Program Highlights
Mandatory Soft Story
Created in 2013 through a City ordinance , the Mandatory Soft Story Program is a multi-year community-based effort enforced by DBI to ensure the safety and resilience of San Francisco ’ s housing stock . It requires property owners to retrofit older , wood-framed , multifamily buildings with a soft-story condition that puts it at risk of collapse .
The ordinance applies to wood-frame buildings of three or more stories or two stories over a basement or underfloor area that have any portion extending above grade , and containing five or more residential dwelling units where the permit to construct was applied for prior to January 1 , 1978 , and where the building has not yet been seismically strengthened .
In Review
1,097 permits submitted
229 permits issued
577 permits completed
Private School Evaluation
Established in November 2014 , the Private School Earthquake Program went into effect , requiring existing private elementary and secondary schools in San Francisco to obtain an earthquake evaluation of their buildings .
Under State law , existing private schools are not required to meet the same rigorous safety requirements as public schools . This program strives to provide greater transparency of the seismic safety of private school buildings .
Initial scope reports listing each structure that needed to be evaluated by the program were due to DBI on November 2 , 2015 . Throughout 2016-17 , the Department began receiving evaluation reports , assessments submitted by structural engineers under their seal and signature . At the evaluation report deadline of November 2 , 2017 , the Department had received 22 reports from 11 schools . Code enforcement is underway for the 98 non-compliant private schools .
In Review 22 evaluation reports received 11 schools participated
All scope evaluations due on 11 / 2 / 2017
Department of Building Inspection , Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Annual Report 15