Newsom Wants San Francisco Property Owners to Add Quake Defense
Newswire Services
February 14, 2009
Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said he favors legislation that would force the city´s property owners to spend thousands of dollars to shore up buildings susceptible to collapse during a major earthquake.
Newsom has directed the city´s Department of Building Inspection to craft a law mandating the work, according to a statement provided to Bloomberg News. A committee tasked by Newsom in July with studying the issue estimated that it would cost about $260 million to fix the most vulnerable buildings, or as much as $28,000 per residential unit.
"Although there is no such thing as an earthquake-proof building, engineers agree that proper seismic retrofitting can give buildings a fighting chance against a sizeable earthquake," Newsom said in the statement. "Now we must act decisively to protect our homes and workplaces."
So-called soft-story, wood-frame buildings, mostly more than 35 years old, have large openings on their ground floor and lack partitioning walls. They typically house shops, restaurants or garages. During a strong quake, the ground floor may not be able to support the stiff, heavier floors above, leading the entire building to shift sideways or collapse, according to a draft version of the Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety report.
The fixes are necessary to prevent $1.5 billion in damage after a temblor of magnitude 7.2 or larger on the San Andreas Fault, according to the report. Such destruction could leave tens of thousands homeless for years, it said.
Property Owners´ Burden
The plan leaves property owners footing too much of the bill, said Noni Richen, president of the Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute.
"We need to retrofit the buildings somehow," Richen said. "But to put all the burden on property owners, especially small property owners, will put us out of business."
The retrofitting plan assumes a weaker quake than struck the city in 1906. That temblor, which killed more than 3,000 and left 225,000 people homeless out of a population of 400,000, was at least magnitude 7.7 and possibly 8.3, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
That temblor ruptured the northernmost 296 miles of the San Andreas Fault and caused $400 million in damage in contemporary dollars, the USGS says. Of the 28,188 buildings lost in the quake and the fires it sparked, almost 90 percent were wood structures.
Several soft-story buildings were damaged in the 6.9- magnitude temblor that struck in 1989 in Loma Prieta, about 60 miles south of San Francisco. A larger quake closer to the city would have a greater impact, the report said.
Buildings at Risk
The report identified 4,400 buildings most at risk, mostly with three or more stories and at least five apartments.
Building owners say the current lending market would make it difficult to pay for the necessary construction, and that passing costs on to tenants is an arduous and time-consuming process.
"Commercial financing is non-existent right now," said Vincent Malta, a vice president with San Francisco-based real estate firm Malta & Co., and owner of an 18-unit apartment building in the city. "This couldn´t have come at a worse time."
While the reinforcements are necessary, "it will force many people to sell their buildings," he said.
Property owners might have to compensate commercial tenants, such as restaurants and shops, that might be displaced for months during construction, the report said, and owners would also be on the hook for the costs of residents who need to be relocated.
Incentives for Owners
The mayor said he is developing incentives for building owners who retrofit their properties, and supports financing programs such as using an existing construction bond program to make it easier to pay for the work, according to the statement.
Richen, who has owned a four-unit apartment building in San Francisco since 1974, said many of the 2,000 property owners in her association are retired and use rental income to supplement their savings.
"San Francisco is a tenant town -- I know they´re pandering to tenants, but it´s unrealistic to put the cost of the upgrade on owners," she said.
Newsom has directed the city´s Department of Building Inspection to craft a law mandating the work, according to a statement provided to Bloomberg News. A committee tasked by Newsom in July with studying the issue estimated that it would cost about $260 million to fix the most vulnerable buildings, or as much as $28,000 per residential unit.
"Although there is no such thing as an earthquake-proof building, engineers agree that proper seismic retrofitting can give buildings a fighting chance against a sizeable earthquake," Newsom said in the statement. "Now we must act decisively to protect our homes and workplaces."
So-called soft-story, wood-frame buildings, mostly more than 35 years old, have large openings on their ground floor and lack partitioning walls. They typically house shops, restaurants or garages. During a strong quake, the ground floor may not be able to support the stiff, heavier floors above, leading the entire building to shift sideways or collapse, according to a draft version of the Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety report.
The fixes are necessary to prevent $1.5 billion in damage after a temblor of magnitude 7.2 or larger on the San Andreas Fault, according to the report. Such destruction could leave tens of thousands homeless for years, it said.
Property Owners´ Burden
The plan leaves property owners footing too much of the bill, said Noni Richen, president of the Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute.
"We need to retrofit the buildings somehow," Richen said. "But to put all the burden on property owners, especially small property owners, will put us out of business."
The retrofitting plan assumes a weaker quake than struck the city in 1906. That temblor, which killed more than 3,000 and left 225,000 people homeless out of a population of 400,000, was at least magnitude 7.7 and possibly 8.3, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
That temblor ruptured the northernmost 296 miles of the San Andreas Fault and caused $400 million in damage in contemporary dollars, the USGS says. Of the 28,188 buildings lost in the quake and the fires it sparked, almost 90 percent were wood structures.
Several soft-story buildings were damaged in the 6.9- magnitude temblor that struck in 1989 in Loma Prieta, about 60 miles south of San Francisco. A larger quake closer to the city would have a greater impact, the report said.
Buildings at Risk
The report identified 4,400 buildings most at risk, mostly with three or more stories and at least five apartments.
Building owners say the current lending market would make it difficult to pay for the necessary construction, and that passing costs on to tenants is an arduous and time-consuming process.
"Commercial financing is non-existent right now," said Vincent Malta, a vice president with San Francisco-based real estate firm Malta & Co., and owner of an 18-unit apartment building in the city. "This couldn´t have come at a worse time."
While the reinforcements are necessary, "it will force many people to sell their buildings," he said.
Property owners might have to compensate commercial tenants, such as restaurants and shops, that might be displaced for months during construction, the report said, and owners would also be on the hook for the costs of residents who need to be relocated.
Incentives for Owners
The mayor said he is developing incentives for building owners who retrofit their properties, and supports financing programs such as using an existing construction bond program to make it easier to pay for the work, according to the statement.
Richen, who has owned a four-unit apartment building in San Francisco since 1974, said many of the 2,000 property owners in her association are retired and use rental income to supplement their savings.
"San Francisco is a tenant town -- I know they´re pandering to tenants, but it´s unrealistic to put the cost of the upgrade on owners," she said.
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