A plan being unveiled Tuesday in San Francisco would require the city to inform the owners of thousands of potentially earthquake-unsafe buildings that they need to retrofit at their own cost or demonstrate why not. If they don’t comply, the city would post a scarlet-letter sign on the property: “This building is in violation of the requirements of the San Francisco Building Code regarding earthquake safety.” (Listen to Public Press reporter Noah Arroyo on KQED Radio’s “Forum”)
Author Archives: Noah Arroyo
Noah Arroyo is the San Francisco Public Press’ editor. He has previously worked at the San Francisco Chronicle and Mission Local, specializing in enterprise journalism.
Posted inCity Hall, Housing, Media, News, Public Safety
Mandatory Earthquake Retrofit Proposal Advances Quickly in San Francisco City Hall
San Francisco Supervisor David Chiu Tuesday unveiled legislation to make seismic retrofits mandatory for so-called soft-story buildings throughout the city. Chiu called the proposal to make retrofitting mandatory in stages by 2020 the “next major step to ensure that we are prepared for the next big one.” He said he expected a major quake, which could happen anytime, could be two to three times stronger than the 1989 Loma Prieta quake that destroyed 7,000 buildings statewide. (Listen to Public Press reporter Noah Arroyo on KQED Radio’s “Forum”)
Posted inCity Hall, Earthquakes, Housing, News, Public Safety
San Francisco Plan Would Earthquake-Proof Thousands of Soft-Story Buildings by 2020
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is planning to take up a proposal to force owners of soft-story buildings to retrofit them by 2020, said a city official in charge of earthquake safety. Supervisors Scott Wiener and David Chiu plan to sponsor the ordinance and other supervisors might co-sponsor it by Tuesday. The legislation would apply only to wood-frame buildings built before 1978, with at least three stories. Unlike previous proposals, the new law would come without direct financial aid from the city. Financing questions, one official said, were “a major reason for the delay.”
Posted inHousing, Public Safety
San Francisco’s Most Urgently Needed Retrofits
There are three types of construction in San Francisco that pose hazards to occupants during a major earthquake. Here is a composite look at the present state of efforts to correct the problem around the city.
Posted inCity Hall, Earthquakes, Housing, Public Safety, Technology
Potentially Earthquake-Unsafe Residential Buildings — a (Very Rough) List
This story appeared in the Winter 2012-2013 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.
San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection has kept a preliminary list of potentially dangerous soft-story buildings since 2009, but inspectors say it has not been verified by actual building inspections, and was never intended for public consumption. Some of the addresses the city generated might be wrong. The Public Press is publishing the list so that residents who might possibly be at risk in their homes can participate in the debate over how best to retrofit thousands of properties in coming years.
Posted inHousing, Land use, Public Safety
No One Wants to Go First: S.F.’s Retrofit Timeline
This story appeared in the Winter 2012-2013 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.
A plan to require seismic retrofits on as many as 3,000 “soft-story” buildings in San Francisco can’t be executed all at once, experts say, because there aren’t enough engineers and contractors who know how to do the work. So city officials are developing a system of triage: Deal with the most dangerous buildings with the most people in them first.
Posted inCity Hall, Earthquakes, Housing, Land use, Public Safety, Technology
Earthquake Retrofit Delays Leave Thousands at Risk
It will take at least 7 years to secure older wood buildings dangerously perched above windows or garages
This story appeared in the Winter 2012-2013 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.
One in 14 San Franciscans lives in an old building with a first floor that city inspectors say could be vulnerable to collapse if not retrofitted soon to withstand a major earthquake.While officials have had a preliminary list of nearly 3,000 suspect properties for more than three years, they have not told landlords, leaving the estimated 58,000 residents who live there ignorant that their buildings could be unstable.
Posted inCity Hall, Housing, Public Safety
S.F. to Appoint Earthquake Retrofit Czar to Push for Mandatory Program Next Year
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee next week plans to appoint an earthquake retrofit czar, whose job is to make sure seismic safety plans from last year don’t languish on the shelf until the next big temblor strikes. City officials hope the new manager will fast-track a proposal to require owners of thousands of buildings to retrofit, and he will be tasked with figuring out a way to assist owners who cannot pay for repairs.
Posted inCity Hall, Domestic Violence, Public Safety
District Attorney to Examine Low Prosecution of Domestic Violence Cases in San Francisco
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said he is looking into why office’s prosecutions for domestic violence crimes was the lowest per capita in the Bay Area. His remarks came after a special report in the San Francisco Public Press on the handling of such cases by police and prosecutors.
Posted inCity Hall, Housing, Land use
San Francisco postpones vote on permitting tiny apartments
Apartment hunters in San Francisco will have to wait a little longer before they can get their very own “shoebox” abodes. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted to wait until Nov. 20 to consider an ordinance that would make the city’s smallest legal apartment size even smaller, by around 30 percent. It was the […]