Retrofitting Vulnerable Buildings Becomes Mandatory in Earthquake Prone LA..

Decades in the making, the Los Angeles City Council has approved regulations requiring the retrofit of vulnerable wood and concrete buildings.

2 minute read

October 12, 2015, 1:00 PM PDT

By jwilliams @jwillia22


Northridge Earthquake, 1994

kevincellis36109 / Flickr

Last week, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to require that 15,000 buildings across the city be retrofitted to withstand the shaking caused by earthquakes, reports Rong-Gong Lin II, Rosanna Xia, and Doug Smith of the Los Angeles Times. The new regulations give property owners five years to upgrade wood buildings and 25 years to upgrade concrete buildings in order to prevent the type of building collapse that was most recently seen in the 2011 earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand. The unknown remains how the retrofitting will be paid for, and by whom.

“The City Council is still mulling exactly how the retrofit costs will be shared. The law currently allows owners to increase monthly rents by up to $75 to pay for required earthquake retrofits, but both sides say they do not think Los Angeles renters can afford such a hike…

To help pay for the costs, apartment groups are looking for additional financial support, such as breaks on property and state income taxes and business license and building permit fees for owners who retrofit.”

The Times report states that the city will begin sending out notices to some 13,500 owners of wood buildings next month, with the owners of 1,500 concrete buildings being contacted at a later date. The cost to upgrade a single concrete building could approach close to $1 million.

Friday, October 9, 2015 in Los Angeles Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

6 hours ago - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

7 hours ago - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder