A RESOLUTION declaring the City Council’s and the Mayor’s intent to consider strategies to ensure that all unreinforced masonry buildings in Seattle are seismically retrofitted.
Agenda Item 28 Council Bill 32033a resolution declaring the City Council's and the mayor's intent to consider strategies to ensure that all unreinforced masonry buildings in Seattle are seismically retrofitted. The committee recommends the resolution be adopted as amended. Thank you so much for coming to hand it over to Councilmember Herbold to address this item. So much so little background on the issue first. In 2017, the city's unreinforced masonry policy committee released final recommendations, which note that there are over 1100 unreinforced masonry buildings in the city. And these buildings pose a risk because occupants of them are likely to be injured or killed in a major earthquake. The cost of seismic upgrades is a barrier for building owners. The report suggested that the city worked to focus first on the 77 buildings with critical vulnerability. Those include hospitals, schools and fire stations. The 2017 recommendations estimates a total cost to building owners for all 1100, you are rooms of over $1,000,000,000. So finding a way to finance this work is a really important component to developing a program to require seismic retrofits. In 2020, after city lobbying efforts, the state passed and the governor signed into law something called the Sea Pacer program. This is a program that provides a financing financing mechanism to help owners of commercial and multifamily buildings cover the costs associated with energy efficiency and seismic retrofit. The PACER program is is well, the state basically authorizes counties to create the C Pacer program. So King County has had to enact it because the funding mechanism is related to the function of property assessments. As we know, that's a function of county government. So King County has just recently done this, which is great news. And as a result, that program is anticipated to begin accepting applications in early 2022. Since early 2020, I've been working with stakeholders to craft a resolution that would provide guidance to city departments in their development of a phased mandatory retrofit program for you arms. I had hoped to pass the resolution last year. However, the work of the Office of Emergency Management and the Seattle Department of Construction is inspections necessary to fulfill the requirements that are contained in the resolution was not possible given the 2020 focus on addressing the emergency impacts of COVID 19. So today is a culmination of a year's worth of work with stakeholders and the executive to agree on the reporting parameters and timelines contained in the resolution. Additionally, included in Mayor Durkin's proposed budget and supported with the final passage of the Council was funding for a full time position to facilitate and coordinate the work necessary to develop a final program to address unreinforced masonry buildings. I just want to, before we call for the vote, I want to give thanks to a SAP, which is otherwise known as the Alliance for Safety, Affordability and Preservation. It's a broad spectrum of concerned stakeholders, including market rate, affordable housing developers, property owners, historic preservationists, engineers and neighborhood associations. It is they that have come together to develop these creative solutions to the threat to public safety and the rich legacy of our region's built environment posed by the impact of future seismic events on our unreinforced masonry buildings. Creating a pathway as contemplated in the resolution will require that we continue to work together. And I look forward to that work next year. Thanks. Thank you so much. Councilmember Herbold, are there any additional comments on Resolution 32033, agenda item 28? Hearing no additional comments. Will the clerk please call the role on the adoption of resolution 32033? Item 28. Lewis. Yes. Morales. Yes. Mesquita, I. Peterson. Hi. Strauss. Yes. You're both. Yes. Whereas I council President Gonzalez, I aid in favor and then oppose. The resolution is adopted and the chair will sign. It will please affixed my signature to the legislation on my back squished down. Will the. Sorry, Judy. You are. Unmuted still. Will the group please read item 29 into the record? The Report of the Community and Economic Development Committee Agenda Item 29 Council Bill 120241 An ordinance relating to human rights, including protections against discrimination based on citizenship and immigration status. The committee recommends the bill pass.