About

Vision

A future where Seattle is able to withstand significant seismic activity without loss of life, economic disruption, displacement, or major damage to its cultural and historic fabric.

Mission

Secure passage of legislation mandating upgrades to all unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings and providing a means to finance those upgrades through a retrofit credit program.

Activity to Date

The Alliance for Safety, Affordability and Preservation (ASAP!) came together to develop creative solutions to the threat to public safety; affordable living and working spaces; and the rich legacy of our region’s built environment posed by the impact of future seismic events on our unreinforced masonry buildings (URMs). An event like a magnitude 6 to 7 Seattle fault earthquake has the potential to cause widespread death and injury, displace tens of thousands of Seattle's most vulnerable residents and the businesses who call these buildings home, and permanently damage some of our most distinctive historic structures. Furthermore, it would severely exacerbate the existing housing affordability crisis and lead to a surge in homelessness.

Consisting of a broad spectrum of concerned stakeholders, including developers (both market-rate and affordable), URM property owners, historic preservationists, engineers, and neighborhood associations, ASAP has been actively exploring approaches to restore and upgrade these character-rich brick buildings before the next major earthquake renders them uninhabitable, or leads to their unplanned demolition. We believe that mandatory retrofit legislation is the only way to marshal all of the concerned stakeholders and resources required to solve this issue in an efficient and organized manner. The City of Seattle has been grappling with this challenge since it first passed and then repealed mandatory URM legislation over 44 years ago. Recognizing that an effective financing solution is a critical component of mandatory legislation moving forward, the Alliance proactively sought and received input from stakeholders and worked with them to design a financing solution that will best support the goals for the legislation.

Resolving the URM dilemma will leave Seattle a safer, more resilient and more equitable city for current and future generations and will serve as a model for other cities in King County and beyond that are seeking pragmatic solutions for upgrading their vulnerable buildings before it is too late.