Soft-story buildings have
structurally weak ground floors, normally wood-frame construction with a large
open area often used for parking. Older buildings
of this style, that have not been retrofitted, could collapse in a major
earthquake, destroying the properties and risking the lives of those who reside
in them.
After the Loma Prieta
earthquake, as well as the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles, many
soft-story buildings were severely damaged, which prompted changes in building
codes. The 6.0 magnitude Napa earthquake in August
2014, the largest in California in 20 years, has again drawn attention to the
dangers of older buildings that don't meet current seismic standards.
The city of Mountain View is
set to follow the example of San Francisco and Berkeley by encouraging, or
perhaps forcing, property owners to retrofit buildings in the city that are
more likely to collapse.
There is an estimated 100 to
125 buildings in Mountain View that have a soft-story design that may need
retrofitting. Landlords in Berkeley have been paying anywhere from $2,000 to
$10,000 per unit for the seismic retrofit work, averaging about $3,280 per
unit, according to Berkeley’s Planning and Development department.
If you have this style of a
building, protect your investment. Hire a structural engineer to inspect your building
and determine if seismic retrofitting is needed.
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