Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Seismic Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DBI updates commission on seismic 'CAPS' plan; staff backs fee-waiver to spur voluntary retrofits
Summary
DBI and the Applied Technology Council updated the commission on the Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety (CAPS), which will recommend standards and retrofit approaches for soft‑story wood‑frame buildings in January; the commission also voted to support code changes to expedite permits and waive fees for voluntary seismic upgrades.
The commission received an update on the Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety (CAPS) and voted to support a package of code changes to expedite permit review and waive fees for voluntary seismic upgrades of soft‑story wood‑frame buildings.
Tom Tobin, project manager for the Applied Technology Council, told commissioners the CAPS team is preparing January recommendations focused first on three‑story (and taller) wood‑frame buildings with weak ground floors. "Our focus continues to be on the January recommendation in programs to address the weaknesses in wood frame buildings," Tobin said. ATC will analyze four typical building types, model retrofit performance, estimate retrofit costs, and present a range of program approaches — from voluntary information and disclosure to mandatory engineering analysis and retrofit programs similar to San Francisco’s unreinforced masonry program.
Commissioners pressed for clarity on performance objectives, implementation timelines and cost estimates. Tobin described quality‑control and peer review for ATC analysis and said cost estimates will be conceptual but bounded by a firm (Ray Young & Associates) familiar with wood‑frame retrofit work.
Separately, the commission considered a Department‑proposed ordinance to waive permit fees and prioritize processing for voluntary seismic upgrades of soft‑story buildings. Staff emphasized this applies only to voluntary upgrades and does not waive planning, fire or public‑works review where those triggers are required. Commissioners asked how to separate seismic work from other improvements (for example, converting garage space) and how to ensure the incentives are not diluted; staff said cases would be evaluated and the commission will have the opportunity to weigh policy choices as CAPS defines standards.
The commission moved and unanimously supported the fee‑waiver and expedited‑processing proposal as an incentive to encourage voluntary retrofits while CAPS completes its policy recommendations. Staff said the fee waiver will be limited to the seismic portion of voluntarily undertaken work and that the measure is intended to encourage early adopters while the broader CAPS work proceeds to Board of Supervisors consideration.
