Earlier this month, just over two years after Los Angeles passed a law requiring seismic retrofits of older, nonductile concrete buildings, the city’s Dept. of Building and Safety began sending compliance orders to owners. The L.A. retrofit ordinance, which also includes requirements for weak first-story wood-framed buildings, was the first of its kind in the U.S.
The buildings department expects the ordinance’s nonductile concrete sections, which give owners 25 years to retrofit or raze, to apply to some 1,200 buildings. To date, though more may be listed, “the majority of the buildings have been identified,” says Luke Zamperini, chief inspector and public information officer for the buildings department.