WEST HOLLYWOOD—The city is inviting residential and commercial property owners to attend the upcoming West Hollywood Virtual Seismic Retrofit Grant Workshop for property owners will be provided with eligibility and application information about the retrofit grant program made possible by funds received through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program from FEMA and Cal OES.
According to a press release from the city’s website, eligible property owners can receive up to $5,000 in design grants and up to $20,000 in construction grants. The amount of available grant funding depends on the type and cost of the project. For more information is available at https://retrofit-grant.weho.org/.
The West Hollywood Seismic Retrofit Grant Workshop will take place virtually on Wednesday, July 20 at 5 p.m. via the Zoom platform. Go to Zoom.us and click on “Join A Meeting.” The webinar ID is: 883 5947 4321 and the passcode is 952028.
West Hollywood takes a proactive approach to seismic safety, noting that no building is earthquake-proof, but retrofitting buildings will save lives, protect property, and minimize damage in the event of a major earthquake. The West Hollywood Building and Safety Division received a Hazard Mitigation Grant for seismic retrofitting of soft story wood, non-ductile concrete and Pre-Northridge Steel Moment Frame Buildings from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). Grants are available for new retrofit projects for buildings that are currently listed on the City’s Seismic Retrofit survey list.
In 2017, the West Hollywood City Council adopted two Ordinances creating a framework for the seismic retrofit of three types of existing buildings: wood-frame buildings with soft, weak, or open front wall lines; non-ductile concrete building; and, pre-Northridge steel moment frame buildings. In April 2018, West Hollywood uploaded, to its online open data portal, a visual survey of properties subject to the Ordinances. Property owners were required to demonstrate that their buildings were in compliance with the Ordinances and, if not, they were required to seismic retrofit their buildings.
For additional details about West Hollywood’s mandatory seismic retrofitting program and for a visual survey of properties subject to the Ordinances visit www.weho.org/seismic. To learn about the Seismic Retrofit Ordinances contact the City of West Hollywood’s Building and Safety Division, at (323) 848-6848 or at SeismicProgram@weho.org. For information about the WeHo Seismic Retrofit Grant Program, visit https://retrofit-grant.weho.org, call (323) 848-6309 or email retrofit-grant@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing call TTY (323) 848-6496.
