On Wednesday 3 March 2019 Horowhenua District Council adopted an Earthquake-prone Building Priority area.
The buildings included in the identified Earthquake-prone Buildings (EPB) Priority Area of Levin are deemed as a priority building due to their location beside vehicular and pedestrian thoroughfares with sufficient traffic and the potential impact of failure in an earthquake on people.
This does NOT mean that HDC is classifying these buildings as earthquake-prone. It is simply saying that any earthquake-prone buildings located in this area are now a priority for strengthening or demolition. If a building is found to be below 34% NBS (New Building Standard) and deemed as earthquake-prone the timeframe for any action will be 7.5 years.
Earthquake Prone Buildings - Priority Areas - Levin - Map and Lot numbers(PDF, 1MB)
We (Council) have to adhere to timeframes as set out in the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016, therefore all priority buildings in Horowhenua must be identified and remediated in half the usual time to reduce the risks to life safety more promptly.
We must identify potentially earthquake-prone priority buildings in our district within 2.5 years (January 2020). Over the next 6-8 months we’ll be carrying out profiling of all buildings in the priority area and all other prescribed priority buildings using the EPB Methodology to determine whether or not they are potentially earthquake-prone.
The EPB Methodology requires buildings to be identified as potentially earthquake prone if they fall within a specific category of building, known as profile categories:
- Unreinforced masonry building
- Pre 1976 building, three or more storeys or 12 meters or greater in height above the lowest ground level (other than unreinforced masonry buildings in Category A)
- Pre 1935 buildings, one or two storeys (other than unreinforced masonry buildings in Category A)
In addition, the Building Act 2004 allows for buildings to be identified as potentially earthquake-prone at any time if we have reason to suspect the building may be earthquake prone.
Any building that is listed in HDC’s Seismic Assessments Register, and has an engineering assessment that indicates the building is below 34% NBS, gives us reason to believe that the building may be earthquake-prone, therefore, the information in the report will be used to determine if the building is potentially earthquake-prone in the first instance.
If a building is deemed as potentially earthquake-prone we will request an engineering assessment from the building owner who will then have 12 months to provide us with the assessment. Or, if applicable the building owner will have the opportunity to formally accept or decline the engineering assessment we have on file.
We will then assess the information that is presented in the report and determine whether or not the building is earthquake-prone. The % NBS in the report will be used to determine whether or not the building will be considered earthquake-prone. If earthquake-prone, Council will then issue an earthquake-prone building notice that will need to be displayed prominently in the building window.
Buildings owners who have a building that is deemed as Earthquake-prone and are located in the identified priority areas will have half the amount of time to strengthen or demolish the building. This is 7 years 6 months from the date the earthquake-prone building notice is issued.
If a building is deemed as earthquake-prone it will appear in the National Earthquake-prone Building Register.
Below are a number of examples of the application of the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 for your information.
Example 1
22 Example Street which is an unreinforced masonry building within an identified priority area has been identified as potentially earthquake-prone. Sunny Council requests that the owner provide them with either an Initial Seismic Assessment (ISA) or a Detailed Assessment (DSA) within 12 months. The owner complies and provides Sunny Council with an Initial Seismic Assessment (ISA) within the specified timeframe. The ISA determines that the building is 17% NBS. Because the building is below 34% NBS Sunny Council issues an earthquake-prone building notice with a timeframe of 7 years and 6 months to carry out strengthening work to achieve a percentage NBS greater than 34%, or demolish the building.
Example 2
122 Illustration Street which is a pre-1935 building within an identified priority area has been identified as potentially earthquake-prone. Sunny Council requests that the owner provide them with either an Initial Seismic Assessment (ISA) or a Detailed Assessment (DSA) within 12 months. The owner complies and provides Sunny Council with a Detailed Seismic Assessment (DSA) within the specified timeframe. The ISA determines that the building is 42% NBS. Because the building is above 34% NBS Sunny Council will take no further action.
Example 3
33 Example Street which is an unreinforced masonry building within an identified priority area has been identified as potentially earthquake-prone. Sunny Council requests that the owner provide them with either an Initial Seismic Assessment (ISA) or a Detailed Assessment (DSA) within 12 months. Despite a couple of reminders the owner does not comply and doesn’t provide Sunny Council with an assessment within the specified timeframe. As per legislation, because the building owner did not provide an assessment Sunny Council must determine the building to be earthquake prone with the lowest rating and may obtain an engineering assessment and recover the costs from the building owner. The timeframe of 7 years and 6 months to carry out strengthening work to achieve a percentage NBS greater than 34%, or demolish the building will stand.
Example 4
14 Example Street which is an unreinforced masonry building within an identified priority area has been identified as potentially earthquake-prone. Sunny Council requests that the owner provide them with either an Initial Seismic Assessment (ISA) or a Detailed Assessment (DSA) within 12 months. The owner is unable to comply with the request within the specific timeframes as they haven’t been able to contract the services of a structural engineer. 3 months before the assessment is due the building owner applies to Sunny Council for an extension of up to 12 months. Sunny Council grants the 12 month extension to the building owner. The remainder of the process of determining whether or not the building is earthquake-prone will replicate the examples above.