Beverly Hills Chamber

Beverly Hills Mandatory Soft Story Retrofit

Posted by admin on January 16th, 2020

Categories : Chamber Membership, City Insights

Industry : City, Community

Did you receive a notice for the new and mandatory soft-story retrofit program in Beverly Hills? Has your apartment building been flagged yet? Well, if you have an older wood-frame apartment or condominium building that obtained a permit for construction prior to 1978 and has carports or tuck-under-parking using the ground floor of your structure as an open parking area, then you might be getting your notice soon. The City of Beverly Hills has adopted a mandatory retrofit ordinance for earthquake safety “to help protect people and minimize damage of vulnerable buildings in the event of a major earthquake.”

But no need to fear, Retrofit1 is here! Retrofit1 completes all retrofitting steps to bring your building up to code and obtain your Certificate of Compliance with the city.

Here are some samples of a Beverly Hills soft story building:

Ordinance No. 18-O-2767 was adopted at a formal City Council meeting on December 11, 2018. It became effective on January 11, 2019. The first set of notices for buildings flagged as Tier-I were sent out in July 2019. The next tiers are tentatively set to be sent out in 2020.

The criteria used is as follows:

• A permit for construction of a new building was applied for before January 1, 1978, or if no permit can be located, the structure is determined by the City Building Official to have been built under building code standards enacted prior to January 1, 1978
• The ground floor or basement portion of the structure contains parking or other similar open floor space that causes soft, weak, or open-front wall lines and there exists one or more stories above.

Retrofit1 completes all retrofit items required for your deadlines. After receiving your letter and notice to comply date (typically the date the notice is served), you have:

• 6 months to submit the Screening Report (done by an Engineer or Architect)
• 1 year to submit Retrofit Engineering Plans
• 2 years to obtain a building permit
• 2.5 years to start construction
• 3 years to complete construction from the notice to comply date

Retrofit1 assists you with every step required of the Beverly Hills mandatory retrofit program, including engineering and construction. We handle all tenant and city communication, as well as make visits for you. Once we complete the retrofit construction, finishing up with the perfect match of paint at the end, your building will be ready for the next big one!

Call us today to get started and for a free estimate: 1-844-4Retro1 (473-8761) | www.retrofit1.com