Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2181

Introduced by Assembly Member Bloom

February 20, 2014

An act to amend Sections 19160, 19161, 19162, and 19163 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to building standards.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2181, as amended, Bloom. Building standards: seismic retrofit.

Existing law authorizes a city, city and county, or county to establish, by ordinance, building seismic retrofit standards applicable to the seismic retrofit of any buildings identified, as specified, by the city, city and county, or county as being hazardous to life if an earthquake occurs. Existing law identifies specified types of buildings as potentially hazardous under these provisions, including certain unreinforced masonry buildings and specified woodframe, multiunit residential buildings constructed before January 1, 1978.

This bill would additionally authorize each city, city and county, or county to require that owners begin delete assess end delete begin insert evaluate end insert the earthquake hazard of soft story begin insert residential buildings end insert and older concrete begin insert residential end insert buildings, and would include concrete residential buildings that were constructed prior to the adoption of local building codes that ensure ductility, as specified, as potentially hazardous if an earthquake occurs. The bill would authorize a city, city and county, or begin insert county end insert to employ seismic evaluation of older concrete residential buildings to address individual seismically hazardous buildings without regard to how the buildings came to the attention of its officials. The bill would require the seismic retrofit of a concrete residential building identified as potentially hazardous to comply with begin delete the recommendations of a qualified expert, with nationally recognized research recommendations, or with end delete a nationally recognized model begin delete cake end delete begin insert code relating to the retrofit of existing buildings end insert , as specified.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 19160 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

19160.  

The Legislature finds and declares that:

(a) The harmful effects of future earthquakes can be reduced
through sound retrofitting programs, also known as reconstruction
programs.

(b) Because the United States Geological Survey predicts a
greater than 99 percent likelihood that California will experience
moderate to severe earthquakes before 2038, increased efforts to
reduce earthquake hazards should be encouraged and supported.

(c) Tens of thousands of buildings subject to severe earthquake
hazards continue to be a serious danger to the life and safety of
hundreds of thousands of Californians who live and work in them
in the event of an earthquake. The buildings themselves are also
at risk.

(d) Improvement of safety to life is the primary goal of building
begin delete reconstruction end delete begin insert retrofitting end insert to reduce earthquake hazards.

(e) Because every dollar spent on mitigation saves several
dollars in future postdisaster expenditures, a second major goal is
to reduce public costs for disaster relief.

(f) In order to make the evaluation and begin delete reconstruction end delete begin insert retrofitting end insert
of buildings that are at high risk of seismic failure economically
feasible, and to improve the safety of life in these buildings,
building standards enacted by local government for building
begin delete reconstruction end delete begin insert retrofitting end insert may differ from building standards
which govern new building construction.

(g) Because higher costs begin insert and other financial impediments end insert will
discourage necessary begin delete reconstruction end delete begin insert retrofitting end insert , the standards that
govern new buildings should not apply to begin delete reconstruction end delete begin insert retrofitting end insert
unless they are needed to achieve the desired increase in seismic
capacity begin insert . Furthermore, subdivision (a) of Section 2 of Article XIII end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A
of the California Constitution provides that no increase in assessed
value may be imposed because of a retrofit except as the
Constitution authorizes. Additionally, because of these higher costs
and other financial impediments, loan programs and protections
for the poor should be provided as is feasible, including, for
example, programs similar to those San Francisco utilized under
the mandatory retrofitting program the city and county established
in 2013 end insert .

(h) “Older concrete residential buildings,” also known as
“nonductile concrete residential buildings” and begin delete “pre-1980 end delete begin insert pre-1976
concrete residential buildings or end insert concrete residential buildings,”
are a subset of concrete buildings that may be unable to resist
earthquake motion. They include lift-slab begin insert residential end insert buildings
with concrete lateral force resisting systems.

(i) These buildings were a prevalent construction type in highly
seismic zones prior to the mid-1970s, are an important component
of the state’s housing stock, and are in jeopardy of being lost in
the event of a major earthquake.

(j) The California Office of Emergency Services reports that
concrete buildings, particularly older ones with high numbers of
occupants, can collapse and kill hundreds, and are the fastest
growing cause of earthquake losses around the world.

(k) During an earthquake, older concrete residential buildings
may create dangerous conditions, as illustrated by the catastrophic
damage or collapse of older concrete buildings in the earthquakes
of San Fernando, Loma Prieta, and Northridge, California (1971,
1989, and begin delete 1994), end delete begin insert end insert begin insert 1994); end insert Kobe, Japan begin delete (1995), end delete begin insert (1995); end insert Chi Chi,
Taiwan begin delete (1999), end delete begin insert (1999); end insert Kocaeli, Duzce, and Bingol, Turkey begin delete (1999,
1999, and 2003), end delete begin insert (1999 and 2003); end insert Sumatra begin delete (2005), end delete begin insert (2005); end insert
Pakistan begin delete (2005), end delete begin insert (2005); end insert Sichuan, China begin delete (2008), end delete begin insert (2008); end insert Haiti
begin delete (2010) end delete begin insert (2010); end insert and Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).

