Section 55000 Of Part 1. General Provisions From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 32. >> Part 1.
55000
. The Legislature finds and declares that there exist
throughout the state many buildings which are structurally inadequate
to safely withstand seismic forces of the magnitude predicted or
determined for their locations by seismic safety elements of local
general plans. This problem is particularly acute with respect to
residential hotels and with respect to commercial buildings in which
employees must work or to which the public is invited. The
Legislature further finds and declares that rehabilitation of these
buildings to meet current standards of earthquake safety is in the
public interest, but that private enterprise will be unable in many
cases to meet the high cost of making the necessary modifications
without the availability of long-term, low-interest loans for the
purpose.
It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
division to authorize establishment of local loan programs to serve
this need at the lowest possible cost and upon favorable terms so
that owners of eligible buildings will be encouraged to make
modifications required to assure structural integrity in the event of
an earthquake.