Nine percent of the buildings in Portland are the most dangerous structures to be close to during an earthquake. They’ll likely be the first to crumble during the looming Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, dropping rubble onto the heads of passersby and crushing building occupants. These vintage brick buildings encompass much of Old Town and the Pearl District and are scattered across nearly every Portland neighborhood—to the extent that many historic preservation enthusiasts say their facades define the city’s character. This week, Portland City Council is considering a resolution that would make these unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings safer—but may also threaten them with demolition.
On Wednesday, May 9, city council will vote on whether to move forward with several policies to prepare the city’s 1,650 URMs for an earthquake by mandating major building retrofits, offering financial aid for these expensive repairs, and requiring placards labeling the city’s URMs. Building owners and some residents oppose the resolution, arguing that the city has not created a guaranteed financial path forward for low-income owners who will be tasked with retrofitting their buildings. Earthquake experts, meanwhile, say the proposed policies won’t do nearly enough to save lives.
Most URMs in the United States were constructed between the 1870s and the 1960s. They were built to prevent fire, not withstand a colossal earthquake, according to Amit Kumar, a structural engineer with Portland’s Bureau of Development Services.