(l) California instituted building code changes in the mid-1970s
to prevent these problems in future construction, but begin insert , end insert four decades
later, the great majority of California’s concrete buildings that
were constructed before these changes have still not been evaluated
or retrofitted.

(m) The assistance of the public is necessary in identifying older
concrete begin insert residential end insert buildings, because no accurate inventory of
older concrete begin insert residential end insert buildings exists, and none can be
compiled begin delete by end delete begin insert from end insert external appearances or begin insert by end insert an examination of
public records.

(n) Once identified, older concrete begin insert residential end insert buildings must
be evaluated individually begin delete by a qualified architect or engineer end delete to
assess their seismic capacity and whether begin delete reconstruction end delete begin insert retrofitting end insert
is necessary.

(o) The failure of older concrete begin insert residential end insert apartment buildings
is likely to be the source of a disproportionate share of the public
shelter population in areas of the state where they are occupied by
the very poor, the very old, and the very young.

(p) “Soft story” residential buildings are a subset of multistory
woodframe structures that may have inadequately braced lower
stories that may not be able to resist earthquake motion.

(q) Soft story residential buildings are an important component
of the state’s housing stock and are in jeopardy of being lost in the
event of a major earthquake.

(r) Soft story residential buildings were responsible for 7,700
of the 16,000 housing units rendered uninhabitable by the Loma
Prieta earthquake and over 34,000 of the housing units rendered
uninhabitable by the Northridge earthquake.

(s) During an earthquake, soft story residential buildings may
create dangerous conditions as illustrated in the Northridge
Meadows apartment failure that claimed the lives of 16 residents.

(t) The collapse of soft story residential buildings can ignite
fires that threaten trapped occupants and neighboring buildings
and complicates emergency response.

(u) The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)
estimates that soft story residential buildings will be responsible
for 66 percent of the uninhabitable housing following an event on
the Hayward fault.

(v) The failure of soft story residential buildings is estimated
by ABAG to be the source of a disproportionate share of the public
shelter population because they tend to be occupied by the very
poor, the very old, and the very young.

(w)  begin delete The end delete begin insert In 1995, the end insert Seismic Safety Commission begin delete has end delete
recommended that legislation be enacted to require state and local
building code enforcement agencies to identify potentially
hazardous buildings and to adopt mandatory mitigation programs
that will significantly reduce unacceptable hazards in buildings begin delete by
2020 end delete .

(x) The current nationally recognized model begin delete codes end delete begin insert code end insert relating
to the retrofit of existing buildings begin delete are end delete begin insert , end insert the International Existing
Building Code begin delete and the Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Existing
Buildings by the American Society of Civil Engineers end delete begin insert , as adapted
for California, and other sources are authorized for use in
retrofitting by the California Building Code end insert . However, it is not
the intent of the Legislature, if other begin delete research-based
recommendations or end delete model codes relating to the retrofit of existing
buildings are developed, to limit the California Building Standards
Commission or a local government, pursuant to Section 19162, to
adopting a particular research-based recommendation or model
code. Equally, the Legislature does not intend for local
governments to delay needed evaluation and retrofitting programs
in the hope that improved methods to evaluate and retrofit buildings
may be developed. Rather, the Legislature finds that existing
scientific knowledge permits immediate evaluations and retrofitting
of older concrete begin insert residential end insert buildings to significantly increase the
safety of life in and reduce earthquake damage to seismically
hazardous older concrete begin insert residential end insert buildings.

(y) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage
cities and counties to address the seismic safety of older concrete
residential buildings and soft story residential buildings begin delete by
encouraging and imitating end delete begin insert , initiate end insert programs to inform owners,
residents, and the public about the dangers of these potentially
hazardous buildings, mandate their evaluation at owner expense,
and require retrofitting begin insert at owner’s expense end insert to reduce the seismic
risk in those that are unacceptably hazardous.

SEC. 2.  

Section 19161 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

19161.  

(a) Each city, city and county, or county, may assess
the earthquake hazard in its jurisdiction or require that owners
begin delete assess end delete begin insert evaluate end insert the earthquake hazard of soft story begin delete and end delete begin insert residential
buildings, end insert older concrete begin insert residential end insert buildings, begin insert or both, end insert and thereby
identify buildings subject to its jurisdiction as being potentially
hazardous to life in the event of an earthquake. Potentially
hazardous buildings include, but are not limited to, all of the
following:

(1) Unreinforced masonry buildings constructed prior to the
adoption of local building codes requiring earthquake resistant
design of buildings that are constructed of unreinforced masonry
wall construction and exhibit any of the following characteristics:

(A) Exterior parapets or ornamentation that may fall.

(B) Exterior walls that are not anchored to the floors or roof.

(C) Lack of an effective system to resist seismic forces.

(2) Woodframe, multiunit residential buildings constructed
before January 1, 1978, where the ground floor portion of the
structure contains parking or other similar open floor space that
causes soft, weak, or open-front wall lines, as provided in a
nationally recognized model code relating to the retrofit of existing
buildings or substantially equivalent standards.

