Non-Ductile Concrete Retrofit Programs:

Current Cities that have implemented non-ductile concrete retrofit ordincances include Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood.

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What is a non-ductile concrete building?

Most concrete buildings built before 1977 are non-ductile concrete. The term “non-ductile” refers to the buildings rigidity, being inflexible and brittle. Rigidness in these structures combined with a lack of reinforcing steel causes concrete elements such as columns, beams, walls and their connections to be brittle and therefore perform poorly during earthquakes.

According to City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety’s website:
“During the earthquakes at Northridge, Mexico City, and most recently, Christchurch New Zealand, many concrete buildings constructed prior to the 1976 Los Angeles City Building Code provisions, or similar era codes in other countries, performed poorly and collapsed, causing loss of human life, personal injury, and property damage. The poor performance of these older concrete buildings is due to deficiencies in the lateral force-resisting system that render the building incapable of sustaining gravity loads when the building is subjected to an earthquake.

Buildings that are within the scope of this ordinance and require retrofitting are concrete buildings with a roof and/or floor supported by a concrete wall or concrete column, submitted for plan check before January 13, 1977.”

 

More information on City retrofit programs, including deadlines to comply, can be found below:
City of Los Angeles Retrofit Program
City of Santa Monica Retrofit Program
City of West Hollywood Retrofit Program

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