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Home My WebLink About09- Development Services CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION From: MICHAEL E. HAYS , Director Subject: Review of the City's Unreinforced Masonry Building Mitigation Program and Consideration of proposed De-' Development Services Ordinances amending SBMC Chapter 15.12 relating to time limits for compliance. Date: May 12, 1999 O p File No: Synopsis of Previous Council Action: MCC DATE: May 17, 1999 MC982 Adopted September 16, 1996 provided a 3 year extension of the time limits for compliance. Recommended Motion: That further reading of Ordinance"A"be waived and that said Ordinance be laid over for final adoption. v Michael E. s Contact Person: Joseph Lease or Henry Empeno Phone: 5171/5235 Supporting data attached: Staff Report Ward: all FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: -0- Source (Acct. No.) (Acct. Description) Finance: Cou-r.il Notes: �, 2/� Agenda Item No CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION STAFF REPORT bject: ,L.eview of the City's Unreinforced Masonry Building Mitigation Program and Consideration of alternate proposed Ordinances amending SBMC Chapter 15.12 relating to time limits for compliance. Background: The California Government Code, Section 8875.1 requires all cities within seismic zone 4 to identify potentially hazardous unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings and to establish mitigation programs. The City of San Bernardino's URM Mitigation Program is contained in Chapter 15.12 of the San Bernardino Municipal Code. Chapter 15.12 requires URM buildings to be seismically strengthened to resist the damaging effects of earthquakes in order to mitigate the potential for loss of life or injury during future events. All of the known URM buildings in the City have been issued compliance orders. Buildings falling within Hazard Classification II were required to obtain a building permit by April 15, 1999 (other classifications have subsequent deadlines). The building official is required to issue orders to close and vacate buildings which fail to meet this deadline (SBMC 15.12.040,UCBC Al 11.(C)6). In preparation for this deadline a survey of the buildings and businesses contained within the Class II designation was recently completed. The results are summarized below: CLASS II BUILDING SURVEY No. of Buildings: 26 No. Vacant: 4 " Occupied: 22 _ .J. of Affected Businesses: 33 Prior to commencing abatement actions against the noncomplying buildings this matter is being brought before the Mayor and Common Council to review the issues involved and to decide whether the existing ordinance should be enforced, resulting in the closure of 21 occupied buildings currently having a noncompliance status, or to consider options for amending the ordinance. This same deadline originally came due in April 1996, at which time the council opted to amend the ordinance to allow an additional three years for compliance. This was done to avoid the negative economic impacts which would have resulted from numerous business closures and relocations as a consequence of the building closures. Also, there was an expectation that economic conditions might improve to a point where retrofitting might be financially feasible for building owners. Many building owners continue to express that due to low occupancy and lease rates, seismic strengthening is not financially viable for them. Since economic conditions have not significantly changed the Council may wish to consider several options at this time. Potential options include, but are not limited to the following: Options: A. Adopt the proposed Ordinance "A"amending SBMC Chapter 15.12 to allow an additional five years for compliance. B. Adopt the proposed Ordinance `B" amending SBMC Chapter 15.12 to make the time limits permissive, and not mandatory. a Enforce the current ordinance and close the 21 noncomplying buildings. Consider using EDA resources to the extent feasible to retain and relocate businesses in the city. i i It should be noted that the Class II buildings comprise only about a quarter of the URM buildings in the City. "iere are a total of 119 URM buildings in the City that have yet to comply with SBMC 15.12. The Class III A IV buildings have later deadlines. The proposed ordinances (noted in Options A and B) would affect the time limits for all of these buildings. Because the time limits for Class II buildings have expired, Councilmembers have requested that these two ordinances be proposed for consideration. Additional information is attached , which includes a list of affected businesses in Class II buildings (Addendum A) and a summary of the City's Unreinforced Masonry Building Mitigation Program (Addendum B). Financial Impact: Dependent upon the action taken. If business closures occur the City would experience a loss of an undetermined amount of sales tax revenue. Recommendation: That the Mayor and Common Council adopt Ordinance "A" (identified as option A above) providing for a five year extension of the time limits, and lay said Ordinance over for final adoption. ADDENDUM A BUSINESSES LOCATED IN CLASS II UNREINFORCED MASONRY BUILDINGS Address/Businesses Notes & Status 1 . 