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Researchers at Caltech recently determined that for every dollar spent in retrofitting soft-story
structures, property owners could expect to save up to seven dollars, not including loss to contents,
alternate living expenses or deaths and injuries – all of which would significantly increase cost-to-benefit
ratios. FEMA found similar cost benefits in a two-year analysis of seismic retrofit scenarios applied to a
variety of building types in locations throughout the United States.

Many West Coast cities, from San Diego to Seattle, recognize the economic value of preserving
structures by retrofitting them in a manner that will safeguard them during an earthquake. Financial
incentives such as density bonuses, reductions in development standards and relief from nonconforming
provisions can incentivize building owners to perform upgrades that promote building safety and
revitalize communities for greater economic impacts. Resilience isn’t just good for society, it’s good for
business.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2015 pushed for the nation’s most sweeping earthquake retrofit laws,
requiring seismic fortification of pre-1978 wood-frame soft-story buildings and pre-1977 non-ductile
concrete structures. This came on the heels of retrofit ordinances in San Francisco, Berkeley, and other
cities. Since then, additional cities have adopted or are considering similar policies of their own.

The White House, in its National Security Strategy dated December 2017, listed the promotion of
American resilience against natural disaster as one of the country’s primary security issues for the
coming year. The National Science and Technology Council, in characterizing the elements of disaster-
resilient communities, identifies as the top priority to recognize and understand the impacts of relevant
hazards.

Meanwhile, important legislation inspired by SRI and introduced Feb. 15, 2018 by California
Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, a longtime advocate for earthquake preparedness, aims to help cities
identify buildings in their communities that could be at significant risk during a major quake, and to
establish funding sources to help cover the costs to cities impacted by the law. AB 2681 will provide a
“snapshot” of California’s vulnerabilities and the potential impacts we face as a state; and it will
spotlight communities where there is an urgency to address the matter. The legislation includes:
1. Developing criteria to identify seismically vulnerable building types.
2. Directing building departments to develop an initial list of potentially vulnerable buildings.
3. Notifying building owners that they may have potentially vulnerable buildings.
4. Directing noticed owners to assess the vulnerability of the structure.
5. Building and maintaining a statewide data repository of potentially vulnerable buildings.
6. Identifying possible funding mechanisms to offset costs to building departments.

For more information or to support the Seismic Resiliency Initiative, please visit www.usrc.org. Public
participation is welcome.

©2018 by Ali Sahabi, Evan Reis, and David Khorram. NOTICE: This article represents copyrighted material and may only be reproduced in
whole for personal or classroom use. It may not be edited, altered, or otherwise modified, except with the expressed permission of the
authors. Please correspond with Ali Sahabi at ASahabi@optimumseismic.com with any questions.
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