1 STAFF REPORT
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
DATE: September 10, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director VIA: Mario Osuna, Assistant Community Development Director BY: Albert Lopez, Principal Plan Check Engineer
SUBJECT: Introduction of an Ordinance to Amend Title 9, Chapter 1, of the Burbank Municipal Code to E stablish Mandatory Earthquake Hazard Reduction Standards in Existing Wood Frame Residential Buildings with Soft, Weak, or Open-Front Wall Lines by Establishing Mandatory Retrofit Regulations and Approval to Amend the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget
RECOMMENDATION
1. Introduce AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK AMENDING TITLE 9 (BUILDING REGULATIONS) CHAPTER 1, ARTICLE 16, DIVISION 4 OF THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE ESTABLISHING
MANDATORY EARTHQUAKE HAZARD REDUCTION STANDARDS IN
EXISTING WOOD FRAME RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS WITH SOFT, WEAK OR OPEN FRONT WALLS (Attachment 1).
2. Approve an amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024- 25 Adopted Budget by appropriating $112,000 from revenue account 001.CD000.51030.1000 (General Fund, Community Development, Plan Check Fees) to expenditure account number 001.CD42A.62085.0000 (General Fund, Building Division, Other Professional Services) for consultant costs to support the current Senior Plan Check Engineer and Building Inspector II who will be working on the Soft -Story Seismic Retrofit program.
BACKGROUND
Soft-Story buildings are structurally characterized by being at least two stories and built of wood- framed construction, designed under pre- 1978 building standards, and containing a soft, weak, or open- front wall line. The Building and Safety Division of the Community Development Department has identified approximately 675 Soft-Story residential buildings with three or more residential units within the City of Burbank.
2 Figure 1 Example of a Soft-Story building
Due to large openings at the ground floor, inadequate lateral support, and laterally deficient structural connections to the upper floors, Soft -Story buildings are particularly vulnerable to catastrophic damage or collapse during a significant earthquake. The 1994 Northridge earthquake, one of the most economically devastating natural disasters in California history, highlighted the dangers of such structural weaknesses as an estimated 200 Soft-Story buildings partially or completely collapsed and 57 lives were lost.
Figure 2 Collapsed Soft-Story Building caused by Earthquake
3 While current building codes mandate that new construction meet s the latest standards, existing buildings are not required to be upgraded unless they undergo major alterations.
To address this issue, cities in California have proactively developed programs to identify, evaluate, and retrofit Soft-Story buildings to minimize the risk of loss of life, property damage, and disruption to residents from housing-stock loss during earthquakes.
The City initially adopted a voluntary Soft-Story Retrofit Program in 1998, acknowledging at the time that experts anticipated a n earthquake of equal or greater intensity than the Northridge earthquake within the next 30 years. Now, 26 years later, the window of opportunity to prepare is narrowing. In 2007, the City opted to maintain the retrofit standards as voluntary.
Since the adoption of the voluntary Soft -Story Seismic Retrofit standards, progress has been limited. Burbank has approximately 675 Soft -Story buildings that fall under the scope of the retrofit ordinance. However, since 2008, only 35 retrofit permits have been issued and completed, resulting in a compliance rate of just 5%. In comparison, the City of Los Angeles, starting with an inventory of 12,347 Soft-Story buildings under the scope of their 2015 mandatory ordinance, has completed 9,377 retrofit permits. This has brought 76% of their Soft -Story building inventory into compliance, significantly enhancing the safety of City of Los Angeles residents.
Several jurisdictions have implemented mandatory Soft-Story Retrofit Programs in recent years, including:
• City of Beverly Hills (2019)
• Culver City (2021)
• City of Los Angeles (2015)
• City of Pasadena (2019)
• City of Santa Monica (2017)
• City of West Hollywood (2017)
The establishment of a comparable program in Burbank will ensure residents receive the same level of protection before a catastrophic earthquake strikes.
DISCUSSION
The proposed Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit Program is designed to enhance the earthquake resilience of vulnerable buildings by imposing specific structural compliance requirements. Building owners with buildings that have been identified as being a Soft - Story building and fall within the scope of the ordinance will be sent a notice alerting them of their inclusion in the program and of the obligations they are required to meet. The ordinance will require building owners to submit a screening report and engage licensed engineers or architects to prepare a structural analysis and detailed construction documents. Once these requirements are met and plans are approved, owners must secure a building permit and complete the necessary retrofitting within the prescribed time limits set in Table 1.
4 Table 1 Soft-Story Compliance Timeline
Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit Compliance Timeline
Milestone
Submit
Screening
Form
Submit
Engineered
Plans
Plans
Approved
Obtain Permit
and Begin
Construction
Complete
Construction
Time from
Notice Date 1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years 5 years
If the ordinance is adopted, initial notices will be sent to affected building owners in January 2025. The compliance timeline outlined in Table 1 is comparable with timelines set by neighboring cities, allowing up to five years to complete the work from the day the initial notice is sent. Failure to meet these deadlines can result in recordation of a violation, issuance of administrative citations, and, as a last resort, an order to vacate the building.
The proposed ordinance allows building owners to contest their inclusion in the program if they can demonstrate that their building does not meet the criteria for a Soft- Story structure. Exemptions may be granted based on the outcome of a screening form completed by the building owner or through an appeal, where the owner must provide a report from a licensed engineer justifying the building's exclusion from the ordinance requirements.
A one-time extension for up to 180 days may be requested to complete the seismic retrofit work. The extension can be applied for after the screening report has been filed. The determination to grant an extension will be based on the building owner having demonstrated a good- faith effort to comply with the requirements of the ordinance and providing a schedule for the completion of the remaining requirements of the ordinance.
