit
Program
Once policy is developed and adopted, soft story retrofit transitions from
a policy to a program. This section outlines the primary components
of running a retrofit program, including managing notifications, plan
checking, tracking compliance, and providing resources for building
owners to help them complete their retrofits. This section also discusses
financing and other incentive programs.
Provide transparent and accessible information to the PACE programs provide a means of financing
public is important. Most jurisdictions have developed improvements by securing loans through a voluntary
comprehensive websites to provide up-to-date special tax or assessment on the property. CSCDA
information on the requirements of the program and finances the property improvements by the issuing bonds,
the status of the program. Contents should include the secured by a contractual assessment levied on the owner’s
list of buildings subject to the program (which should property and collected in annual installments through
be updated frequently as building status changes), the property tax bill. PACE provides up to 100 percent
the language of the ordinance, evaluation and retrofit financing upfront and allows the cost of improvements
standard guidance, and a Q&A section that addresses the to be paid over the course of up to 20 years. Because
most common questions building owners and tenants will the loan is attached to the property rather than to an
have. The following websites may offer some direction: individual, the contractual assessment stays with the
property upon sale. Two teams currently operate under
• Berkeley: http://www.cityofberkeley.info/softstory/ the CSCDA umbrella in California: AllianceNRG and
Renewable Funding LLC. Additional providers may be
• San Francisco: http://www.sfgov.org/softstory and
added to this platform in the future. CSCDA member
http://sfdbi.org/softstory
cities and counties can opt in to Open PACE by adopting
• Alameda: http://alamedaca.gov/community- a resolution. Other PACE providers, such as Renovate
development/building/seismic-retrofit America, also operate independent PACE programs.
• Oakland: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/ However, PACE is still a relatively new tool for financing
Government/o/PBN/OurOrganization/ and may not prove to be the best financing option for
BuildingServices/o/Permits/DOWD008964. some building owners. Interest rates may vary from
traditional loans, and the constraints and rules of the
Retrofit Assistance Tools programs may limit application (for example, some
programs only finance detached residential properties and
As discussed previously, some building owners may want may not apply to condo buildings).
or need assistance. Jurisdictions can lower financial and
administrative hurdles. Although it is assumed by some Real Estate Transfer Tax Rebate
jurisdictions that incentives are critical, jurisdictions who
have offered incentives have found that community The City of Berkeley rebates up to one-third of the 1.5
consensus-building is more powerful. The following are percent transfer tax for qualified seismic retrofit on
residential properties or mixed use buildings with two
ASCE (2014). Seismic Evaluation and Rehabilitation of International Existing Building Code (IEBC) (2015).
Existing Buildings (ASCE/SEI 41-13) Chapter A4: Earthquake Risk Reduction in Wood-
Frame Residential Buildings with Soft, Weak or Open
Applied Technology Council (2009). Here Today - Here Front Walls. International Code Council. http://
Tomorrow: The Road to Earthquake Resilience in publicecodes.cyberregs.com/icod/iebc/2012/icod_
San Francisco. Earthquake Safety for Soft Story iebc_2012_appa4_sec001.htm
Buildings Documentation Appendices (ATC 52-3A).
http://www.sfgsa.org/modules/showdocument. Maison, B., McDonald, B. McCormick,D., Schotanus,M.,
aspx?documentid=9759 and Buckalew, J. (2014). Review of FEMA P-807:
Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Multi-Unit Wood-
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