Tracy Loew

Statesman Journal

Oregon lawmakers want to add “seismic risk” to the list of disclosures home-sellers must make to prospective buyers.

And they’re trying to make it easier for homeowners – and commercial property owners – to finance seismic retrofitting.

Oregon has a 40 percent chance of experiencing a 9.0 magnitude-plus Cascadia subduction zone earthquake in the next 50 years, according to the state Office of Emergency Management. Shaking would be felt throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Oregon’s statewide building code, adopted in 1974, requires homes to be bolted to their foundations to keep them from falling off during an earthquake. But many older homes have not been retrofitted.

In Portland alone, at least 100,000 homes are not bolted down, the city’s Bureau of Emergency Management estimates.

House Bill 2140 would require property sellers to tell buyers whether the home was built before 1974, and if so, whether the house had been bolted to the foundation. Sellers already must disclose information such as the presence of pests, mold and lead-based paints.

“A house’s ability to withstand an expected earthquake should be an important consideration of every prospective buyer,” Jay Wilson, chairman of the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission, told lawmakers.

It’s unreasonable, he said, “to expect an unsophisticated, first-time homebuyer, especially one from, say, Ohio, to know about the Cascadia Subduction Fault.”

The bill passed the House on March 29 and is scheduled for a hearing Monday in the Senate Committee on Business and Transportation.

Lawmakers also are considering House Bill 3241, which would allow cities or counties to provide homeowners with loans for energy improvements or seismic rehabilitation. The loans would be repaid through property assessments, paid in addition to property tax bills.

The proposal is opposed by the Oregon Bankers Association, which said banks that hold mortgages on the properties should approve participation.

Allowing the loans to take priority over existing mortgages could put consumers into default unless the mortgage lender grants consent, Kevin Christiansen, the association’s government affairs director, told lawmakers.

The House Rules Committee is scheduled to hold a work session on the bill on Tuesday.

Another bill would authorize cities or counties to provide up to a 15-year property tax exemption to owners of commercial, industrial or multifamily buildings built before 1993 that will be seismically retrofitted.

Many of those are unreinforced masonry buildings, which could collapse during a major earthquake.

There are about 5,000 unreinforced masonry buildings in Oregon, according to Restore Oregon, a non-profit that works to preserve historic buildings. Seismic retrofitting can cost $50 to $75 per square foot.

In Portland alone, that number is about 1,800, including 45 schools, 35 churches and 279 multifamily buildings, according to the City Club of Portland.

The legislation is supported by the City Club, Restore Oregon, and the Masonry Building Owners of Oregon.

But an Oregon tax-watchdog group says taxpayers shouldn’t fund costs for private businesses.

“This is another example of a good idea in need of revenues that simply do not exist,” said Jody Wiser, founder of Tax Fairness Oregon. “…business owners will just need to shoulder this responsibility on their own.”

The measure, Senate Bill 311, passed the Senate on April 18 and is awaiting a hearing in the House Revenue Committee.

tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tracy_Loew

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