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The Portland City Council in coming weeks will wrestle with a policy that would give owners of seismically at-risk brick buildings a decade or more to complete costly retrofits.

A policy committee in December released a report calling for a tiered approach to seismic retrofit requirements. Building owners would be given ample time 鈥� 10 to 15 years 鈥� to complete upgrades.

An existing city code to require seismic retrofits in certain circumstances has proved largely ineffective, the committee’s report stated.

Since that code took effect in 1995, 85 percent of unreinforced masonry buildings have received no seismic upgrades, according to the committee’s report. Only about 5 percent were fully retrofitted, and 9 percent were partially upgraded.

About 8 percent of unreinforced masonry buildings from the 1990s inventory were demolished, according to the committee.

The current code requires a seismic retrofit when an unreinforced masonry building changes use, expands to an occupancy of more than 150 people or the building owner spends more than about $43 per square foot on improvements.

The proposed new policy was shaped by an 18-person committee that included architects, developers, building owners, historic preservation advocates and city officials. They issued a 37-page report.

The policy work comes after a widely read 2015 article Kathryn Schulz wrote for The New Yorker detailing devastation to be expected in the event of a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake. The odds of such an earthquake occurring within the next 50 years is about one in three, Schulz reported.

Now the policy matter is before the City Council, which is expected to take it up sometime in the 鈥渘ext few weeks,鈥� said Michael Cox, spokesman for Mayor Ted Wheeler. It was not yet on any upcoming council agenda.

鈥淲e want to take a look at those recommendations and work with our council colleagues before we schedule a date,鈥� Cox said.

Wheeler oversees the Office of Emergency Management, which would administer the policy. City commissioners are conferring, Cox said, but added it was too early to publicly discuss details.

鈥淲e’re incredibly thankful to the committee for providing 鈥� thoughtful input on these policies,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e like and appreciate the work that they’ve done, and it’s highly valuable.鈥�

The proposed policy would affect a vast swath of Portland’s building inventory. Overall, the city has identified 1,884 unreinforced masonry buildings, with an average age of 88 years.

Unreinforced masonry buildings are common in Portland, particularly in older parts. The city’s list of URM buildings includes more than 7,000 apartment units. Of those, at least 1,800 apartments are publicly financed affordable housing.

Commercial buildings also appear on the list, including some that have had expensive tenant improvements without a seismic retrofit.

The policy committee recommended categorizing buildings:

• Class 1 is 鈥渃ritical buildings and essential facilities.鈥� This includes hospitals, police and fire stations, water treatment plans and electricity-generating facilities. There are six buildings in this category.
• Class 2 facilities include schools, churches and other high-occupancy buildings. There are 92 buildings in this category, including 44 schools and 38 churches.
• Class 3 facilities include buildings with more than 10 occupants, including numerous apartments. This is by far the largest category, comprising 1,332 buildings.
• Class 4 facilities include one- and two-story buildings with zero to 10 occupants. This category has 201 buildings.

Members of the policy committee expressed concern regarding the high cost of seismic retrofits. Those costs can be difficult to recoup because seismically upgraded buildings command little, if any, premium over comparable buildings that have not been retrofitted.

鈥淲hat concerns me deeply and has from the beginning is we lack the financial tools for building owners to pay for the upgrades,鈥� said Peggy Moretti, executive director of Restore Oregon, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving historic buildings. 鈥淭hat tempered the level of seismic retrofitting that was mandated. It was a compromise based on some concerns about paying for it.鈥�

Moretti suggested the city of Portland should lobby for financial assistance from the state to help building owners pay for seismic upgrades.

鈥淲e really need to create a better financial incentive for retrofitting,鈥� she said.

Adding to the cost for multifamily building owners is the city’s relocation ordinance that requires compensating tenants who are evicted without cause. One Portland developer paid nearly $200,000 last year to evict tenants from 65 units at the Fairmount Hotel.

Some building owners are considering seismic upgrades regardless of what the City Council implements. A committee of St. James Lutheran Church, at 1315 S.W. Park Ave., is investigating seismic retrofits for three buildings owned by the church. The St. James Council would first make a recommendation to the congregation for a final decision.

Ralph Oyler, president of the St. James Council, said the church has a 鈥渕oral obligation鈥� to investigate seismic retrofits in light of the Cascadia fault. The seismic retrofits carry 鈥渢remendous potential costs,鈥� but it would be premature to discuss how the church would fund the project, he said.

Don Nielsen, a retired architect who is a member of St. James Lutheran Church, said it makes sense for the church to proceed with engineering and architectural studies for a potential seismic retrofit.

鈥淕enerally, the feeling is that is something that should be done,鈥� he said.