Appeal 33424

Portland Title 24 section 24.85.040(A)

24.85.040 Change of Occupancy or Use:

A. Occupancy Change to a Higher Relative Hazard Classification. An occupancy change to a higher relative hazard classification will require seismic improvements based upon the factors of changes in the net floor area and the occupant load increases as indicated in Table 24.85-B below. All improvements to either the OSSC or ASCE 41 improvement standard shall be made such that the entire building conforms to the appropriate standard indicated in Table 24.85-B.

Multiple occupancy changes to a single building may be made under this section without triggering a seismic upgrade provided the cumulative changes do not exceed 1/3 of the building net floor area or add more than 149 occupants with respect to the legal building occupancy as of October 1, 2004.

This appeal is to confirm that the seismic upgrade completed in 2005 is the baseline for occupancy change thresholds of section 24.85.040-part A for current and future modifications, not the October 1, 2004 date.

The Triangle Building was built in 1900 and was originally a warehouse building with unreinforced clay masonry walls. The two-story building received seismic upgrades on May 31, 2005, as approved by Permit 05-108845 (see attached), which included reinforced walls and roof. The occupancy of the building was originally warehouse (Group S-2) and changed to Mercantile (Group M) on both floors in this permit submittal.

Another set of tenant improvements were made by Permit 05-143879, issued August 12, 2005. This included adding a coffee shop (Group A-2) on the first floor and converting the second floor to business (Group B). This permit has a note that "seismic upgrade not required since A-2 occupancy is less than 1/3 the floor area and occupant load is less than 150" (see attached). This means that the seismic upgrade completed a few months earlier satisfied ASCE-41 BPOE improvement standards and was established as the baseline for the future addition of the A2 Assembly occupancy.

The total occupant load for the 2005 seismic upgrade is established at 407 occupants based on M Occupancy of 16,549 SF and occupant load factor of one occupant per 30 sf on the ground floor and per 60 sf on the upper floor. This appeal proposes to establish this as the baseline for the building seismic analysis for current and future changes.

The building owner is proposing modifications to the interior layout to accommodate a prospective long-term tenant. It includes revisions to the occupancy and occupant loads. The attached seismic code analysis drawing and calculations (based on the baseline established here) demonstrate that a seismic upgrade is not required in order to permit these modifications. The business occupancy has the same relative hazard classification as mercantile, and the total assembly area is less than one-third of the net building area. The total proposed occupants are an increase of less than 149.

Our understanding of Portland seismic code requirements and its application is that the code language was initiated to encourage seismic upgrade of buildings when the owner is looking to make improvements. This approach marries the economic concerns with the safety concerns and charts a path that meets the community safety objectives and owners economic interests.

This building underwent a change of occupancy from warehouse (Group S) to retail (Group M) through Permit #05-108845, approved on May 31, 2005. This permit approved the building upgrade to a two story M occupancy building. A few months later through another Permit #05-143879 issued on August 12, 2005, an A-2 coffee shop was added on the first floor, and the second floor was changed to a B occupancy office. At that time the addition of A-2 occupancy met the criteria to not require a seismic upgrade according to the plan review. Based on this historical documentation we believe that the occupant load, occupancy, and building area established by Permit #05-108845, approved on May 31, 2005, is the correct baseline for current and future changes and is consistent with the City of Portland seismic regulations.