Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Buildings

URM Program Protects Our House and Business
The Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Program helps property owners comply with the City of San Diego’s URM Ordinance. The goal of this safety ordinance is to save lives by minimizing the possibility of potential collapse of URM buildings during an earthquake. January 1, 2006 is the date by which the URM building owners are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the City of San Diego URM Regulations. Additional seismic strengthening may be required based upon triggering mechanism associated with remodeling, renovation or change of occupancy.

The "Earthquake Hazard Reduction in Existing Buildings" was adopted by City Council on November 9, 1992. The ordinance established a program for mitigation of seismic hazards associated with buildings containing unreinforced masonry bearing walls. For the full text of the City of San Diego URM Regulations see San Diego Municipal Code [SDMC] Chapter 14, Article 5, Division 4 (PDF).

Below is a list of information regarding the City of San Diego's Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Program as related to URM buildings. For questions about the URM Program, you can contact Mehdi Shadyab, P.E., URM Program Coordinator at 858-573-1233.

• News and Announcements
  • Issued May 26, 2006
    Notice of Violation Letter (PDF: 37K)
  • Issued November 1, 2005
    Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Buildings - 2nd and Final Notice for January 1, 2006 mandatory compliance deadline (PDF: 77K)
  • Issued August 5, 2005
    Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Buildings - January 1, 2006 Mandatory Deadline for Owners Approaching (PDF: 63K)
  • Revised October 21, 2004
    Information on Unreinforced Masonry Buildings

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• URM Retrofit Visual Examples
  Photos showing not-retrofitted earhquake-damaged URM buildings, examples of URM parapet bracing and roof-to-wall anchors for URM buildings.

• San Diego URM Buildings Status Statistics
  September 01, 2007 (PDF: 32K)

• Sample URM Building Date of Service Notification Letter (PDF: 101K)

• List of Noticed Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Buildings

• Unreinforced Masonry Building Ordinance of the City of San Diego Municipal Code

• Technical Policies and Guidelines
  • URM Building Disabled Access Requirement: Code Interpretation (November 1, 2005) (PDF: 236K)
  • Technical Policy B-34-1 (PDF: 96K)
  • Technical FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

• Featured URM Historical Buildings
  Presented to emphasize the importance of structurally retrofitting and strengthening older buildings according to the applicable seismic regulations of the City of San Diego. By doing this we protect the safety of our citizens and assure enjoyment and preservation of our historic buildings for years to come.
• The Old City Hall
• Western Metal Supply Company
• The Keating Building

• URM Program Assistance. Program assistance is available to property owners through the Business Improvement District Council (BID). Such program assistance includes:
• List of Qualified Contractors and Structural Engineers experienced with URM structures.
• Information regarding a new URM specific loan program.
• Information on the City’s financial incentive programs for URM property owners.
• Project grouping opportunities which may lower the cost of retrofits for individual property owners.
• URM Economic Impact Report commissioned by the BID Council and the Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC).
• For further information regarding URM Program Assistance contact the Business Improvement District Council at (619) 239-2437 or email mail@bidcouncil.org.

For questions about the City of San Diego URM Program, you can contact Mehdi Shadyab, P.E., URM Program Coordinator at 858-573-1233.