281-291. W. Baseline St . /1181-1191 N. Arrowhead Plans submitted - (vacant) (281) 10/16/95- - Quick Pawn (291) Plan Check - Botanica (1181) Expired- - Salon De Belleza (1185) noncompliance* - La Tambora (1187) - Las Polencias Botanica (1191) 2 . 456 W. Baseline St . No action - - (vacant) noncompliance 3 . 535 W. Baseline St . No action - - Value Plus Furniture noncompliance 4 . 1023 W. Baseline St . No action - - (vacant) noncompliance 5 . 362-366 N. D St . Plans submitted - Lara' s Boxing Gym (364) 1/11/95 - - S .B. Jewelry and Loan (366) Plan Check Expired - noncompliance 6 . 361-369 N. E St . Plans submitted - (New - unknown) (361) 10/31/95- - Airwave Communications (365) Permit obtained - Louie The Tailor (369) 1/27/97 - Expired- noncompliance 7 . 961 N. E St . Permit for Partial - Valley Thrift - p l a n s f or remainder 8 . 1233-1235 N. E St . Plans submitted - Las Palmas Restaurant 10/11/95 - ready to issue 12/21/95 - Plan Check Expired - Noncompliance 9 . 410 S . E St . No action - VACANT noncompliance 10 . 1156 N. F St . Plans submitted - Victory Chapel 9/13/95 - Plan Check Expired- noncompliance 11 . 137 S . G St . No action - - San Bernardino Arena noncompliance 12 . 338-340 W. Highland Ave. No action - - Dance Magic (338) noncompliance 13 . 339-349 W. Highland Ave . No action - - (vacant) (339) noncompliance - Noyes Bakery (341) - Chandler' s Wind Up (347) - Hair International (349) 14 . 346 W. Highland Ave. Plans submitted - Harris Kempo Karate 11/21/95 - Plan Check Expired - noncompliance 15 . 357 W. Highland Ave. Plans submitted - - GoldBall Billiards Permit issued. Partial construction completed - Permit Expired 16 . 472-474 W. Highland Ave. No action - - Sin City Tattoo (474) noncompliance - Glady' s Video Games 1 . 602 N. Mt . Vernon No action - - Mitla' s Cafe noncompliance 18 . 610 N. Mt . Vernon No action - VACANT noncompliance 19 . 644 N. Mt . Vernon No action - - Fonseca' s Discount Store noncompliance 20 . 1168 N. Waterman/290 E. Orange No action - - Tabernacle Church noncompliance 21 . 467-473 W. 4th St . Plans submitted - Security Loan and Jewelry (467) 10/16/95 - Permit - Inland School of Performing Arts (469) issued 12/6/95 - Fat Freddies (471) Permit Expired 22 . 1199 W. 5th St . No action - - Los Faroles Restaurant noncompliance 23 . 1562-1564 W. 5th St . No action - - Club Trinidad noncompliance 24 . 1788 W. 5th St . No action - - Unity Missionary Baptist Church noncompliance 25 . 1242 W. 6th St . No action - - Iglesia Apostolica De La Fe En Christo Jesus noncompliance 26 . 1524 W. 7th St . Demo.& Reconstruction - Casa Ramona Inc . Pending Environmental Review 4/8/99 Summary of Class II Buildings Number of Buildings 26 Buildings with No Action 16 Buildings Not in Compliance 25 - Vacant: 4 - Occupied: 22 - No. of affected businesses 33 Plan Checks Pending or Completed 7 Active Permits *** 0 Expired Permits 3 'TOTES : * The status "noncompliance" denotes whether the owner has met the most recent. deadline of April 15, 1999 . Permits are required by this date for Class II buildings . ** The term "no action" indicates that none of the required steps have been taken to retrofit the building (i .e engineering evaluation, plans submittal, permit issuance, commencement of construction, etc . ) *** Does not include buildings that are no longer on the list due to full compliance. ADDENDUM B CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT UNREINFORCED MASONRY BUILDING MITIGATION PROGRAM SUMMARY Unreinforced Masonry Buildings (URM's), as the name implies, are building which lack adequate structural steel reinforcement, and therefore lack the ability to resist the shaking effects of earthquakes. In addition to the lack of adequate steel reinforcement within the masonry walls, these buildings have other inherent weaknesses such as 1)unbraced masonry parapets which may fall onto sidewalks or streets, 2)a lack of structural attachment of the floor and roof diaphragms to the walls, which allows excessive movements in the walls and which may lead to collapse. In San Bernardino these buildings were typically constructed prior to July, 1938. As are most areas in California, San Bernardino is situated'in a seismically active region. Two major earthquake faults, the San Andreas and the San Jacinto, traverse the city and the surrounding communities, and represent substantial risks to seismically vulnerable structures. Numerous studies conducted in the aftermath of earthquakes throughout the world have demonstrated that unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings suffer a greater amount of damage and contribute to a greater loss of life than any other type of structure. Because of the unique risks associated with URM buildings, the State Legislature passed into law SB 547 (Alquist) in 1986. This law requires local jurisdictions to identify URM buildings and to establish mitigation programs to alleviate the potential hazards. The law does not specify that mandatory strengthening is a necessary element of a city's mitigation program. In response to this law, the City has identified and established a list of URM buildings, and has adopted an ordinance which requires that these buildings be rehabilitated in accordance with the adopted State design standards. These design standards are less stringent than the building code requirements for new masonry buildings, and are not intended to make the building "earthquake proof". Instead, their purpose is to reduce the risks of loss of life or injuries caused by partial or total collapse of the building in the event of a moderate to severe earthquake. The City's ordinance. SBMC Chapter 15.12 has several key features: I. It adopts the UCBC Appendix Chapter 1, which is the State of California design standard for the strengthening of URM buildings. 