San Jose, CA Earthquake Safety: Unreinforced Masonry (2026)

Under California's Unreinforced Masonry Building Law (Government Code §8875 et seq.), all California cities and counties in Seismic Zone 4 (which includes San Jose) were required to inventory unreinforced masonry bearing wall buildings by 1990 and establish risk mitigation programs. URM buildings are those with masonry bearing walls constructed before modern seismic codes (typically before October 6, 1933, when California first adopted seismic building standards after the Long Beach earthquake). San Jose's URM inventory is relatively small compared to older cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, as much of San Jose's growth occurred after 1933. Remaining URM buildings must post earthquake risk warning notices visible to occupants per Government Code §8875.8. The California Existing Building Code provides retrofit standards for URM structures that owners choose to strengthen rather than demolish. When major renovations are undertaken on a URM building (exceeding certain cost thresholds), seismic upgrade to current code standards may be triggered. San Jose's Building Division administers URM compliance and can order vacating of buildings deemed an imminent hazard.