See this story, which questions how "operational" high-rise buildings in San Francisco will be. Check out this NY Times article, San Francisco's Big Seismic Gamble
I would not be too quick to pooh-pooh the issue of seismic safety and the vulnerability of high-rise buildings in a large earthquake. Being selfish, I'd rather see these types of buildings be tested in San Francisco or Los Angeles, rather than Seattle.
When doing public education sessions, you might want to highlight what "built to code" means for people so they are making "informed decisions" on where to live and work.