2. It categorizes the buildings into "hazard classifications" based upon the allowable occupant load and the relative hazard. These classifications are: Classification Occupant Load I (essential services buildings) II (high risk) 100 or more III (medium risk) 20 to 99 IV (low risk) less than 20 3. It establishes time limits for strengthening the buildings which vary based on the hazard classification. These time limits vary from 3 to 11 years and are measured from the date a Notice and Order is issued. An amendment to the ordinance in 1996 added an additional 3 years to all of the deadlines. 4. It provides that those buildings which are not strengthened within the time limits must be vacated. In 1994 Notices were issued to the owners of URM building currently on the list. I ORDINANCE NO. 2 ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING SECTIONS 3 15. 12.100, 15.12. 110, AND 15.12.120 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE EXTENDING THE TIMELIMITS FOR RETROFITTING 4 UNREINFORCED MASONRY BUILDINGS; AND AMENDING SECTION 15. 12.140 ESTABLISHING THE PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE. 5 NOW, THEREFORE, THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF 6 SAN BERNARDINO DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1 . Section 15 . 12 . 100 of the San Bernardino 7 Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows : 8 "15.12.100 Class II Buildings, Compliance Extension and Sign 9 Posting. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Chapter, any 10 building owner who has received actual or constructive notice that the building is an unreinforced masonry building, whether vacant 11 or occupied, that has been designated Class II by the Building 12 Official shall comply with the following: a. The building owner shall receive 1 ) an extension to 13 April 15, 2004 to submit a structural analysis and plans; and 2 ) an extension to April 15, 2005 to obtain a building permit from 14 the Building Official, provided that within 30 days of receiving written notice of this section, said building owner shall post and 15 maintain in a conspicuous and unobstructed place at the entrance of the building, a sign not less than 5" X 7" the following 16 statement, printed in not less than 30-point bold type: 17 "This is an unreinforced masonry building. 18 Unreinforced masonry buildings may be unsafe in the event O.L. a major earthquake . " 19 b. If the sign provided for in subsection (a) is not posted or maintained as required, the building owner shall vacate 20 the premises as required pursuant to Section 15 . 12 . 040 Subsection 21 6 .A. " 22 SECTION 2 . Section 15 . 12 . 110 of the San Bernardino Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows : 23 "15. 12 . 110 Class III Buildings, Compliance Extension and Sign 24 Posting. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Chapter, any building owner who has received actual or constructive notice that 26 the building is an unreinforced masonry building, whether vacant or occupied, that has been designated Class III by the Building 27 Official shall comply with the following: 28 a. The building owner shall receive 1) an extension to April 15, 2005 to submit a structural analysis and lans; and 2) 1 .�9' 1 ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING SECTIONS 2 15.12.100, 15.12.110, 15.12.120,AND 15.12.140 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE. 3 an extension to April 15, 2006 to obtain a building permit from 4 the Building Official, provided that within 30 days of receiving written notice of this section, said building owner posts and 5 maintains in a conspicuous and unobstructed place at the entrance of the building, a sign not less than 5" X 7" the following 6 statement, printed in not less than 30-point bold type: 7 "This is an unreinforced masonry building. Unreinforced masonry buildings may be unsafe in the 8 event of a major earthquake. " 9 b. If the sign provided for in subsection (a) is not posted or maintained as required, the building owner shall vacate 10 the premises as required pursuant to Section 15 . 12 . 040 Subsection 6 .A. " 11 SECTION 3 . Section 15 . 12 . 120 of the San Bernardino 12 Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows : 13 "15 . 12.120 Class IV Buildings, Compliance Extension and Sign Posting. 