Anaheim, CA Earthquake Safety: Unreinforced Masonry (2026)

California Government Code 8875 through 8875.10 required all jurisdictions in Seismic Zone 4 to inventory unreinforced masonry buildings and adopt a loss-reduction program. Unreinforced masonry buildings are brick or block structures built primarily before 1940 without steel reinforcing bars, which perform poorly in earthquakes as mortar joints fail and walls collapse outward. Anaheim adopted Municipal Code Chapter 15.52 (URM Hazard Reduction) using the California Existing Building Code Appendix Chapter A1 prescriptive standard. The program required owners of URM buildings in Anaheim (most concentrated in the Colony Historic District along Anaheim Boulevard, Center Street Promenade, and Lincoln Avenue) to either: (1) retrofit the building by installing wall anchors connecting walls to floor and roof diaphragms, adding shear walls or steel bracing, and reinforcing parapets; (2) demolish the building; or (3) in some cases, post a placard warning occupants of the seismic risk. The program has largely been completed, with retrofitted buildings carrying a compliance record on file with the Building Division. Buyers and tenants of historic buildings should request the URM compliance status before leasing or closing. Any substantial alteration or change of occupancy in a URM building triggers current seismic code compliance under CEBC. Historic preservation and seismic retrofits are coordinated with the Anaheim Historic Preservation review when a building is a designated landmark.