California’s statewide Senate Bill 721 requires building owners to perform structural inspections of their exterior elevated elements (EEEs). As we enter the final month before the January 1, 2026 compliance deadline, balcony inspections remain a critical part of building ownership, ensuring occupant safety and protecting owners from costly liability.
When is the deadline?
The […]
Before 1980, wood-framed, soft-story apartment buildings became a staple of Southern California’s rapid development. These structures featured open ground floors for parking with residential units above, prioritizing land use over safety.
These structures have since been shown to be among a community’s most deadly. Perched as if on stilts with their […]
Many Californians live in earthquake denial. We laugh them off, ignore their ever-present threat to our lives and livelihoods. After all, some reason, we’ve lived through earthquakes before. Why should the next one be different?
The stark reality is that protecting ourselves from earthquakes should be on all of our minds. […]
OPTIMUM SEISMIC, INC.
November 2025 NEWSLETTER
How California Is Preparing for Future Earthquakes
Ali Sahabi, GEC
Principal,
Optimum Seismic, Inc.
California has not experienced a major earthquake in its largest cities in […]
It can be a little frightening, feeling the ground shift and sway under our feet. Rocking like a boat on stormy seas, we typically ask ourselves, “How much longer is this going to last; will it get bigger?” The truth in this response is that —in the back of our […]
The dilemma of whether to allow new construction on active earthquake faults remains contentious. Equally pressing is the issue of the many structures already positioned over these hazardous fissures.
These concerns have emerged prominently in areas like Hollywood and other parts of Southern California, where active faults run through numerous neighborhoods.
In […]
Apartment buildings in the Greater San Diego Area may sit on soil that is prone to liquefaction, landslides or other instability when shaken by an earthquake.
If your apartment building is located in Mission Bay, Mission Valley, Tierra Santa, Linda Vista, and many other San Diego communities, it’s best to have […]
Research studies that followed point to Ridgecrest as the impetus of successive ground-shaking that may create a chain reaction from one fault to the next, until it reaches the San Andreas.
Spanning 750 miles along the coast of California from the Salton Sea to Eureka, the San Andreas Fault is cocked […]
OPTIMUM SEISMIC, INC.
October 2025 NEWSLETTER
ShakeOut 2025: Preparing People and Protecting Buildings
Ali Sahabi, GEC
Principal,
Optimum Seismic, Inc.
Mark your calendars for International ShakeOut Day on Thursday, […]
Californians are no strangers to seismic activity. The state’s high earthquake risk stems from the complex network of active fault lines running beneath our communities, making areas like Greater Los Angeles especially vulnerable.
The closer you are to a fault, the more likely you are to be impacted by seismic activity. […]
