Date Set for New URM Placarding and Tenant Notification Discussion

Our Nishkian Dean team has been following the efforts of the URM Building Policy Committee and Portland City Council to develop a mandatory seismic retrofit policy for unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings. This post is intended as an update to these previous posts, and to cover recent news.

We recently reported on a few outcomes from the Portland City Council meeting on June 13, 2018: a new proposal for the placement of warning placards on URM buildings, and one to require landlords (URM building owners) to notify their tenants that they reside in a URM structure. Read more here: https://www.nishkian.com/portlands-urm-seismic-retrofit-requirements-on-hold-for-now/

 
A new hearing on the proposed URM Placarding and Tenant Notification ordinance has been set for October 3, 2018 at 2 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers. [1]

The resolution that passed at the June 13th Portland City Council meeting states that, starting in March 1, 2019, URM buildings that have not been retrofitted must post placards that “state clearly in a conspicuous place at the entrance of the building printed in not less than 30-point bold type: ‘This is an unreinforced masonry building. Unreinforced masonry buildings may be unsafe in the event of a major earthquake.’” [2]

Since that meeting, the Portland Bureau of Development Services has been working to write an official ordinance that would require signs and tenant notifications for URM buildings, among other items.

In summary, the ordinance requires a placard on all URM buildings that have not been retrofitted to prevent collapse in the event of a “major earthquake.” The durable placard needs to be sized 8”x10” with lettering in a 50-point bold font, placed in a conspicuous location on the exterior at the main entrance with the following message in capital letters: “This Building is an Unreinforced Masonry Building. Unreinforced Masonry Buildings may be unsafe in an event of a Major Earthquake.” [1]

Additionally, the ordinance requires that URM building owners directly notify tenants/renters through rental agreements that their building is an unreinforced masonry building, which may be unsafe in an event of a major earthquake. [1]

From the City of Portland website, the ordinance requires URM owners to post a placard according to the following timeline:
• Publicly-owned buildings: On or before May 1, 2019
• Non-profit buildings: On or before November 1, 2020
• All other buildings: On or before November 1, 2019 [1]

Another part of the ordinance is that URM building owners are required to strengthen existing seismic triggers for their buildings. This may include:

1. Roof replacement. (Removal of greater than 50% of total roof area within a 15-year period requires wall anchorage for both in plane and out of plane forces and parapet bracing.) [1]
2. Costs of alterations or repair. (When costs associated with building alterations or repair in a five-year time period or fifteen-year time period exceeds the square-foot costs outlined in the ordinance, entire building must be improved to resist seismic forces to meet ASCE 31 41 criteria.) [1]

Nishkian Dean will continue to monitor the development of this important issue that affects many of our clients. Please contact us if you have questions on how these policies may affect your projects.
 
 
SOURCES

1. Proposed URM Placarding and Tenant Notification Ordinance:
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/article/697998
2. Portland City Council Resolution No. 37364: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/article/689174
 
 

More Seismic Grants Available for Oregon Public Schools and Emergency Service Facilities

By Robert A. Aman, PE, SE
rob.aman@nishkian.com

The Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program (SRGP) has a new application round that opened July 2, 2018, and closes on November 16, 2018, at 5:00pm. The SRGP is a State of Oregon biannual competitive grant program the provides funding for the seismic rehabilitation of existing critical public buildings, including public K-12 schools and emergency services facilities such as hospitals, acute inpatient care facilities, fire stations, police stations, 9-1-1 centers, and Emergency Operations Centers.

Portland’s URM Seismic Retrofit Requirements on Hold for Now

Nishkian Dean has been closely following the efforts of the URM Building Policy Committee and Portland City Council regarding their plan to develop a mandatory seismic retrofit policy for unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings.

Analyzing Two Portland Earthquake Devastation Scenarios

By Edwin T. Dean, PE, SE

How devastating would an earthquake be to the Portland metro area?  A recent report on the Earthquake Regional Impact Analysis for Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties, Oregon was published by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral industries (DOGAMI) seeks to answer that question. The report is an assessment of the damage and casualties that could result from a major earthquake in the region.

Oregon’s Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program

Schools and emergency service buildings receive aid for seismic upgrades

By Serena Gilles, P.E.
serena.gilles@nishkian.com

The Oregon Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program (SRGP) was created to help fund seismic upgrades for educational institutions and emergency services buildings including hospitals, fire stations, and police stations. The purpose is to reduce losses in the case of a major seismic event, which has been predicted to have a 40% chance of occurring along Oregon’s Pacific coastline within the next 50 years. This program focuses on the safety of K-12 children and their educators, first responders, and hospitals that are expected to be operational following an earthquake. Higher education facilities are also eligible for funding.

Paying for the $4.6 Billion URM Mandate

Read the latest developments on this subject at https://www.nishkian.com/portlands-urm-seismic-retrofit-requirements-on-hold-for-now/

———-
 
 A January 2018 update to our blog post from July 2017

Nishkian Dean previously reported on the URM Building Policy Committee back in July, which you can read here. This shorter post is intended to be a supplement to the original post, and to cover items not addressed in the previous article.

The URM Building Policy Committee had a final meeting on November 8, 2017 and completed a final draft of their report and recommendation in December, which the Portland City Council is likely to review in early 2018.

In summary, the Committee’s proposal is to require seismic strengthening of URM buildings using a tiered approached based on the building’s use and occupancy. The only exceptions to these recommended requirements are for one- and two-family homes and URM buildings that were previously seismically strengthened to an acceptable defined standard, as well as buildings serving religious functions or other buildings owned by non-profits that are not being used as schools. The exemption for Class 3 churches and other buildings used by non-profits would require that a placard noting the earthquake risk be placed at or near the entrances.

