The city of Los Angeles has the seismic retrofit ordinance that is mandatory for any owners of the buildings around the city. The ordinance ensures that all buildings throughout the city of Los Angeles are meeting the safety standards for protection against earthquakes. You can go to seismic retrofit in Los Angeles to learn more information about the seismic retrofit ordinance in this city.
You will receive an order from the city of Los Angeles to apply the mandatory seismic retrofitting process if your building doesn’t comply with the safety standards. Here’s all about Los Angeles seismic retrofit ordinance you need to know.
- Seismic Retrofit is Mandatory for Buildings that Don’t Fit the Safety Standards
The Seismic Retrofit requirements become important in the state of California, including the city of Los Angeles, because of the previous earthquake incident in 1994 that brought deaths to 57 people and homelessness to many people. The event also caused billions of dollars of damages to the properties and other things around the area.
To prevent the same thing from happening, the state of California, which includes the city of Los Angeles, requires the buildings around the state to fit certain safety standards. Also, it’s mandatory for buildings that don’t fit certain safety standards to apply for the seismic retrofitting plan to improve its safety and security.
- Types of Buildings that Must Follow the LA Retrofit Ordinance
In 2021, owning a building in Los Angeles requires you to follow the LA retrofit ordinance, which is the same type of retrofitting rules like the one issued by the state of California. Your building needs to meet the safety standards, and there are two options you can take if your building doesn’t follow the safety standards. First, you need to follow the seismic retrofitting plan, or second, you need to demolish the building.
There are two types of buildings that must follow the LA Retrofit Ordinance. One, multi-story wood-framed buildings constructed before 1980, and two, concrete buildings constructed before 1980.
- Contact a Licensed Professional Engineer to Apply for the Retrofitting Plan
To apply for the seismic retrofitting process in Los Angeles, it is important that you contact a licensed professional engineer to apply for the plan. You can’t just pick a constructor without knowing about its qualifications in the seismic retrofitting field.
The licensed professional engineer will need to evaluate your building and provide the detailed retrofitting plan for your building. Each building will have a different retrofitting plan structure depending on their unique constructions, and the cost will also differ between buildings.
Conclusion
You’ve learned all about the Los Angeles seismic retrofit ordinance. In the city of Los Angeles, retrofitting is becoming a requirement for a new building to protect the people living in it from the potential earthquake damages. Also, retrofitting will ensure that the building doesn’t cause any additional damages to the nearby areas.
Retrofitting is an important process you need to apply for your building, so you need to get accurate information about this process beforehand.