Phone: 503-823-7300
Email: bds@portlandoregon.gov
1900 SW 4th Ave, Portland, OR 97201
Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Building Information
On Feb. 14, 2019, the Federal Court ordered the City of Portland to stop enforcing the URM Placarding Ordinances 189201 & 189309. We will provide updates as they become available. |
Click here to view the Notice of a Temporary Injunction.
Click here to view the Order of Temporary Injunction.
The Bureau of Development Services Structural Engineering Team is responsible for the implementation of the City and State Building Code regulations for the seismic evaluation and retrofitting of new and existing buildings as part of the building permit process. One subset of existing buildings are Unreinforced Masonry (URM) buildings. URM buildings exist throughout the City and were generally built before the 1960’s. These types of buildings were commonly constructed of brick with little to no steel reinforcement in the walls. In addition, URMs often had little or no structural attachment between the exterior walls and the roof and floor. Due to these factors and the age of these buildings, URM’s are more prone to sustain significant damage, which may include partial or total collapse, during seismic events and are subject to special seismic upgrade requirements within State and City Code.
Questions? Contact 503-823-7300 or BDS.URMBuildings@portlandoregon.gov.
Notice of a Temporary Injunction
Please note that Ordinances 189201, 189309 and 189399 are subject to a temporary injunction from the United States District Court. Until further notice, no portion of those ordinances or their corresponding changes to Portland City Code 24.85 is in effect or enforceable until the injunction expires or is otherwise terminated by the Court.
URM Ordinance 189399
Portland City Council adopted ordinance 189399 on February 27, 2019 that makes changes to the placard and tenant notification requirements for Unreinforced Masonry (URM) buildings.
URM Workgroup
The City of Portland is assembling a stakeholder work group to discuss seismic retrofit requirements, timelines, and funding opportunities. Interested in participating? Click the above link.
URM Buildings Seismic Retrofit Policy Information
There are approximately 1,650 of these structures throughout the city. In order to ensure the safety of resident before the next quake, the City of Portland is working on a mandatory policy to require owners to retrofit these buildings.
URM Database
The Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Building database is a list containing information on buildings located in the City of Portland which are believed to be of unreinforced masonry construction.
City Code Title 24.85
Current requirements for seismic design requirements for existing buildings