Seismic Retrofits: Voluntary Now, Mandatory Later

After introducing a voluntary retrofit program for making soft-story buildings seismically safe, Gavin said mandatory was the way forward. (It helped that a couple subsequent studies spelled out potential losses in big bold letters.) So a new voluntary retrofit proposal would expedite the retrofitting for building owners, and it would also waive thousands in fees. Owners who step up and quakeproof their buildings would also be "exempt for 15 years from any mandatory laws passed in the future." On top of all that, the mayor's going ahead with setting up a mandatory program too. So, you know, whether it's voluntary or not, you still have to do it. [SF Gate, previously]