California Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit Program
- SB 721 & SB 326 Inspections
- Engineering Design Services
How the Retrofit Process Works
Medro Engineering provides complete engineering support throughout all phases of the retrofit process:
01
Initial Evaluation
We review available building plans, perform a site visit, and assess the structure to determine the appropriate retrofit method based on the city’s ordinance.
02
Engineering Design
Our structural engineers prepare retrofit drawings, calculations, and all required technical documentation for plan-check submittal.
03
City Plan Review & Approval
We coordinate directly with the local building department, respond to plan-check comments, and secure final approval.
04
Construction Support
During construction, we provide observation services to verify that the retrofit work conforms to the approved plans and applicable city requirements.
Cities With Soft-Story
Each city has its own rules, timelines, and compliance deadlines. We have dedicated landing pages with the exact requirements for:
Los Angeles Soft-Story Retrofit Services
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Long Beach Soft-Story Retrofit Services
Professional Engineering, Screening Reports, Retrofit Plans & Permit Support
In Long Beach, all soft-story buildings are now subject to the city’s mandatory seismic retrofit program, requiring owners to evaluate and strengthen wood-frame structures with soft, weak, or open-front wall lines (SWOF). Medro Engineering delivers a comprehensive, end-to-end engineering service, supporting property owners through every phase — from the first assessment and retrofit planning to obtaining final approval from the City of Long Beach.
Culver City Soft-Story Retrofit Services
Professional Engineering, Screening Reports, Retrofit Plans & Permit Support
Soft-story buildings in Culver City are now required to comply with Ordinance 2021-013, which mandates seismic evaluation and strengthening of wood-frame structures with soft, weak, or open-front wall lines (SWOF). Medro Engineering provides a full, end-to-end engineering solution to help property owners meet every required milestone from initial screening to final approval from the City.
Santa Monica Soft-Story Retrofit Services
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Beverly Hills Soft-Story Retrofit Services
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West Hollywood Soft-Story Retrofit Services
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Pasadena Soft-Story Retrofit Services
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Glendale Soft-Story Retrofit Services
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Professional Engineering, Screening Reports, Retrofit Plans & Permit Support
Burbank adopted a mandatory Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit program (Ordinance 24-4,021) to improve safety for older wood-frame residential buildings. Medro Engineering provides full engineering services to help owners meet all City requirements — from the first screening report to final construction approval.
What is a Soft-Story Building?
Soft-story buildings are structures where the ground floor contains large openings such as tuck-under parking, carports, or storefronts and has limited lateral resistance. These weaker ground level make the building more vulnerable to significant deformation or collapse during an earthquake.
What is the Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit Program?
Many California cities have adopted mandatory or voluntary seismic retrofit programs to improve the performance of vulnerable multi-unit residential buildings. These programs require property owners to strengthen the ground-level structure to reduce the risk of earthquake damage and structural instability.
Retrofit work typically includes:
- Improving load paths and overall lateral resistance
- Strengthening weak ground-floor levels
- Installing steel moment frames, cantilevered columns, or new shear walls
- Reinforcing existing framing connections
- Improving load paths and overall lateral resistance
Why Retrofitting Is Important
Earthquakes impose significant horizontal forces on buildings. Soft-story structures often perform poorly under this type of loading, which may result in:
- Excessive drift and deformation
- Localized structural failures
- Complete collapse of the first story
A properly engineered retrofit increases life safety, reduces financial losses, and enhances long-term building resiliency.