Apply for Exemption

The Petition for Exemption allows an owner to show that the soft story building in question is not a "subject building" and is therefore exempt from a mandatory retrofit per Oakland Municipal Code (OMC) Chapter 15.27.

Before you Start

Your building might be exempt if any of the following four conditions is true:

  1. It was built after 1990.
  2. It has fewer than five residential units.
  3. You have documentation from Oakland's mandatory screening program of 2009-2010 showing an exemption approved by the City.
  4. The building does not have a collapse-prone condition called a "wood frame target story."

For the first three cases, you can complete and submit the Petition for Exemption Form by yourself. For the fourth case, you will need a design professional to review your building and complete the form. See the Petition for Exemption Form and the Instructions for details.

How to Apply

Step 1.Step One: Complete Form

Download the Petition for Exemption form.

Complete the form*, following the directions on it. In most cases, the form is all you need, but additional explanation and examples are available in the Petition for Exemption Instructions(PDF, 673KB).

*Note: Digital signatures require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

If you have documentation from Oakland's mandatory screening program of 2009-2010 showing an exemption approved by the City, you still need to complete the form. For Part 2, Question 3, check "No." Then complete the Owner/Agent section of Part 3 and submit the form with your documentation from 2009-2010.

Petition for Exemption Form(PDF, 363KB)

Step 2.Step Two: Submit Form

Submit your completed and signed form one of the following ways:

By email:

By U.S. Mail:

Mandatory Soft Story Retrofit Program
250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 2340
Oakland, CA 94612

Step 3.Step Three: Petition Review

Once we receive your petition, we will review it within five days of submission. If we need further information, we will contact you. Upon review of your petition, we will send you an email statement confirming whether your building is exempt or subject to OMC 15.27.

Need to Know

Questions?

Find quick answers through our Mandatory Soft Story Retrofit FAQ. You may also email us at MandatorySoftStoryRetrofit@oaklandca.gov.

Additional Resources

Contact Us

Email

MandatorySoftStoryRetrofit@oaklandca.gov

Location

Planning & Building
250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza 2nd Floor
Oakland, CA
94612
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