What is National Plan 38 and how can I use it to strengthen the building in which I live?
National Plan 38 – the National Plan for Strengthening Existing Structures against Earthquakes, is a national plan developed by the National Council for Planning and Construction and the Interior Ministry.
The plan encourages strengthening buildings using tools available to the Interior Ministry (planning tools). The plan sets forth a statutory framework which allows for granting building permits to strengthen buildings against earthquakes and encourages their implementation by providing construction rights for the purposes of funding the retrofitting. The construction rights are provided to structures which were granted building permits prior to January 1, 1980, and according to estimates, were not constructed according to the severe earthquake standards, under conditions detailed in the plan. These rights will be used as an incentive for funding, even partial, of the retrofitting.
The national plan details the documents that must be submitted to the local committee as part of a permit request to strengthen the building, the topics for the local committee’s consideration, the conditions for providing the permit, and more.
Strengthening, strengthening, strengthening
The goal of National Plan 38 is first and foremost to strengthen buildings. The national plan includes provisions regarding the manner of evaluating the strength of the structure and requires documents to be submitted clarifying the proposed method of retrofitting.
Submission of a permit request under National Plan 38 is conditional upon receipt of written authorization from a specially trained engineer regarding the need to retrofit the building against earthquakes. This authorization is granted after an engineering test of the structure’s actual ability to withstand earthquakes. The engineer, after evaluating the structure’s ability to withstand earthquakes, determines its need for retrofitting, and submits a report for the local committee’s engineer including the following information: details of the constructive conditions of the building, the static calculation method of the building’s strength, and a conceptual plan for the engineer’s proposed retrofitting method. The structure’s retrofitting plan is one of the documents included in the permit request, and must ensure the ability of the building including all its additions to withstand an earthquake, such that the retrofitted building will meet the Israeli standard for withstanding earthquakes.
From the Survey of Israel website
