City extends time for seismic upgrades
San Francisco property owners will have another year to come into compliance with citymandated seismic work.
On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Supervisor Rafael Mandelman’s legislation to extend the deadline for completion of seismic retrofitting of Tier IV woodframe buildings by one year from Sept. 15 to Sept. 15, 2021.
“Seismic retrofit work is essential and urgent, but the reality is that small businesses, residential tenants and property owners alike have asked for, and need, more time,” said Mandelman. “This legislation will allow additional time for property owners to complete retrofit construction on a timeline that reduces disruption to our already beleaguered and struggling
small businesses.”
The city’s 2013 Mandatory Soft Story Retrofit Program, aimed at improving the safety and resilience of San Francisco’s housing stock, requires the retrofit of older, woodframed, multifamily buildings. Most of the buildings
“Property owners ... have asked for, and need, more time.”
Rafael Mandelman, S.F. supervisor that fall into that category have completed retrofits, or are in the process of doing so. The Tier IV buildings, the final group to be completed, often have groundfloor commercial space with residential units above.
The prior deadline for completion of work on these buildings was Sept. 15 this year. The 1,014 Tier 4 properties identified in 2013 are estimated to hold 2,028 businesses. According to the Department of Building Inspection, 425 or 41% still need to complete their retrofit work.
Regina DickEndrizzi, executive director of the San Francisco Office of Small Business, said the extension would grant property owners time to work with tenants on when best to complete the work during the COVID19 pandemic.
Introduced in 2013, the Department of Building Inspection’s Mandatory Soft Story Retrofit Program applies to woodframe residential buildings that contain a “soft” ground floor — typically a retail space or garage — that makes the building susceptible to earthquake damage. Most of the city’s 115,000 softstory buildings have been strengthened or have filed plans to do so — the department says it has a 99% compliance rate.