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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/19/2005, BUS. 3 - STATUS REPORT: UNREINFORCED MASONRY HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM counck j acEnaa Repoin /SJs. _3_ CITY O F SAN LUIS OBISPO FROM: Wendy George,Assistant CAO Prepared By: Claire Clark, Seismic Coordinator SUBJECT: STATUS REPORT: UNREINFORCED MASONRY HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM CAO RECOMMENDATION Receive report and discuss status of Unreinforced Masonry Hazard Mitigation (URM)Program. DISCUSSION Background Subsequent to the San Simeon Earthquake of December 22, 2003, the City of San Luis Obispo adopted changes to the City's existing Unreinforced Masonry Hazard Mitigation Program by adopting Ordinance No.1453 (Attachment 1). During consideration of the proposed changes, the Council worked to balance the heightened need to address the public safety issues with the practical needs of the building owners and businesses affected by the proposed changes. The revised URM Ordinance addressed the need for greater.public safety by establishing earlier deadlines for reinforcement and new deadlines to ready permits for timely issuance. The URM Ordinance requires "the owner of a building...shall structurally alter the building to conform to Level B Strengthening by July 1, 2010." It further allows the owner to do Level A Strengthening (partial strengthening) by July 1, 2007 in order to delay the Level B work until July 1, 2012. Importantly, the Ordinance goes on to provide "If Level A work is not completed by July 1; 2007, the City Council will set a Level B completion deadline for each building on the basis of relative hazard, but no later than July 1, 201W' To insure flexibility for property owners, the ordinance requires owners to obtain necessary planning approvals and a construction permit no later than January 1, 2006. Applications for such approvals were due on July 1, 2005. By requiring owners to obtain a construction permit, the Council eliminated any City-generated procedural obstacles that could slow down an owner's plans for proceeding with the strengthening. To assist owners affected by the new deadlines, a revised mitigation program provided a City- issued URM warning sign, established low fees for Planning and Building applications and permits, and established reduced cost contractor parking fees. In addition, the temporary part- time position of Seismic Coordinator was established, under the supervision of the Economic Development Manager, to help owners comply with the deadline requirements, coordinate services within the City, look for potential funding sources for retrofitting; and coordinate the construction process. Since the revised URM Ordinance took effect, building owners have been repeatedly offered assistance and encouragement by the Seismic Coordinator, specific review and permit issues have been addressed within City departments, and follow-up with engineers, architects and 3 _1 Council Agenda Report—Status Report: URM Hazard Mitigation Program Page 2 builders has occurred to determine progress toward the July 1, 2005 deadline. Permits have been requested and issued, planning review of projects has progressed efficiently, and several strengthening projects have proceeded into construction. This report summarizes the progress owners have made toward meeting or exceeding the July 1, 2005 deadline. Current Progress When the changes were made to the City's Seismic Hazard Mitigation Ordinance in late 2004, there were 99 buildings identified as unreinforced in accordance with the State's hazard mitigation mandate. On July 1, 2005, all owners of identified buildings were required to submit plans to address strengthening of their building. There has been high level of compliance with the first deadline with 91 out of the 99 owners fulfilling the requirements of the first deadline. More specifically, 1. 43 building permit :applications were submitted on or before the deadline. These represent simple retrofit projects or those projects with minor exterior changes receiving review at a staff level; 1 10 planning review applications were made on or before the deadline. These projects include exterior changes in addition to the structural strengthening as well as those projects with demolitions; 3. 38 projects filed Engineer's Guarantees or filed plans during the first week of July. Engineer's Guarantees are letters from engineers stating that work is under contract and establishing a guaranteed completion date. Staff has allowed this substitution for an actual permit applications due to the large amount of engineering work required and the limited supply of qualified engineers. 4. 8 owners have failed to file any plans or to respond to the numerous entreaties by the Seismic Coordinator. Of the applications that have been submitted, there are 82 retrofit projects and 7 demolition projects. The City anticipates that a few of the "retrofit" projects will be amended as demolition/ redevelopment projects. Plans for these redevelopment projects were not fully developed in time to meet the July 1'deadline so retrofit plans were filed to maintain compliance_ for these owners. An additional 5 redevelopment/demolition permits are anticipated. Buildings Eliminated from the Inventory Of the 43 building permit applications that. have been submitted, building permits have been issued and work has begun on several buildings. There are four buildings where strengthening has been fully addressed, namely: 1. 