Seattle is opening the door for public comment as it develops a mandatory retrofit program for unreinforced masonry buildings, also known as URM buildings.
The city says it will gather input through meetings with City Council and committees, community engagement events, and meetings of the URM Policy Development Working Group. Notes from those working groups are posted on the program’s Background page, and meeting notices will be posted in the Meetings & Events section of the webpage.
For mason contractors and restoration crews who work in and around Seattle, this is a practical moment to get involved early. Code and policy decisions can affect project timing, permitting expectations, scopes of work, and the resources building owners rely on to plan URM retrofits. If your company bids retrofit work, consider assigning someone to track these meetings, review posted notes, and share field-ready feedback about what makes retrofit projects workable, safe, and predictable.
Seattle is also building email distribution lists for updates. Contractors who want to stay in the loop can subscribe through the webpage’s listserv sign-up, and those who want working group updates can request to be added by emailing Amanda.Hertzfeld@seattle.gov.
Read the full, original article from Seattle.gov here.