Supervisors introduce seismic retrofit legislation targeting pre-1978 soft-story buildings

Board leadership introduced legislation Tuesday to require seismic retrofitting for the city’s most vulnerable soft-story wood-frame apartment buildings.

President Chu said the legislation targets soft-story wood-frame buildings constructed before 1978 that have three or more stories and at least five dwelling units. The proposal would require owners of the identified buildings to complete retrofits intended to reduce collapse risk in a major earthquake.

"This legislation will require that the most vulnerable 3,000 or so soft story buildings be retrofitted so that 58,000 residents and 7,000 workers that live and work in these spaces will be protected," President Chu told colleagues when introducing the measure. He thanked the Earthquake Safety Working Group and Patrick Ottolini for their work on the policies and noted coordination with the banking community on financing options for owners, including low-interest loans for nonprofit housing.

Supervisor Scott Wiener, a co-sponsor, said the proposal moves the city beyond voluntary retrofit programs and toward a mandate that will reduce risk in a major quake. Wiener described the legislation as a major next step following earlier voter-approved earthquake-safety investments.

Context and next steps: The introduction places the item on the board’s legislative calendar for committee referral and public hearings. President Chu and Wiener said staff and outside stakeholders are working on a menu of financing tools; the mayor’s office was listed as a partner in drafting the proposal. The measure as introduced did not include specific ordinance numbers or a final compliance timeline; those details were to be developed in subsequent committee work.

No vote was taken on the legislation at the meeting; supervisors listed as cosponsors included Wiener, Mar, Farrell, Yee and Breed.