According to the City of Burbank’s Soft Story Seismic Retrofit Ordinance web site, buildings affected by the ordinance are multi-family residential buildings permitted under building code standards enacted prior to 1978 and have either:

1. Tuck-under parking on the first story with one or more stories above containing at three or more units, or
2. A weak front first story with two or more stories above.

If you have received a letter with action to comply, your building was identified as a soft story building subject to the ordinance.

The primary factor is going to be how busy the City is; presently, it takes about 5 months from start to finish before we get the permit to begin the “ground breaking” portion of the project. This will vary from project to project. The City of Burbank is offering an incentive to property owners who comply by July 2026, providing refunds for permit fees. See its website for more information.

Compliance Order Date:  January 10, 2025

1. Submit Screening Form – January 12, 2026
2. Submit Engineered Plans – January 11, 2027
3. Secure Approval of Plans – January 10, 2028
4. Secure Building Permit – January 10, 2029
5. Complete Construction – January 10, 2030

Typically it depends on the actual scope and extent of work called for. Generally speaking, you’ll be looking at anywhere between 6 to 8 weeks on a typical soft story project. As a project reaches a size where we are putting in 6-8 steel frames, then that will extend the scope of work and the project time accordingly. At the point where we provide you with the final bid, then we will be able to tell you the actual time the project should take.

Not at the beginning of the project, because we will typically be performing excavation in the parking bays. Since there’s going to be open trenches, we may also need to shore up the building, which will be inside of the tuck under parking area as well. Most commonly, parking is available after approximately 3-4 weeks, as soon as the grade beams are poured and assuming that the city inspection process timing is on schedule. We also offer trench cover plates at an added cost, which allows overnight parking as long as we don’t need to shore up existing columns. This is on a case by case basis.

It’s best to refer to the City of Burbank’s website for all compliance questions and deadlines, though as of February 2025, owners of soft story buildings within Burbank must complete construction no later than January 10, 2030. Its website states, “Failure to comply with the requirements of this Ordinance by the specified deadlines will result in the recordation of the referenced subject building with the Los Angeles County Recorder, identifying the building as being subject to and in violation of the Ordinance. It shall be unlawful for any person to own, use, occupy or maintain any building or structure or portion thereof, or cause the same to be done, contrary to, or in violation of, any of the provisions of this Ordinance. Violations of this Ordinance are subject to the penalties outlined in BMC section 1-1-105, as well as additional penalties BMC 1-1-108, which includes issuance of administrative citations. The Building Official may also order that the building be vacated until the building is in compliance.”