14 Notwithstanding any other provision in this Chapter, any 15 building owner who has received actual or constructive notice that the building is an unreinforced masonry building, whether vacant 16 or occupied, that has been designated Class IV by the Building 17 Official shall comply with the following: a. The building owner shall receive 1 ) an extension to 18 April 15, 2007 to submit a structural analysis and plans; and 2 ) an extension to April 15, 2008 to obtain a building permit from 19 the Building Official, provided that within 30 days of receiving written notice of this section, said building owner posts and 20 maintains in a conspicuous and unobstructed place at the entrance of the building, a sign not less than 5" X 7 " the following 21 statement, printed in not less than 30-point bold type: 22 "This is an unreinforced masonry building. Unreinforced masonry buildings may be unsafe in the 23 event of a major earthquake. " 24 b• If the sign provided for in subsection (a) is not posted or maintained as required, the building owner shall vacate 25 the premises as required pursuant to Section 15 . 12 . 040 Subsection 6 .A. ° 26 SECTION 4 . Section 15 . 12 . 140 establishing the penalty 27 for noncompliance is hereby amended to read as follows : 28 2 1 ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING SECTIONS 2 15-12.100, 15.12.110, 15.12.120,AND 15.12.140 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE. 3 "15.12.140 Penalty. 4 Failure to comply with Sections 15. 12 . 100, 15 . 12 . 110 or 5 15. 12 . 120 is an infraction, and every day the building owner fails to vacate the premises or display the sign mandated by this 6 Chapter, shall constitute a separate violation of this section. The penalty provided for in this section does not exclude any 7 other remedy and shall not be construed to prevent the City from also bringing an administrative proceeding or other civil action 8 to cause any building to be vacated and or demolished. " 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3 1 ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING SECTIONS 2 15.12.100, 15.12.110, 15.12.120,AND 15.12.140 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE. 3 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was duly adopted by the Mayor and Common 4 Council of the City of San Bernardino at a meeting thereof held on the day of 5 _ 1999, by the following vote, to wit: 6 t-"ouncil Members: AYES NAYS ABSTAIN ABSENT 7 ESTRADA 8 LIEN 9 10 MCGINNIS 11 SCFMTZ 12 ANI DERSON 13 DEVLIN 14 MH-LER 15 16 17 Rachel Clark, City Clerk 18 The foregoing ordinance is hereby approved this_ day 19 of , 1999. 20 21 Judith Valles, Mayor 22 City of San Bernardino 23 Approved as to 24 form and legal content: 25 JAMES F. PENMAN, City Attorney 26 27 By: 28 / t, 4 1 ORDINANCE NO. 2 ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO ADDING SECTION 3 15.12 .005 TO THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE CHANGING THE TIMELIMITS FOR RETROFITTING UNREINFORCED MASONRY BUILDINGS FROM 4 MANDATORY TO PERMISSIVE; AND AMENDING SECTION 15. 12 .140 5 ESTABLISHING THE PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE. NOW, THEREFORE, THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF 6 SAN BERNARDINO DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: 7 SECTION 1 . Section 15 . 12 . 005 is hereby added to the San 8 Bernardino Municipal Code to read as follows : 9 "15. 12 .005 Permissive Timelimits. 10 Notwithstanding any other provision in this Chapter, any timelimit or date stated in this Chapter within which the owner of 11 a legally occupied building "shall" comply, etc . , is hereby changed to "may" comply, etc. ; that is, from mandatory to 12 permissive, except that the requirements, as stated in Sections 15 . 12 . 100, 15 . 12 . 110, and 15 . 12 . 120, that the building owner shall 13 post and maintain warning signs, remain mandatory. " 14 SECTION 2 . Section 15 . 12 . 140 establishing the penalty 15 for noncompliance is hereby amended to read as follows : 16 15. 12 . 140 Penalty. Failure to comply with Sections 15 . 12 . 100, 15 . 12 . 110 or 17 15 . 12 . 120 is an infraction, and every day the building owner fails to vacate the premises or display the sign mandated by this 18 Chapter, shall constitute a separate violation of this section . The penalty provided for in this section does not exclude any 19 other remedy and shall not be construed to prevent the City from also bringing an administrative proceeding or other civil action 20 to cause any building to be vacated and or demolished. " 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 1 ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO ADDING SECTION 2 15 . 12.005 . . . CHANGING THE TIMELIMITS FOR RETROFITTING UNR.EINFORCED MASONRY BUILDINGS FROM MANDATORY TO PERMISSIVE; AND 3 AMENDING SECTION 15.12.140 ESTABLISHING THE PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE. 4 5 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was duly adopted by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of 6 San Bernardino at a meeting thereof, held on the day of 1999, by the following vote, to wit : 7 8 Council Members : AYES NAYS ABSTAIN ABSENT ESTRADA 9 :LIEN 10 14CGINNIS 11 SCHNETZ 12 13 ;? NDERSON DEVLIN 14 15 MILLER � 16 17 Rachel Clark, City Clerk 18 The foregoing ordinance is hereby approved this day 19 of , 1999 . 20 21 Judith Valles, Mayor City of San Bernardino i 22 Approved as to 23 f=orm and legal content: JAMES F. PENMAN, 24 City Attorney 25 26 By: 27 28 2