The United States Geological Survey predicts a 67% chance another large earthquake will strike San Francisco in the next 25 years. We must secure soft story apartment buildings, some of our City's most vulnerable structures, to make San Franciscans safer and our City resilient. To that end, the City has signed into law a program for the mandatory retrofit for all wood frame buildings permitted for construction prior to January 1, 1978 with two or more stories over a soft or weak story that contain five or more dwelling units.
The first step in this process is the notice and screening form. These notices were sent out to all building owners on September 15, 2013. All property owners or their authorized agent must have a licensed architect or engineer complete the screening form, allowing the owner and the City to see if their building is within the program and required to retrofit. Buildings with previous work done under the AB-094 voluntary retrofit program or strengthening done to the level the ordinance requires will not be required to perform additional upgrades. Building owners must then select an appropriate compliance tier, which sets deadlines for permit applications and completion of work based on occupancy, size, and other factors.
After the screening form is submitted and accepted by DBI, the owner must--within the appropriate timeframe--be in the process of obtaining a permit and completing the work. This program, though requiring work, presents an opportunity to offer safer housing to residents, a more secure future to San Francisco, and the added value of protection of your critical asset. Thank you for your cooperation in working with the City on this critical effort.
This program is part of the City's Earthquake Safety Implementation Program (ESIP), a thirty-year plan to reduce the impact earthquakes will have on San Francisco.
Please Contact Us
(415) 558-6699 or email at softstory@sfgov.org
