Not Yet a Mandate
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors recently passed a program to incentivize voluntary seismic retrofits. 
Buildings built before May 21, 1973 that are 3 or more stories and five or more residential units are the focus of the program. 43 to 85% of these wood-frame buildings would be red tagged in a 7.2 earthquake. About 58,000 people and 2000 business are live and work in soft story structures.
The city will offer owners:
1. A stream lined permit process
2. zero permit fees if owners voluntarily retrofit their buildings
3. An exemption from mandated retrofitting for 15 years.
4. Code mandated work is eligible for a 100% capital improvement passthrough if documentation is provided and approved by the Rent Board.
5. A financing package to help mitgate the costs. Newsom looks to put this to the test on the November 2010 ballot.
WIKI: A Soft story building is a multi story building whereby one or more floors have windows, wide doors, large unobstructed commercial spaces, or other openings in places where a shear wall would normally be required for stability as a matter of earthquake engineering design. Buildings are classified as having a soft story if that level is less than 70% as stiff as the floor immediately above it, or less than 80% as stiff as the average stiffness of the three floors above it.
The Cost & Inconvenience
300 to 850 multi-unit buildings would be red tagged and no longer habitable in a 7.2 or greater earthquake. Seismic retrofits at the recommended level are likely to cost in the range of $60,000 to $130,000 per building for direct construction costs.
Residents of upper level apartments could stay in their homes. However, construction could significantly affect habiutabiltiy for residents and interrupt small businesses located at street level. Ground floor tenants might temporarily need to close, relocate or deal with considerable construction inconvenience. How does the owner compensate for business interruption ofr the slew of rent reductions demanded by tenants for the loss of quiet enjoyment.
The Savings
These retrofits would eliminate $1.5 billion in damage caused by a sizable earthquake. Without a retrofit program we will see a greater disruption and loss of life and property. The rebuild will be enourmous and no doubt, price many out of the city, not to mention we are stewards for a great architectural heritage.
A Work Around
Owners may want to contact a structural engineer or general contractor experienced in soft-story retrofit to assess the capital improvement costs. It may be cheaper to do it now than wait for any mandated program to be imposed.
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