EARTHQUAKE REFITS SLOW BUT STEADY

Q&A: Minister says province making progress as it works toward ordering upgrades to older buildings

Seismic Rift: Part 3 of 4

Municipalities have a spotty record when it comes to developing programs to seismically upgrade privately owned buildings, including apartments and offices.

Municipalities such as Vancouver and Victoria say they’re looking for help and leadership from the B.C. government.

In an interview with Postmedia News, Naomi Yamamoto, minister of state for emergency preparedness, answered questions on the issue.

Is there any role for the province to play in a seismic-upgrading program or policies for privately owned buildings?

We’ve been looking at incentives, what kind of incentives would motivate the right behaviour without putting undue costs, or downloading costs onto people.

So, what comes to mind are B.C. Hydro Power Smart rebates — that (program) actually worked. We need to look at some of these programs, for example, in California.

But some of the aspects of their policy for retrofitting meant that folks really couldn’t afford to retain or maintain the building. The costs were too prohibitive. The homeowners thought those costs are being downloaded and that the actual ability to retain ownership of their home was mired in red tape.

So, I think we have to be careful when we look at some of the other programs that sound really good, but the unintended consequences really led to some challenges.

What about inventories of at-risk privately owned buildings? Places such as Portland and Seattle have them, but Vancouver and Victoria do not.

Maybe we can potentially partner with UBCM (the Union of B.C. Municipalities) to voluntarily develop an inventory — and have them contribute toward the intelligence or data gathering on seismically unsafe buildings in their region. We don’t actually have an inventory of these non-government buildings. We have an inventory of our own assets that the Ministry of Transportation completed that includes bridges, hospitals, roads, all those kinds of things. There is a lot to do. We can take leadership — but really, it’s all levels of government that really need to take some measure to ensure that people are safe.

When you say inventory, would you put funding on the table or partner with the UBCM?

It’s too early to say. Maybe we partner with B.C. Assessment because they have an inventory of buildings. I know it’s going to require resources, but we’re not actually at that point to say what we can contribute. But it’s really, really important.

The reason why it’s concerning to us is that we may have a great seismically upgraded building or a brandnew building that’s been built to the latest seismic standards — but right beside it is a building that’s vulnerable. So that building goes down in an earthquake, and the seismically upgraded building that withstands it, actually can’t be used, because of the damage the other building has caused. So, this is something that’s on our radar.

You mentioned California. The state mandated in the 1980s that municipalities in seismically at-risk regions had to bring in some kind of seismic retrofit program for unreinforced masonry buildings. Many large cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco made upgrades to those buildings mandatory and have moved on to other buildings, including wood-frame buildings and brittle concrete. When you say you’re cautious, are you talking about the mandatory aspect and specifying timelines?

Yes. And look at our top issue right now, which is housing affordability, the lack of supply. We can be comforted by the fact that all new buildings are built to a very high seismic standard, probably one of the highest in North America. But a lot of our old buildings are rental buildings, and we would really need to address the supply side before we looked at demolishing anything.

Is there a role for the federal government to play?

Absolutely. Look at where B.C. is located. We’re at the gateway to Asia Pacific. A huge amount of our trade goes through our ports. If something happens to Vancouver, Canada is crippled. If there’s a significant event, Canada will be crippled.

We can’t actually do any of this work going forward without them. Natural Resources Canada is our key partner. And they’re in the room with us right now.

The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

To read the complete series, see videos and check the interactive graphics, go to theprovince.com.

— DON CRAIG/BC GOVERNMENT FILES Naomi Yamamoto, B.C.’s minister responsible for earthquake preparedness, says it’s very important that the province establishes an inventory of privately-owned buildings that are vulnerable to collapse in the event of an earthquake.

MARK VAN MANEN/ PNG FILES The province has spent billions on seismically upgrading infrastructure such as bridges, but has shown little interest in addressing the privately-owned building stock. The Lions Gate Bridge received seismic upgrades, which included reinforced concrete...