Earthquake-prone buildings – have your say

The Government is consulting on major proposed changes to how we deal with earthquake-prone buildings in the wake of the Christchurch Earthquakes – Now is your chance to comment.

Currently, local councils make decisions on how Earthquake-Prone Buildings in their districts should be dealt with, in consultation with their communities.

The Government has proposed replacing this with a consistent national approach. All non-residential and multi-unit, multi-storey residential buildings would have to have a seismic capacity assessment done within five years. Owners of buildings identified as earthquake-prone would then have up to 10 years to strengthen or demolish these buildings.

This means that all earthquake-prone buildings would be dealt with within a maximum of 15 years, compared with an average of 28 years under the current system, depending on individual council policies.

The consultation closes on Friday 8 March 2013. You can make a submission online, at www.dbh.govt.nz . A consultation document and explanatory video can also be found through this link.

If you want to ask questions about the proposals, a public meeting will be held on Thursday 14 February 2013, 5.30 pm at the Convention Centre, 354 Main Street. It’s free, and everyone’s welcome.

ENDS

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