Page 22 - Yucaipa Valley Water District

Legislation and the Seismic Resilience Initiative

Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, a longtime advocate for earthquake preparedness, an early warning system
to alert residents before a quake strikes, and funding assistance to building owners to help finance much-
needed retrofits, has introduced legislation that will help to address the situation.

Inspired by the Seismic Resilience Initiative, the focus of AB 2681 is to help cities identify buildings in
their communities that could crumble or collapse during a major quake, and to identify funding sources
to help cover the costs to cities impacted by the law.

This snapshot of California’s vulnerabilities will assess the potential risks we face as a state, and spotlight
communities where there is an urgency to address the matter.

AB 2681, introduced in February 2018, would require local jurisdictions in California’s areas of highest
seismic activity to identify and evaluate potentially vulnerable occupied buildings, including multi-family
structures of five units or more. The fiscal impact would be minimal for local agencies to administer the
program, and for owners to gather seismic performance data on their buildings. This information will
give the state and its communities key metrics on California’s overall risks and potential for resilience.

The specific steps would include:
1. Developing criteria to identify seismically vulnerable building types considering age, structural
system and other characteristics known to negatively affect seismic performance.
2. Directing building departments in local agencies to develop an initial list of potentially vulnerable
buildings, based on age and other publicly available information, using Tax Accessors Record
surveys and online searches.
3. Notifying building owners by mail that they may have potentially vulnerable buildings.
4. Directing noticed owners to assess the vulnerability of the structure.

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Yucaipa Valley Water District - March 8, 2018 - Page 22 of 40