News Story: The City of San Francisco has followed the lead of Los Angeles in lifting a moratorium on concrete high-rise buildings, according to an official in the Los Angeles office of the Portland Cement Association.

Attila Beres of PCA says the San Francisco Building Commission has accepted the recommendation of the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California in going to a “performance-based” review process that eliminates a restriction on concrete lateral framing systems for high seismic design categories.

The new system, according to Beres, requires designers and developers to prove their design is sound on its individual merits, but does not specifically ban the use of particular materials or systems.

San Francisco had restricted concrete lateral framing systems for two years, during which Beres said developers in Los Angeles jumped ahead by making good use of the performance-based review system.

While San Francisco has made no official announcement of the change, Beres said it has become “common knowledge within the industry.”