☆ SJ Housing Commissioner: Yep, I'm "concerned" about the projected Seismic Retrofit ordinance

Roberta Moore of San Jose's Housing and Community Development Commission (HCDC) chimes in on the City's proposed Seismic Retrofit ordinance, which is intended to keep our buildings structurally safe but—she says—could reap disastrous consequences for property owners, while failing to protect San Jose's most vulnerable properties. An Opp Now exclusive.

As the HCDC Commissioner for D10 and Landlords, I chaired the HCDC Seismic Retrofit Ad Hoc Committee. Staff did not share the findings with the Council members with whom I have spoken.

Here are the key points Council and staff should be concerned about:

• The proposed Seismic Retrofit ordinance does not appropriately prioritize the most vulnerable properties (e.g., it inaccurately claims all of San Jose is in a fault and liquefaction zone, while ABAG states, "46.3% of the region’s urban land is susceptible to liquefaction"). As a result, the limited funding (whether from FEMA, Measure E, etc.) will not be deployed for the City's most critical needs. Rather, our very limited collective resources will be spread too thinly.

• The cumulative impact from this ordinance, along with other mandates (local, regional, state) and escalating costs (e.g., insurance) will result in the loss of a significant portion of the City's most affordable rental homes. Mom-and-pop property owners—now forced to pay for a $5,000 engineering report—will be faced with selling to large institutional investors who have the resources, or walking away from their properties altogether, creating more blight in San Jose.

• We have received feedback that Council does not understand the NHD so is relying on staff’s scientific approach. The scientific approach includes 1) Engineering In Proposed Ordinance and 2) Geological Studies Identifying Risk from Earthquake. Note that an engineering report is not required and doesn’t report the level of risk of the land. The common-sense approach that will preserve more affordable housing includes both (Engineering or Geological) options, as needed.

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These problems will be created specifically because staff ignored the Natural Hazards Disclosure Reports required by California Civil Code 1103 to sell a property. Staff is targeting all buildings and ignoring the fault, liquefaction, and landslide hazard zone risks identified on each property.

A group of us worked on an analysis of and recommendation (see below) to the proposed ordinance to obtain FEMA funding while preserving low rents.

Council Meeting Information:

• Tuesday, September 24th

• Starts at 1:30 PM

• 200 E Santa Clara, San Jose (Or: can watch, but can not speak here)

• Agenda Item 8.3 Soft Story Retrofit Mandate

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of Roberta Moore’s and do not represent the official views of the HCDC.

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Related:

• SJ Housing Commissioner Moore: City manager, mayor have created a "more balanced plan" for housing and homelessness

• Expert: SJ Housing Dept chasing the wrong metrics

• Opinion: Batra and Doan are right; Math doesn't check out on SJ's homeless housing plan

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