Ord 2024-017 Article 16 (Earthquake Hazard Reduction in Existing Soft-Story Residential Buildings)

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IN THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LEANDRO ORDINANCE NO. 2024-017 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND SAN LEANDRO MUNICIPAL CODE TITLE 7 (MAPS, BUILDINGS, AND SUBDIVISIONS) BY ADDING ARTICLE 16 (EARTHQUAKE HAZARD REDUCTION IN EXISTING SOFT- STORY RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS) TO CHAPTER 7-5 (BUILDING CODE) WHEREAS, the City Council desires to lessen the risks to life and property of the residents of the City of San Leandro posed by a major earthquake along the Hayward Fault; and WHEREAS, buildings with soft, weak, or open front ground floor stories are recognized by engineers, and other seismic safety experts, as having potential for sustaining serious damage including collapse, in the event of strong earthquakes; and WHEREAS, in 2005, California Health and Safety Code sections 19162 and 19163 were amended to expressly authorize local jurisdictions to adopt by ordinance, retrofit standards for soft-story residential buildings that comply with a nationally recognized model code relating to the retrofit of existing buildings or substantially equivalent standards; and WHEREAS, the current nationally recognized model code for the retrofit of soft-story residential buildings is Appendix Chapter A4 of the 2022 California Existing Building Code (CEBC), entitled "Earthquake Risk Reduction in Existing Wood-Fame Residential Buildings with Soft, Weak, or Open-Front Walls”; and WHEREAS, the City of San Leandro is located within Design Category D & E, as defined in the 2022 CEBC; and WHEREAS, it is the City’s intent by this ordinance to adopt retrofit standards for soft-story residential buildings within the City of San Leandro that comply with, or are substantially equivalent to, the standards set forth in Appendix Chapter A4 of the CEBC; and WHEREAS, these revisions to the City’s current Building Code are not intended to provide structural performance equivalent to that provided by new construction built, rather these codes identify and provide for improving the structure’s more vulnerable portions and, if identified improvements are made, in efforts to substantially reduce the likelihood of excessive building drift or collapse and substantially lessen the loss of human life; and WHEREAS, establishment of an inventory of soft-story buildings and the notification of owners and residents is a necessary first step in developing a mitigation program and will provide the basis for obtaining input from affected parties for any future mandatory retrofit program; and WHEREAS, although the general vulnerability of such buildings is known, determining the seismic adequacy of each of the structures and the appropriate elements of a retrofit to remedy vulnerabilities requires a detailed evaluation by a licensed engineer; and