Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit – City of West Hollywood
The City of West Hollywood officially implemented a seismic retrofit program on April 17, 2017. This program was created to reduce earthquake-related risks and improve life safety for occupants of commercial and multifamily buildings throughout the city. Ordinance 17-1004 outlines the mandatory requirements for strengthening existing wood-frame buildings that have soft, weak, or open-front walls. It also includes requirements related to cripple walls and sill plate anchorage in older wood-frame structures. The ordinance went into effect on April 1, 2018.
- Priority I: Buildings with 16 or more dwelling units
- Priority II: Buildings with 3 or more stories and fewer than 16 dwelling units
- Priority III: Buildings that do not fall under Priority I or Priority II
Milestone
Begin Process
Notice of the program is served to the building owner
1 Year After Notice
Deadline to submit the screening report
2 Years After Notice
Deadline to submit retrofit plans
4 Years After Notice
Deadline to obtain permits and begin construction
5 Years After Notice
Deadline to complete the retrofit construction
What Medro Engineering Provides
- Full structural assessment
- Identification of SWOF lines
- Determination of “Retrofit Required” or “Exempt”
- Engineering justification for exemption requests
- Posting guidance for required signage
Fully compliant with Burbank Seismic Design Guidelines, including:
- Lateral analysis and calculations
Soft/weak/open-front wall strengthening design - Diaphragm, collector, and foundation upgrades
- Cantilever column systems
- Drift checks, base-shear calculations, and irregularity assessments
- Complete structural details and material specifications
- Plan check response letters
- Structural observation forms
- Coordination with Building & Safety
- Housing and tenant-notification support
- Structural observation during key stages
- Contractor RFI support
- Final approval assistance
- 100% permit-fee refund for full compliance by July 10, 2026
- 50% refund for compliance by January 10, 2028
- Mandatory safety signage after Notice to Comply
- Posting of construction notices
- Removal of signage after final City approval
Owners may recover up to 50% of construction costs (max $51/unit/month for up to 120 months).