In no event shall the completion of the required retrofitting of a building exceed five years plus 180 days from the date the initial notice is sent.
Design Standards
The design standards of the proposed ordinance were developed with an integral focus on preserving tenants’ living conditions, aiming to limit retrofit construction to exterior work on the ground- floor parking area and thus greatly reducing the risk of tenant displacement. Therefore, a line-approach of strengthening was selected for the ordinance in which the building strengthening focuses only on the exterior building line where the deficiency exists. This contrasts with a story-approach of strengthening in which the entire first story is analyzed for deficiencies, yielding a far more intrusive strengthening requirement which could result in tenant displacement. The impacts to affected tenants may include the temporary unavailability of parking during construction hours, dust, and noise.
From a technical perspective, the design standards used for the ordinance scope and retrofit methods were based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines and their updated report for seismic evaluation and retrofit of weak-story wood frame buildings. The guidelines ensure uniformity with neighboring cities’ mandatory soft story retrofit ordinances, providing consistency for local building owners, builders, and engineers. Additionally, t he ordinance and design standards were submitted to the 5 Structural Engineers Association of Southern California’s (SEAOSC) Safer Cities Advisory Program for their technical review. The SEAOSC committee provided seasoned recommendations that were incorporated into the ordinance.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
The City’s website currently has a dedicated page with information pertaining to the Soft- Story retrofitting program and a dedicated email address to respond to inquiries. Staff hosted two community meetings. The first meeting on April 25, 2024 was conducted in a presentation format and the second meeting on May 15, 2024 was conducted as a panel discussion with online participation. The panel featured a diverse group of experts ranging from City of Burbank Code Officials, a retrofit contractor, a Burbank building owner who had voluntarily completed the retrofit, and a consulting structural engineer. Staff also presented to the Landlord- Tenant Commission on August 5, 2024 and to the Board of Building and Fire Appeals on August 13, 2024.
The primary concerns raised by stakeholders centered around the cost of retrofitting, the need for confirmation regarding whether their buildings fell within the ordinance's scope, and the recognition of prior voluntary compliance by property owners.
In response to these concerns, the proposed ordinance includes several provisions aimed at addressing these issues:
1. Line Approach - Adoption of a line approach to compliance was chosen over more invasive methods. This approach is less disruptive, more cost -effective, and requires less time to complete, thus reducing the overall burden on property owners.
2. R eciprocity - Voluntary retrofitting efforts previously completed under the existing ordinance will satisfy the retrofit requirements , ensuring that building owners’ proactive measures will receive credit.
3. Screening Form - The ordinance includes a unique component specific to Burbank; a comprehensive screening form designed to help building owners determine if their building falls within the ordinance's scope. By eliminating the immediate need to hire a licensed engineer, this reduces upfront costs and streamlines the process, making it more accessible for property owners.
4. Cost Recover y - P roperty owners can recover up to 50% of the retrofit costs through a temporary surcharge on rental units. The surcharge is limited to not exceed $38 per month for each unit and is not allowed to be levied after 120 months from when the date the building permit for the retrofit is finalized.
Additionally, the Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor allows for a tax exclusion from construction that includes seismic retrofitting improvements.
Costs for retrofitting Soft -Story buildings will vary based on the size of the building, the size of the Soft -Story opening, the retrofit system used, and the prevailing state of the construction industry economy. For informational purposes, a qualitative survey of neighboring cities with mandatory seismic retrofit programs found Soft-Story retrofit cost estimates ranging from $20,000 to $80,000 for small to medium apartment buildings and $80,000 to $250,000 for large apartment buildings. At this time, there does not appear to be grants or other sources of financial assistance available to building owners. Staff will continue to monitor Notice of Funding Opportunities as they become available. 6 Overall, the Soft-Story seismic retrofit program's design incorporates several measures to ensure compliance and protect tenants, but its success will depend on enforcement by the City and prompt action from building owners. The C ity must continually monitor the program's effectiveness and work with the community to improve compliance rates and enhance earthquake safety for its residents.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The ordinance is determined to be categorically exempt under § 15061(b)(3) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines in that it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility the proposed project would have a significant effect on the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
Implementing the Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit program will require a full-time Senior Plan Check E ngineer, who will review screening forms, analyze the merits of engineers’ appeals, and review engineered plans and calculations for compliance with the proposed standards. Additionally, costs cover a full -time Building Inspector II who will perform on- site construction inspections at critical milestones of t he construction process. Staff is requesting Council authority to amend the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-25 Adopted Budget by appropriating $112,000 from revenue account 001.CD000.51030.1000 (General Fund, Community Development, Plan Check Fees) to expenditure account number 001.CD42A.62085.0000 (General Fund, Building Division, Other Professional Services) for consultant costs to support the current Senior Plan Check Engineer and Building Inspector II who will be working on the Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit program. To recover these costs, a Soft -Story Seismic Retrofit plan check and permit fees have been established with the FY 2024-25 Budget Adoption in anticipation of the program.
CONCLUSION
The proposed ordinance represents a critical step in safeguarding the Cit y's residents and infrastructure against the seismic vulnerabilities found in Soft-Story buildings. With approximately 675 identified structures at risk, this ordinance mandates essential retrofitting to prevent catastrophic damage and loss of life in the event of a significant earthquake. The ordinance balances the need for safety with considerations for tenants and property owners alike. It offers a streamlined, cost-effective, less-invasive approach to compliance, grant s reciprocity for those who have already voluntarily retrofitted their buildings, and provides a temporary cost-recovery mechanism.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Ordinance
Attachment 2 – Soft-Story Building List
Attachment 3 – Screening Form
Attachment 4 – Other City Comparison Matrix