Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit – City of Beverly Hills

The Screening Form is the first required submittal. It must be completed by a licensed Civil or Structural Engineer or a California-licensed Architect. 

The Screening Form determines: 

• Whether the building is subject to the ordinance 

• Whether SWOF wall conditions are present 

• Whether a retrofit is required 

• Whether any prior retrofit qualifies for exemption  

Submission requirements include: 

• Ground-floor plan 

• Elevations of perimeter walls 

• Photographs of all sides 

• Identification of SWOF conditions 

• Proposed retrofit scope (if applicable)

If the Screening Form determines that a retrofit is required, the next steps include: 

1. Prepare Retrofit Plans 

1. Submit Plans to Beverly Hills Building & Safety 

1. Respond to Plan Check Corrections 

1. Obtain Retrofit Permit 

1. Begin Construction within the required milestone timeline 

1. Pass City Inspections during construction 

1. Obtain Final Inspection Approval 

Buildings may be considered for exemption if: 

• They do not meet all three mandatory criteria (pre-1978, wood-frame, SWOF) 

• They have been previously retrofitted to a standard that meets or exceeds current ordinance requirements 

Exemption requests must be submitted to the City’s Retrofit Division for review. 

Screening Reports 

• Full evaluation of SWOF conditions 

• Determination of “Retrofit Required” or “Exempt” 

• Documentation for exemption requests 

• Code-compliant sketches, elevations & photos 

Retrofit Plan Sets 

• Complete engineered design per Beverly Hills guidelines 

• Lateral analysis, diaphragm checks, wall strengthening 

• Collector/drag system design 

• Foundation upgrades 

• Detailed drawings ready for plan check 

Permit Coordination 

• Plan check responses 

• Structural observation forms 

• City coordination throughout construction 

Construction Support 

• Structural observation 

• RFI responses 

• Final inspection assistance