Building standards: seismic retrofit.

Existing law authorizes a city, city and county, or county to establish, by ordinance, building seismic retrofit standards applicable to the seismic retrofit of any buildings identified, as specified, by the city, city and county, or county as being hazardous to life if an earthquake occurs. Existing law identifies specified types of buildings as potentially hazardous under these provisions, including certain unreinforced masonry buildings and specified woodframe, multiunit residential buildings constructed before January 1, 1978. This bill would additionally authorize each city, city and county, or county to require that owners evaluate the earthquake hazard of soft story residential buildings and older concrete residential buildings, and would include concrete residential buildings that were constructed prior to the adoption of local building codes that ensure ductility, as specified, as potentially hazardous if an earthquake occurs. The bill would authorize a city, city and county, or county to employ seismic evaluation of older concrete residential buildings to address individual seismically hazardous buildings without regard to how the buildings came to the attention of its officials. The bill would require the seismic retrofit of a concrete residential building identified as potentially hazardous to comply with a nationally recognized model code relating to the retrofit of existing buildings, as specified.