Are you a Design Professional or Contractor working on a building in the Mandatory Soft Story Program? 

Engineer guidance and expertise is important in helping property owners reach compliance in this program. The Mandatory Soft Story Program is designed to safeguard the building and life safety on San Francisco in the event of an earthquake. 

Below are several options available for design professionals to use to meet the ordinance requirements.

ENGINEERING CRITERIA

The options are:

• AB-107 - Application of Engineering Criteria in SFEBC Chapter 4D, or
• FEMA P-807, Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Multi-Unit Wood-Frame Buildings With Weak First Stories, as detailed in an Administrative Bulletin to be prepared pursuant to SFEBC Section 406D.3 of this ordinance, with the performance objective of 50 percent maximum probability of exceedance of Onset of Strength Loss drift limits with a spectral demand equal to 0.50 SMS, or
• ASCE 41-13, Seismic Evaluation and Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings, with the performance objective of Structural Life Safety in the BSE-1E earthquake, or
• ASCE 41-06, Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings, with the performance objective of Structural Life Safety in the BSE-1 earthquake with earthquake loads multiplied by 75 percent, or
• For evaluation only, ASCE 31-03, Seismic Evaluation of Existing Buildings, with the performance level of Life Safety, or
• For retrofit only, 2012 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) Appendix A-4, or
• Any other rational design basis deemed acceptable by the Department that meets or exceeds the intent of the above standards.