1117 Chorro Black Sheep Michel Oliazola Level B Retrofit 2. 252 Higuera Tire Store Beckwith &:Hite removed from list 3. 256 Higuera Tire Store Beckwith &Hite removed from list 4. 969 Monterey Gigi's Steven Carroll Demolition 3-Z Council Agenda Report=Status Report: URM Hazard Mitigation Program Page 3 The Black Sheep strengthening was accompanied by a significant renovation of the interior and exterior of the building. The building at 969 Monterey, formerly home to Gigi's Restaurant, was demolished in April and the site is now being readied for the construction of a new three story mixed use structure. Both of the Tire Store buildings at 252 and 256 Higuera were re-inspected, new strengthening data was brought to light, and both buildings were removed from the inventory of Unreinforced Masonry Buildings. Buildings Partially Strengthened Two other buildings have been fully retrofitted in one half of the building. 1. 778 Marsh Selections Mark Anderson half building retrofit 2. 1009 Monterey Panolivo Rossi et al half building retrofit Buildings with Work.Underway Quite a lot of strengthening work is in progress in the City, with more expected over the course of the summer and fall months. There are several buildings where strengthening is currently underway. The buildings located at 385 Higuera (former John Ramos Gallery) and 978 Monterey (JP Andrews) are close to completion,awaiting final City inspection and approval-.. 1. 385 Higuera Frm. John Ramos,Gall. John & Susan Barrett Level B retrofit 2. 705 Higuera Blazing Blend/Phone Anselm Vann Level B retrofit 3. 715 Higuera Penelope's Hosiah Towery Trust Level B retrofit 4. 719 Higuera Michael's Optical Reed Family Trust Level B retrofit 5. 745 Higuera Keller Classics Alice Nelson Level B retrofit 6. 760 Higuera Warden Building Rossi et al Level B retrofit 7. 978 Monterey JP Andrews Vintage Properties Level B retrofit 8. 962 Monterey Old Copeland's Office Copeland Level B retrofit Of note, the JP Andrews building was strengthened without off site relocation of the tenants. Owners, tenants and contractor worked together to complete the strengthening one office at a time,. Vacant space within the building was used to accommodate the displaced offices during strengthening of specific tenant spaces. In the case of the John Ramos Gallery location, the owners took advantage of the departure of the Gallery to upgrade their building and complete full reinforcement. Anticipated Future Work Several other owners are preparing to begin construction over the next month.. Still others, not listed here, are talking about the timing of their projects and using the experience of those already in process to plan for the strengthening of their building. Those ready to begin construction during the next few weeks are:. 1. 11.10 Garden Linnea's Helen Grau Level B retrofit 2. 1130 Garden Garcia Architect. John Benson Level B retrofit 3 -3 i Council Agenda Report=Status Report: URM Hazard Mitigation Program Page 4 3. 798 Palm Mission Real Estate Beulah Chong Level B retrofit plus 4. 800 Palm Ah Louis Dr. Watson Level B retrofit plus 5. 741 Higuera Posie's Nancy Poe Level B retrofit 6. 888 Monterey Full Circle/frm. Kinko Jack Feliciano Level B retrofit In summary, the program is working! The City's goal of 100%compliance with the January 1, 2006 deadline is well underway. The few owners who failed to submit plans by July 15L are receiving heightened scrutiny which is expected to bring them into compliance prior to the January 1, 2006 deadline for obtaining a building permit. In stressing the January 1, 2006 deadline, the City is putting the emphasis on each owner obtaining and holding an "open" building permit. in issuing these "open" permits, the City is facilitating the building owners' ability to begin the work unfettered by the necessity of obtaining a building permit at the point in time when the owner determines that the time is ripe for retrofitting, such as a tenant moving_ out. This approach should significantly streamline the process for owners and put the control over timing in their hands. Given the good start that owners have made toward strengthening our town, the. City should expect good things to come from the process ahead. What has been particularly gratifying is watching what could have been a very negative experience become the impetus for significant improvements and revitalization in the City's downtown core. Next Steps The coming six months will see a flurry of activity in the Community Development Department. The URM Ordinance provides that "the building permit shall be obtained by January 1, 2006..." This provision also includes building permits that require prior planning approvals such as redevelopment, demolition or additions. Specific compliance with the January 1, 2006 deadline, as evidenced by permits being issued to building owners, will be required. Enforcement actions will be undertaken against those owners who fail to obtain a permit by the deadline. By taking