Unreinforced Masonry Buildings (URMs)

Unreinforced Masonry Buildings (URMs)

The City of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) briefed City Council, in May 2008, on possible new requirements for the city’s unreinforced masonry buildings (URM’s).  The briefing included information from a recently completed study by the Reid-Middleton engineering firm, commissioned by the city, which estimates there are up to 1000 URM’s in the city, most of which have not been seismically retrofitted. The study also summarizes the experience of several California cities which have instituted a similar requirement over the past two decades.  Those cities offered 10 years or more for building owners to meet the new requirements.