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