this action, the City insures that it has eliminated all City-generated procedural obstacles that could slow down an owner's plans for proceeding with the strengthening work. There are several downtown redevelopment projects under consideration by developers that could include buildings in the URM inventory. These projects will likely require a more extensive development review process and therefore may extend outside of the deadlines established for reinforcement. For some of these projects, compliance will be obtained through the normal means of submitting retrofitting plans, obtaining the necessary permit, and then amending those plans as the redevelopment plans come into focus. Other projects have already been submitted as fully realized redevelopment projects. As the timeline for approvals and subsequent redevelopment unfolds, staff may bring back to Council suggested revisions to the URM deadlines, in order to accommodate the needs of these larger projects or to address other issues that may arise. During the remainder of the year, staff will continue to monitor the URM applications as they move toward permit approvals. Coordination of ongoing retrofit projects will take a higher priority as more projects begin the construction phase. City departments, the Downtown Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and surrounding businesses will continue to be appraised of upcoming projects by the Seismic Coordinator. In addition, the continual search for sources of funding for retrofit projects will include renewed discussions with banks and 3-'� Council Agenda Report—Status Report: URM Hazard Mitigation Program Page 5 refreshed investigation of sources for grant monies. Looking ahead to the deadline for completion of strengthening, as indicated earlier, the URM Ordinance requires Level A partial strengthening be completed by July 1, 2007 in order to delay the Level B work until July 1, 2012. If Level A work is not completed by the 2007 date, the Council is to provide a mandatory completion date for Level B work for each untouched building, based on its relative hazard, to assure that all strengthening is completed by July 1, 2010. Following the July 1, 2007 deadline, staff will provide the Council with information about the relative hazard of all buildings where structural strengthening has not been addressed to a Level A retrofit minimum. In addition, periodic reports will continue as work progresses throughout the City. Formal reporting to the Council in January, as required by the URM Ordinance, will occur annually. ATTACHMENT 1. Ordinance No. 1453 Electronic File Path: G:\Projects&Programs\Seismic Program\Agenda Reports\7-1-2005SeismicAgendaReport 3-Y ATTACHMENT ORDINANCE NO.,1453(2004 Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AMENDING TITLE 15,CHAPTERS 15.04 AND 15.08 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE TO MODIFY REQUIREMENTS FOR STRENGTHENING UNREINFORCED MASONRY BUILDINGS WHEREAS, the City of San Luis Obispo contains 100 buildings of anreinforced masonry construction, determined to be "potentially hazardous" during a seismic event; that have not been adequately strengthened,and WHEREAS, the City of San Luis Obispo is situated near three major earthquake faults each capable of generating earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.5, and is therefore particularly vulnerable to devastation should such an earthquake occur;and WHEREAS,the City of San Luis Obispo is located in Seismic Zone 4,and is subject to the provisions of Chapter 12.2,Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code,and specifically Section 8875 which requires that the City establish a mitigation prograin to substantially reduce the hazards associated with unrpinforced masonry buildings;and WHEREAS,'it is the desire and intent of the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo to provide citizens with the greatest degree of life safety involving buildings of unreinforced masonry construction in the most effective mariner. NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows: SECTION L Section 15.04.050 of Chapter 1.5.04 of Title 15 of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code is hereby modified as follows. A. Amend Section A105 'to delete previously added Section A105.4 and retain Section A105.4'as written in the Uniform Code for Building Conservation. B. Amend Section All-5A to read as follows: A115.1 Compliance Requirements. A115.1.1 Strengthening Deadlines. The owner of a building within the scope of this chapter shall structurally alter the building to conform to Level B Strengthening by July 1,2010 or when one of the following occurs: 01453 3-� ATTACHMENT 1 Ordinance No. 1453 (2oo4 Series) Page 2 1. The value of additions, alterations, and/or maintenance repairs requiring a building permit, .cumulative from March 4, 1992, exceeds 50 percent of the replacement cost of the building established by the Building Official per Section 304.2 of the Uniform Administrative Code; which may include a certified appraisal report. The cumulative value of alterations and maintenance repairs need not include reroofing, Level A. Strengthening,and installation of an automatic fire sprinkler system. EXCEPTION: Buildings containing more than one tenant space if the floor area of altered tenant spaces,cumulative from March 4, 1992, does not exceed 50 percent of the total floor area of the building. I The use of the building changes to a different division of the same occupancy group or to a different occupancy group. EXCEPTIONS: 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3405 of the Building Code, buildings containing more than one occupancy classification need not be strengthened if the total floor area for changes in use, cumulative from March 4, 1992, does not exceed 50 percent of the floor area of the building. 