Wood-Frame Soft-Story Structures

San Francisco

The city of San Francisco established a mandatory wood-frame soft-story program in April 2013. Building owners with properties affected by this ordinance were notified beginning in September 2013. The full text of the ordinance can be found here.

Scope

San Francisco's mandatory wood-frame soft-story program applies to existing buildings that have the following characteristics:

Wood-frame construction
Ground floor containing parking or similar open floor or basement space causing soft, weak, or open wall lines
Permitted for construction prior to January 1, 1978
Three or more stories (or two stories over a basement or an underfloor area with any portion above grade)
Five or more dwelling units

Building Tiers

San Francisco has established building-tier classifications to prioritize retrofit efforts in order of the apparent risk associated with damage to the structure based on occupant load. This classification (Tier I, II, III, or IV) determines the timeline for conformance.

Tier I	Buildings that contain a Group A (assembly), Group E (educational), Group R-2.1, R-3.1, or R-4 (residential) occupancy on any story
Tier II	Buildings with 15 or more dwelling units, except for buildings assigned to Tier I or IV
Tier III	Buildings that do not fall within the definition of another tier
Tier IV	Buildings that contain a Group B (business) or Group M (mercantile) occupancy on the first story or in a basement area with any portion extending above grade, and buildings that are in mapped liquefaction zones, except those assigned to Tier I

Timeline

As of September 15, 2021, the deadline for compliance for all building tiers has passed, as shown below.

MILESTONE	REQUIREMENT
PROCESS BEGINS	Ordinance passed
90 DAYS	Timeline initiates
1 YEAR	Deadline to submit screening form and optional form (all tiers)
2 YEARS	Deadline to submit permit application with retrofit plans (Tier I)
3 YEARS	Deadline to submit permit application with retrofit plans (Tier II)
4 YEARS	Completion of work (Tier I) Deadline to submit permit application with retrofit plans (Tier III)
5 YEARS	Completion of work (Tier II) Deadline to submit permit application with retrofit plans (Tier IV)
6 YEARS	Completion of work (Tier III)
7 YEARS	Completion of work (Tier IV) *Deadline extended to September 15, 2021
DECEMBER 31, 2020	Final deadline for completion of all work for which extensions were issued

*Deadline for completion of construction for Tier IV buildings was extended by one year in the September 15, 2020, City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors Meeting

CONTACTS

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.
Phone: (510) 428-2907
E-mail: seismicordinances@wje.com

San Francisco Department of Building Inspection
1660 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103
Phone: (415) 558-6699