Title
Introduction of Ordinance Amending the Alameda Municipal Code by Adding Section 13-12 Use and Occupancy of Damaged Buildings and Structures/Use of Placard or Signs to Chapter XIII Article I. (Fire 3205)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Alameda (City), through adoption of the California Building Code into the Alameda Municipal Code (13-2.1), has the ability to place Applied Technology Council 20 (ATC-20) Building Safety Evaluation Placards (Placards) on buildings when such buildings are rendered unsafe for human occupancy and to receive assistance from building inspectors from other jurisdictions and trained volunteers to assist during times of disaster or other needs. This ordinance addresses the need to have the legal right to enforce the ATC-20 Placards following posting. Placards have been widely used in past earthquakes to denote the condition of buildings and structures.
In many cases, Placards have been those recommended in the ATC-20 publication. However, because most jurisdictions have not officially adopted Placards, these unofficial Placards represent only a recommendation from those who performed the evaluation. Thus, currently the Placards do not carry the weight of law and cannot be enforced. Adopting the Placards by ordinance makes them official and enforceable.
BACKGROUND
In 1989, with funding from the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Applied Technology Council (ATC) published the ATC-20 <https://store.atcouncil.org/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=35> Procedures for Post-earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings, and companion ATC-20-1 <https://store.atcouncil.org/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=32> Field Manual: Post-earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings, Second Edition (revised in early 2005). Written specifically for volunteer structural engineers and building inspectors, these reports include rapid and detailed evaluation procedures for evaluating earthquake-damaged buildings and posting them as INSPECTED (apparently safe, green placard), LIMITED (or Restricted) ENTRY (yellow placard), or UNSAFE (red placard).
ATC-20 Placards clearly identify the condition of buildings to owners and occupants. These Placards were first used after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. A panel was convened by the ATC to review ATC-20 and update the document based on the Loma Prieta experience. One of the major revisions to come from that panel was to revise the three Placards. These revised Placards have been included in the Post-Disaster Safety Assessment Program (SAP).
In past events, there have been a number of reports of Placards being removed from buildings by owners or tenants. In other cases, there have been reports of the unauthorized change of Placards, usually from UNSAFE to one of the other categories. In both cases, adopting Placards by ordinance allows the City to enforce the posting with local police or sheriffs, if necessary.
Placards are placed on a building to protect the owner, tenant, and the general public. No action should be permitted that would compromise such protection.
Only authorized representatives of the City may post official Placards. For this reason, the SAP recommends that the safety assessment evaluators be deputized. If this is done, evaluators can post official City Placards when they complete their evaluations.
Some jurisdictions have become concerned that they will become financially responsible for providing workers' compensation coverage if they deputize volunteers. In accordance with Article 17, Section 8657(b) of the California Emergency Services Act, local government is not financially responsible for providing the volunteers with workers' compensation coverage if the jurisdiction deputizes volunteers. The volunteer Safety Assessment Evaluators are registered with Cal OES as Disaster Service Worker Volunteers and are provided workers' compensation coverage by the State of California. Evaluators, who are State or local government employees, are covered by their respective jurisdiction and respond under mutual aid agreements.
California Building Officials (CALBO) <https://www.calbo.org/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery>, and Cal OES <https://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/recovery/disaster-mitigation-technical-support/technical-assistance/safety-assessment-program> encourage all jurisdictions to adopt the revised ATC-20 Placards in order to have a uniform Placard system in place throughout the state.
DISCUSSION
Inspectors will use the official City Placards and will have the authority to determine the safety of buildings within Alameda and post official Placards.
By adopting the ordinance, the City will align with recommendation made by Cal OES and CALBO. ATC-20 Placards posted by SAP inspectors, and other authorized representatives of the City, will be enforceable by law. Mutual aid SAP inspectors will be deputized and all inspections, including inspections post disaster, will be tracked and enforced. The new ATC-20 Placards will carry the ordinance number, City address, and City seal, meeting the requirements of the Safety Inspection Program, which is the fundamental change from the old Placards that have been used in the past.
The City has trained SAP inspectors within both the Planning, Building, and Transportation Department and the Public Works Department. If more SAP inspectors are needed during a disaster, the City will request mutual aid from the Operational Area (Alameda County Office of Emergency Service). SAP inspectors received through the mutual aid system will be deputized as official City SAP inspectors, allowing them to post Placards on behalf of the City.
More information about the SAP program can be found on the Cal OES website <http://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/recovery/disaster-mitigation-technical-support/technical-assistance/safety-assessment-program>.
ALTERNATIVES
• Adopt the ordinance, giving the City the legal right to enforce Placards following posting.
• Do not adopt the ordinance, and SAP inspectors from the City and incoming mutual aid inspectors would continue to use the Placards that are currently in use. The Placards that are in use now look the same as the proposed Placards, but do not have the required City address or an ordinance number printed on them, and are not enforceable. Without formally adopted Placards, jurisdictions are not in a position to enforce compliance with “Unsafe” or “Restricted Use” placards, since unofficial Placards are only strongly worded recommendations.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Introduction of an ordinance does not have a financial impact on the City. If the ordinance is approved, the City will incur some costs with purchasing the new Placards so they are available for use.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action is consistent with the Alameda Municipal Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is not a project for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 10561(b)(3) as there is no possibility that this action may have a significant effect on the environment.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
There is no climate impact with this action.
RECOMMENDATION
Introduce an ordinance amending Chapter XIII Article I of the Alameda Municipal Code by adding Section 13-12 Use and Occupancy of Damaged Buildings and Structures/Use of Placards or Signs.
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager recommends approval.
Respectfully submitted,
Edmond A. Rodriguez, Fire Chief
By,
Sharon Oliver, Disaster Preparedness Coordinator
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Red Placard - Unsafe
2. Yellow Placard - Inspected
3. Green Placard - Restricted Use
cc: Eric Levitt, City Manager