2. Occupancy classification changes to Groups F, M, S and U from an equivalent category as defined_ in the previous editions of this code. 3. An occupancy classification change to a Group R, Division 1 Occupancy with not more than five dwelling units. 4. An occupancy classification change to a Group S Occupancy used exclusively as a warehouse with no human habitation. 3. If Level A strengthening work is completed by July 1, 2007, completion of the remaining work to satisfy Level B strengthening requirements may be delayed until July 1, 2012. If Level.A work is not completed by July 1, 2007;the City Council will set a Level B completion deadline for each building on the basis of relative hazard,but not later than July 1, 2010. EXCEPTION: The Building Official, on a case-by-case basis, may approve an alternate strengthening plan deemed equivalent to Level A strengthening if: 1. A greater than 50 percent reduction in the unreinforced. masonry hazard for the building is accomplished by July 1, 2007; and, �-7 ATTACHMENT 1 Ordinance No. 1453 (2004 Series) Page 3 2. A written agreement includes an acceptable work planand timeline; and, 3. The plan completes Level B strengthening by July 1,2012. A115.1.2 Permits. The owner of a building within the scope of this chapter shall submit a complete application for a building permit to the Building Official to strengthen the building to Level B requirements by July 1, 2005. The building permit shall be obtained by January 1, 2006, and shall remain valid until required Level B strengthening work is completed per Section Al 15.1.1. EXCEPTION: For seismic strengthening or demolition projects that require approval of a planning application by a City process, the planning application shall be submitted to the Community Development Department by July 1,.2005. The application for building or demolition ,permit shall be submitted following approval of the planning application, and a building or demolition perryut shall be obtained by January 1,2006. A115.13 Posting of Sign. The owner of a building within the scope of this chapter shall post, at a conspicuous place new the primary entrances to the building, a sign provided by the building official stating "This is an unreinforced masonry building. Unreinforced masonry buildings may be unsafe in the event of a major earthquake". The sign shall be posted within 60 days of receipt by the building owner per installation standards established by the building official. C. Amend Section Al 15.3.3 to read as follows: A1153:3 Order. The order shall direct the owner to obtain a building or demolition permit as required by this chapter and cause the .building to be structurally altered to conform to the provisions of this chapter, or cause the building to be demolished. D. Amend Section A115.7 to read as follows: A115.7 Program Monitoring and Annual.Report. During January of each year, the Building Official shall submit a report to the City Council outlining the progress to date concerning reduction of the hazards presented by the unreinforced masonry building inventory for the City. The report shall include: 1. The number of unreinforced masonry buildings'strengthened, demolished, or otherwise eliminated from the inventory; 2. The number of unreinforced masonry buildings remaining on the inventory; including the status of orders issued pursuant to this Chapter that are not resolved. I I • 1 ' i 1 _ 1 1 I I 1 1 1 _ • . _ • i 1 • 11 / . • 1 • 1 1 • • • • • � O ♦ � i fir`' ,�� .� •���o®���=:, �.� .�;s'�.:*oho� o� ATTACHMENT 1 Ordinance No. 1453 (2004 Series) Page 5 SECTION 3. If any provision Of this Ordnance is for any reason held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the City of San Luis Obispo hereby declares that it would have passed each and every remaining provision irrespective of such holding in order to accomplish the intent of this ordinance. SECTION 4. A synopsis of this ordinance,- approved by the City Attorney, together With the names of Council Members voting for and against, shall be published at least 5 days pnoi to its final passage in the The Tribune, a newspaper published and circulated culated in this City. This ordinance shall go into effect at the expiration of 30 days after its final passage. INTRODUCED on the 17's day of August,2004 AND FINALLY ADOPTED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo on the 7d'day of September 2004,on the following roll call vote: AYES: Council Members Ewan, Mulholland and Settle,Vice Mayor Schwartz and Mayor Romero NOES: None ABSENT: None Mayor David F. Romero ATTEST: its Audrey Hoo City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Jo4than-,F.*'Lowell - Cit�-�torney C)