Anaheim, CA Earthquake Safety: Unreinforced Masonry (2026)
Key Facts
- Ca Gov Code
- CA Gov Code 8875 required URM inventory and mitigation
- Anaheim Municipal Code
- Anaheim Municipal Code 15.52 implements the URM program
- Most Colony District
- Most Colony District URMs have been retrofitted
- Compliance Records Held
- Compliance records held by Anaheim Building Division
- Historic Landmark Urms
- Historic landmark URMs need preservation coordination
Summary
Anaheim completed its mandatory unreinforced masonry (URM) retrofit program under California Government Code 8875 and Anaheim Municipal Code Chapter 15.52. Owners of URM buildings had to retrofit, demolish, or post visible warning placards. Most of the historic URM stock in Anaheim's Colony Historic District has been retrofitted.
8875. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall govern the construction of this chapter: (a) “Potentially hazardous building” means any building constructed prior to the adoption of local building codes requiring earthquake resistant design of buildings and constructed of unreinforced masonry wall construction. “Potentially hazardous building” includes all buildings of this type, including, but not limited to, public and private schools, theaters, places of public assembly, apartment buildings, hotels, motels, fire stations, police stations, and buildings housing emergency services, equipment, or supplies, such as government buildings, disaster relief centers, communications facilities, hospitals, blood banks, pharmaceutical supply warehouses, plants, and retail outlets. “Potentially hazardous building” does not include warehouses or similar structures not used for human habitation, except for warehouses or structures housing emergency services equipment or supplies. “Potentially hazardous building” does not include any building having five living units or less.
Full Breakdown
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. 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell if a building is URM?
Do I need a new retrofit if I change the building's use?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Anaheim
California rules heatmap·Compare Anaheim to another location·View the California earthquake safety overview
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