LA County Ordinance 2017-0061 added Title 26 Chapter 95 requiring seismic retrofit of soft-story wood-frame multi-unit buildings in unincorporated areas. Owners of pre-1978 buildings with five or more units over open parking must evaluate and retrofit on a phased schedule.
Ordinance 2017-0061, codified in LA County Building Code Title 26 Chapter 95, mandates retrofit of soft, weak, or open-front wood-frame buildings with five or more dwelling units constructed under permits issued before January 1, 1978, in unincorporated LA County. Owners received Orders to Comply on a rolling schedule: structural evaluation within two years, permits within 3.5 years, and completion within seven years of the Order. Approved retrofits use prescriptive Chapter A4 of the California Existing Building Code or a performance-based ASCE 41 design. LACoDPW Building & Safety administers the program; tenant-protection rules align with state Costa-Hawkins limits and county RSO Title 8.52.
Failure to comply triggers administrative citations up to $1,000 per day, recordation of substandard-building notices, and potential rent freezes under Title 8.52. Continued non-compliance leads to misdemeanor prosecution and County Counsel injunction proceedings.
See how Santa Monica's wood-frame retrofit rules stack up against other locations.
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