Ordinance 2016-12ORDINANCE NO. 2016-12
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
GILROY AMENDING GILROY CITY CODE CHAPTER 6,
ARTICLE VI, ENTITLED `SEISMIC SAFETY" SECTION 6.48
"CHANGE OF OCCUPANCY"
WHEREAS, it is acknowledged that the City of Gilroy ( "City ") will experience
earthquakes in the future due to its proximity to the San Andreas, Sargent and Central Calaveras
faults; and
WHEREAS, it is found and declared that when a strong or moderate earthquake occurs,
loss of life, serious injury and/or impaired economic value may result from damage to or collapse
of buildings in the City; and
WHEREAS, buildings constructed of unreinforced masonry walls have been widely
recognized as being vulnerable to sustaining significant damage during moderate to strong
earthquakes; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the "Unreinforced Masonry Law," California Government Code
sections 8875 et seq. the City implemented a seismic hazard program that identified unreinforced
masonry buildings that may be hazardous to their occupants, pedestrians and adjacent structures
and their occupants in the event of an earthquake; and
WHEREAS, it is the desire and intent of the City Council to provide Gilroy citizens with
the greatest degree of protection from the hazards of unreinforced masonry buildings in the most
effective manner; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of this Ordinance is to promote public safety by providing
standards for both analyzing and retrofitting potentially hazardous unreinforced masonry
buildings; and
WHEREAS, the City Council in adopting this Ordinance relies upon the authority vested
in the Council pursuant to California Government Code sections 8875 et seq. and California
Health and Safety Code sections 19160 et seq.
WHEREAS, Gilroy City Code, Article VI, entitled "Seismic Safety" Chapter 6,
commonly referred to as the City's URM Ordinance, was originally adopted in November 2006
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and its deadlines for the completion of retrofitting of URM buildings were modified and
extended several times; and
WHEREAS, due to economic conditions that made the URM retrofitting compliance
difficult the City formed a task force to study and make recommendations on the URM retrofit
requirements; and
WHEREAS, as a result of the task force's recommendations, in May 2011 the former
Chapter 6, Article VI, "Seismic Safety" was repealed in its entirety and replaced by a new
Chapter 6, Article VI, "Seismic Safety "; and
WHEREAS, the declared purpose of the 2011 URM Ordinance was to provide alternative
construction regulations to reduce the risk of death or injury resulting from earthquake hazards in
existing unreinforced masonry buildings in a timely and economically feasible manner while
preserving the historic character of the community; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 6, Article VI, Section 6.48 governs the City's seismic safety
regulations pertaining to the occupancy of unreinforced masonry buildings within the City; and
WHEREAS, on June 6, 2016, the City Council considered an update to the City's current
URM Ordinance to help eliminate impediments to the economic development opportunities in
the City's downtown; and
WHEREAS, the subject ordinance amendment is covered under Section 15061( b)( 3) of
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines as an activity that can be seen
with certainty to have no possibility for causing a significant effect on the environment.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GILROY DOES
HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1
Chapter 6, Article VI, of the Gilroy City Code entitled "Seismic Safety" Section 6.48 is
hereby amended to read as follows:
"Section 6.48 Change of occupancy.
Notwithstanding the deadline set forth in section 6.50, the following shall apply:
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(a) Upon change of occupancy, a URM building shall be retrofitted to the VRS standards
defined in this article prior to any further occupancy, if the building official determines that the
change will create an increased occupancy load or a hazardous condition.
(b) When a URM building becomes vacant for a continuous period of one hundred
twenty (120) days, the URM building shall be retrofitted to the applicable standards defined in
this article prior to any further occupancy, except as provided in subdivision (d). When a tenant
unit or lease space within a URM building becomes vacant for a continuous period of one
hundred twenty (120) days, the tenant unit or lease space shall not be re- occupied for any use
unless and until the URM building is retrofitted to the applicable standards defined in this article,
except as provided in subdivision (d).
(c) For purposes of this section, "vacant" shall refer to the condition of a URM building,
tenant unit or lease space whereby the business or residential use within such building, tenant
unit or lease space of the URM building has ceased for a continuous period of one hundred
twenty (120) days. A residential or commercial unit is considered vacant if, for a continuous
period of one hundred twenty (120) days, such unit is not leased by a tenant, subject to a month
to month rental agreement with a tenant or being lawfully held over by a tenant after termination
of a previous lease. A business is also considered vacated when any of the following apply: (1) a
business license is not renewed; or (2) the business is not operational for a continuous period of
one hundred twenty (120) days. When the building official determines that a tenant unit or lease
space has become vacant, the city will restrict any further occupancy of that particular tenant unit
or lease space, including issuance of a new business license until the URM building is retrofitted
to the applicable standards defined in this article.
(d) The building official may, in his or her discretion, issue a temporary certificate of
occupancy to allow a vacant URM building to be temporarily occupied prior to the URM
building's being fully retrofitted if prior to occupancy the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The owner provides to the building official together with a building permit
application an Engineering Analysis Report (EAR) for the building that, at a minimum, uses the
MRS standards defined in this article and meets the requirements identified in subsection (d) of
section 6.46 of this article along with an estimate prepared by a licensed contractor for
completing the retrofit work proposed in the EAR;
(2) The owner enters into a binding agreement with the city in form acceptable to the City
Attorney that includes a scope of work and timeline for completing the retrofit work proposed
and in which the owner agrees to complete the retrofit work proposed in the EAR;
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(3) The owner posts a form of security approved by the City Administrator or designee
for the retrofit work proposed in the EAR in an amount not less than one hundred (100) percent
of the total costs as identified by the estimate required to be prepared under this subdivision.
From time to time as retrofit work progresses, the City Administrator or designee may allow the
amount of the security to be reduced provided he or she determines that the remaining security is
adequate to secure the owner's obligation to complete the retrofit work.
(e) The security referred to in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of this section shall be one
of the following, subject to approval of the City Administrator or designee:
(1) A bond or bonds by one or more duly authorized corporate sureties.
(2) A deposit, either with the city or a responsible escrow agency or trust company, at the
option of the city finance director, of money or negotiable bonds of the kind approved for
securing deposits of public moneys.
(3) A letter of credit issued by a financial institution subject to regulation by the state or
federal government and pledging that the funds necessary to carry out the agreement are on
deposit and guaranteed for payment."
SECTION II
If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any
reason held to be unconstitutional or otherwise void or invalid by any court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this
Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each
section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that
any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared
unconstitutional.
SECTION III
Pursuant to section 608 of the Charter of the City of Gilroy, this ordinance shall be in full force
and effect thirty (30) days from and after the date it is adopted.
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ORDINANCE NO. 2016 -12
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 5th day of July, 2016, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: AULMAN, BRACCO, HARVEY, LEROE-
MUNOZ, TUCKER, VELASCO and WOODWARD
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
g WED:
dward, Mayor
ATTEST
a Freels, Vity Clerk
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I, SHAWNA FREELS, City Clerk of the City of Gilroy, do hereby certify that the
attached Ordinance No. 2016 -12 is an original ordinance, or true and correct copy of a City
ordinance, duly adopted by the Council of the City of Gilroy at a regular meeting of said Council
held on the Oh day of June, 2016, at which meeting a quorum was present.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Official Seal of
the City of Gilroy this 15`x' day of June, 2016.
6na Freels, MMC
Clerk of the City of Gilroy
(Seal)