Creating a Seismic Shelter

By Edwin T. Dean, PE, SE

Having completed the initial designs for the innovative CoreFirst system, we at Nishkian Dean believe that it is a viable alternative to doing nothing and accepting fate when it comes to the next earthquake that may devastate Oregon buildings and put occupants in harm’s way. There is little argument that a full seismic strengthening of a building is the best solution, but for many building owners, it is simply not an expense that they can afford. If a full seismic upgrade is not a financially viable option, an alternative that would potentially provide a robust sanctuary to shelter occupants as the building around them shakes apart during a seismic event is a good one.

The $4.6 Billion Unreinforced Masonry Mandate

Read the latest developments on this subject at https://www.nishkian.com/portlands-urm-seismic-retrofit-requirements-on-hold-for-now/

———-

By Edwin T. Dean, PE, SE

Unreinforced masonry (URM), or the use of stone or brick masonry for structural walls, was a common approach in Portland building construction from the late 1800s to as recently as the 1950s. These buildings range in size from small one-story residences to large 10- or 12-story buildings, most with wood-framed floors with some structural steel or cast-iron components. Many of these buildings are historically registered and represent a valuable part of the City’s cultural heritage. Several are public buildings used for government operations or public schools. The characteristic of concern for this type of building construction is that they are extraordinarily vulnerable to earthquake damage, where even moderate ground shaking could result in partial collapse.

Background

Earthquake occurrences in other West Coast cities, such as Loma Prieta in 1989 in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northridge in 1994 near Los Angeles, have demonstrated that this type of construction is susceptible to devastating collapse and associated loss of life and property damage. There were many URM buildings that were damaged in these events, including those that had been seismically strengthened. This damage represented a very significant economic cost, though fortunately not a large number of deaths and URMs did not represent the deadliest type of buildings. These cities now have URM mandates: in the Bay Area, this was largely put into place after the Loma Prieta event, and in Los Angeles it had been implemented prior to the Northridge event.

Portland Poised to Mandate URM Building Seismic Strengthening

Read the latest developments on this subject at https://www.nishkian.com/portlands-urm-seismic-retrofit-requirements-on-hold-for-now/

———-
 
By Edwin T. Dean, PE, SE, and Chad Norvell, PE

The City of Portland is laced with seismic faults and is vulnerable to the looming Cascadia subduction zone earthquake, which could have a magnitude as high as 9.0. Despite this risk, Portland has one of the highest concentration of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings in the Pacific Northwest. URM buildings are particularly vulnerable to potential catastrophic collapse in earthquakes. To alleviate this risk, the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management (PBEM) convened a series of committees to propose new URM seismic retrofit standards, which are currently under deliberation with the goal of passing the new standards in the City Council in 2017.

Understanding the Cascadia Subduction Zone and Our Work to Prevent Damage

A recent article in The New Yorker entitled “The Really Big One: An earthquake will destroy a sizable portion of the coastal Northwest.  The question is when.” has caused a media storm with outlets across the country now talking about, what was for many, a previously little-known fault line, the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and its anticipated impact on the Pacific Northwest.

The Cascadia Subduction Zone refers to a fault line just off the Oregon/California/Washington coastlines, paralleling a series of volcanic mountains called the Cascade Range, where the North American and Juan De Fuca tectonic plates meet in the Pacific Ocean.  These tectonic plates are so tightly wedged against one another and the pressure is so intense that when they eventually slip along its length, scientists are anticipating a 9.0, or higher, magnitude earthquake accompanied by a potentially 45-foot tall tsunami that will batter the north Pacific coastline from California to Canada.  And, according to those same scientists, we are 315 years into a 243-year recurrence cycle.

Oregon’s Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program Will Fund $15M Towards Earthquake Safety in Schools

The Cascadia Subduction Zone, an area where tectonic plates off the coast of Oregon typically grind and slip to relieve pressure, have become “locked.”  All of this pressure building along the fault line must be released at some point, which has significant implications for risk of major earthquake in the Pacific Northwest.

In response to this, Oregon’s Seismic Rehabilitation Grant Program (SRGP) was initiated by Oregon Emergency Management to fund earthquake retrofitting and seismic upgrade efforts for schools, higher-education institutions, and emergency services buildings.

Earthquakes Versus Hurricanes: Measuring Damage

Earthquakes versus hurricanes…which natural disaster proves to be more damaging to buildings?  This is an interesting question to compare and contrast.  Each event affects buildings in fundamentally different ways, yet there are some striking similarities, as well.  Let’s examine them.

Earthquakes are strong ground movements that result from ruptured crustal faults.  And although regions that are seismically active and prone to earthquakes are largely known and geoscientists have mapped at least the potential for strong ground motions throughout the United States, earthquakes are unpredictable.  The strength of the ground shaking below a particular building is a function of the distance from the rupture (both depth and distance along the surface), the type of soil the building sits on, and, of course, the size of the rupture/the extent to which the fault fractures during the event.  The ground accelerations manifest themselves in forces within the building (remember from science class, F = ma where “m” is the mass of the building and “a” is the ground accelerations).  Some of the strongest ground accelerations mapped by the USGS can be found in:

What Happened to Seismic Zones?

By Edwin T. Dean, PE, SE

Do you remember seismic zones?  Depending on how long you have been involved in the building industry you may or may not remember seismic zones.  May be you had experience with Zone 4 rated components or even today we get asked to design to Zone 3 or other seismic Zone requirements.