Berkeley Soft Story Program BY JENNY MCNULTY
In January 2014, Berkeley began Phase II of its Soft Story program, mandating seismic retrofits. As a result of the ground-breaking 2005 Soft Story ordinance which encouraged voluntary compliance, more than half the buildings on the original inventory have already been retrofitted or removed from the list. Below are some of the benefits and provisions of the program. Community Benefits • Increased safety • Increase quality and resiliency of housing stock • Less need for city services during and post earthquake • Policy innovation and spread of the policy approach beyond Berkeley’s borders
Key Provisions • Mandatory retrofit • Listed on title • Notification of tenants and prospective tenants • Posting of earthquake warning signs
Oakland Seismic Retrofit Update BY RICK PHILIPS
Several EBRHA Board members are participating in a City of Oakland working group to develop an ordinance to encourage the seismic retrofit of the 1,400 most dangerous apartment buildings in Oakland. These buildings were identified several years ago as “SoftStory, 5 or more units.” While a 1-4 unit building in Oakland will likely not be affected by this particular ordinance, EBRHA encourages owners of those buildings to investigate improvements that will prevent loss of life and damage to your building. If you were notified by Oakland several years ago about your building, please stay tuned. EBRHA strongly urges property owners to move forward with this work. Time is almost up and an earthquake can strike at any moment. EBRHA represents members in developing incentives, both financial and regulatory, to make it worthwhile to strengthen your building. If you have experience in seismic retrofit work on your rental property, please contact Rick Philips at rphilips9@hotmail.com. 24 RENTAL HOUSING
| JULY 2014 |
ebrha.com
will remain habitable following a major earthquake. If the owner fails to perform the seismic retrofit work or comply with tenant notification requirements, the building official may declare the building a public nuisance and initiate abatement procedures. Municipal Code enforcement options include issuing citations, placing liens, summary abatement and court appointed receivership. A Model Ordinance Berkeley’s soft story ordinance has served as a model for a number of other cities, including San Francisco and Santa Monica. These cities have been able to learn from Berkeley’s research and experience with drafting and implementing a new law. “There are many insights into everything that Berkeley established and the experiences of their residents — both owner and tenant,” said Ron Takiguchi, Santa Monica building official. What’s Next for Berkeley? Berkeley’s current law does not apply to soft, weak or open front buildings with 2-4 residential units, commercial buildings or residential transient and group living facilities, such as motels. As progress continues on covered residential buildings, these buildings may be considered for future enforcement efforts seeking to increase safety in the event of a much dreaded catastrophic earthquake. Berkeley will also be accelerating its efforts to advance community resilience, with a three-year grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The Rockefeller Foundation committed $100 million to 100 cities worldwide and selected Berkeley as one of 32 inaugural members of the 100 Resilient Cities network. Berkeley was selected because of its innovative seismic policy-making and the considerable risks presented by the Hayward Fault. For more information, go to: www. cityofberkeley.info/softstory. RH Jenny McNulty is a Program and Administration Manager in the Building and Safety Division at the City of Berkeley. She manages Berkeley’s Soft Story Program and helped develop mandatory retrofit requirements in 2013. She can be reached at 510-981-7451 or jmcnulty@ ci.berkeley.ca.us.