Chapter 15.55
EXISTING UNREINFORCED MASONRY BUILDINGS
Sections:
15.55.020 Design standards adopted.
15.55.040 Reconstruction required.
15.55.010 Purpose and intent.
Unreinforced masonry buildings have a high incidence of damage and a higher degree of damage than normally reinforced buildings. The instability of this type of construction has contributed to the loss of life during seismic episodes. Government Code tit. 2, ch. 12.2, div. 1 (Government Code § 8875 et seq.) requires that the Building Division inspect all commercial buildings within the city limits, submit a list of unreinforced masonry buildings to the state, and mitigate the hazards to provide a higher degree of safety than originally constructed.
(Code 1965, § 9901; Code 2002, § 14-431. Ord. No. 91-8)
15.55.020 Design standards adopted.
Analysis and design shall conform to Chapters A1 and A3 of Appendix A of the Existing Building Code for the City of Concord.
(Code 1965, § 9902; Code 2002, § 14-432. Ord. No. 91-8; Ord. No. 97-9; Ord. No. 99-7; Ord. No. 07-13; Ord. No. 11-1; Ord. No. 16-7, § 13)
15.55.030 Permit required.
(a) A permit shall be obtained prior to any construction on structures identified as unreinforced masonry buildings, as defined by the Existing Building Code for the City of Concord.
(b) Persons preparing plans and engineering calculations shall be licensed by the state as either a civil or structural engineer. The license shall be kept current throughout the term of reconstruction, until the certificate of occupancy is issued. The design engineer shall be termed the “engineer of record.” A change of engineer during the reconstruction shall be preceded by documentation from the new “engineer of record,” accepting design responsibility from the date he assumes responsibility. There shall be no voids between responsible engineers.
(Code 1965, § 9903; Code 2002, § 14-433. Ord. No. 11; Ord. No. 91-8; Ord. No. 07-13; Ord. No. 16-7, § 13)
15.55.040 Reconstruction required.
(a) Total reconstruction of buildings or portions of buildings defined as unreinforced masonry structures is required within a period of five years from the date of adoption of this article.
(b) Total reconstruction is also required if any of the following occurs within the five-year period in subsection (a) of this section:
(1) Vacancy of the entire building;
(2) Change in occupancy of the entire building;
(3) Increase in calculated occupant load;
(4) Re-roofing the structure over 50 percent of total area during the five-year period;
(5) Change of ownership;
(6) Change of tenants; or
(7) Major remodeling, which is defined as:
a. Over $50,000.00 valuation based on January 1981, ENR U.S. 20 Cities, average construction cost index of 3372.02 (Engineering News Record, McGraw Hill Publishing Company);
b. Over 50 percent of current value based on the County Assessor’s records, or equal.
(Code 1965, § 9904; Code 2002, § 14-434. Ord. No. 91-8)