(3) Concrete residential buildings, including lift-slab begin insert residential end insert
buildings with concrete lateral force resisting systems, that were
constructed prior to the adoption of local building codes that ensure
ductility begin insert , as provided in a nationally recognized model code
relating to the retrofit of existing buildings, or substantially
equivalent standards end insert .

(b) Structural evaluations made pursuant to this section shall
be made by an architect as defined in Section 5500 of the Business
and Professions Code, or a civil or structural engineer registered
pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division
3 of the Business and Professions Code, or staff of the enforcing
agency, as described in Section 17960, supervised by an architect
or civil or structural engineer authorized by this subdivision to
make the structural evaluations.

SEC. 3.  

Section 19162 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

19162.  

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 19100
or 19150 or any other provision of law, the governing body of any
city, city and county, or county may, by ordinance, establish
building seismic retrofit standards applicable to the seismic retrofit
of any buildings identified pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a) of Section 19161 by the city, city and county, or county as
being potentially hazardous to life in the event of an earthquake.

(b) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 19100, 19150,
or any other provision of law, the governing body of any city, city
and county, or county may, by ordinance, establish building seismic
retrofit standards applicable to the seismic retrofit of any buildings
identified pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
19161 by the city, city and county, or county as being potentially
hazardous to life in the event of an earthquake. Any standards
established pursuant to this section shall apply until the effective
date of building standards adopted by the California Building
Standards Commission relating to the retrofit of existing buildings,
if any, at which time the standards adopted by the commission as
amended by the city, county, or city and county pursuant to Section
17958.5 shall apply.

(2) A local ordinance establishing building seismic retrofit
standards applicable to soft story residential structures adopted
before January 1, 2006, shall remain in full force and effect until
the effective date of building standards adopted by the California
Building Standards Commission relating to the retrofit of existing
buildings unless the city, county, or city and county after January
1, 2006, adopts an ordinance pursuant to paragraph (1).

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 19100 or 19150
or any other provision of law, the governing body of any city, city
and county, or county may do begin delete both end delete begin insert either or both end insert of the following:

(1) Employ seismic evaluations of older concrete residential
buildings, including lift-slab begin insert residential end insert buildings with concrete
lateral force resisting systems, to address individual seismically
hazardous buildings, without regard to how these buildings came
to the attention of its officials.

(2) Establish, by ordinance, building seismic retrofit standards
applicable to the seismic retrofit of any of these buildings that are
potentially hazardous to life in the event of an earthquake. Any
standards established pursuant to this paragraph shall apply until
the effective date of applicable building standards adopted by the
California Building Standards Commission relating to the retrofit
of existing buildings, if any, at which time the standards adopted
by the commission as amended by the city, city and county begin insert , end insert or
county pursuant to Section 17958.5 shall apply.

(d) Building seismic retrofit standards adopted pursuant to this
section may be applied uniformly throughout the city, city and
county, or county, or may be applied in specific areas designated
by the city, city and county, or county, or to specific buildings
within the city, city and county, or county begin delete if those buildings are
those end delete begin insert that are end insert described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of
Section 19161.

(e) For purposes of this chapter, “seismic retrofit” means either
structural strengthening or providing the means necessary to modify
the seismic response that would otherwise be expected by an
existing building during an earthquake, to significantly reduce
hazards to life and safety while also providing for the substantial
safe ingress and egress of the building occupants immediately after
an earthquake.

SEC. 4.  

Section 19163 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

19163.  

Any local ordinance adopted pursuant to Section 19162
shall require the following:

(a) Any seismic retrofit of any building identified pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 19161 as being
hazardous to life in the event of an earthquake shall provide for
the reasonable adequacy of all of the following:

(1) Unreinforced masonry walls to resist normal and inplane
seismic forces.

(2) The anchorage and stability of exterior parapets and
ornamentation.

(3) The anchorage of unreinforced masonry walls to the floors
and roof.

(4) Floor and roof diaphragms.

(5) The development of a complete bracing system to resist
earthquake forces.

(b)  begin delete Any end delete begin insert A end insert seismic retrofit of any building identified pursuant
to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 19161 as potentially
hazardous shall comply with a nationally recognized model code
relating to the retrofit of existing buildings or substantially
equivalent standards. If the city, county, or city and county adopts
local amendments to those provisions, it shall determine that the
amendments are consistent with Section 17958.5.

(c)  begin delete Any end delete begin insert A end insert seismic retrofit of any building identified pursuant
to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 19161 as potentially
hazardous shall comply with begin delete the recommendations of a qualified
expert under paragraph (b) end delete begin delete   end delete begin delete of Section 19161 or with nationally
recognized research recommendations, end delete a nationally recognized
model code relating to the retrofit of existing buildings, or
substantially equivalent standards. If the city, city and county, or
county adopts local amendments to those provisions, it shall
determine that the amendments are consistent with Section 17958.5.

(d) Seismic retrofit of any building or portions of any building
shall be designed to resist and withstand the seismic forces from
any direction as set forth in the building seismic retrofit standards
using the allowable working stresses adopted pursuant to this
article.

(e) The governing board of any city, city and county, or county
may establish, by ordinance, standards and procedures to fulfill
the intent of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) without regard to
the remainder of the requirements specified above.