Quakes--Thousands of L.A. County Buildings at Risk

Whittier was the city most heavily damaged by the recent earthquake, but there could have been as much--or more--destruction in a number of areas in Los Angeles County that are dotted with old buildings that would crumble under the force of a similar temblor, officials said.

And while some cities have taken strong action to eliminate a potentially deadly hazard, others are moving slowly because of the cost, and because--at least until 11 days ago--the danger did not appear imminent.

The thousands of buildings at risk are made of brick or cinder block, without the steel needed to hold them together during a strong temblor. Most were constructed more than 50 years ago, before the Long Beach earthquake of 1933 that measured 6.3 on the Richter scale prompted the county and virtually all of its cities to adopt building codes requiring steel reinforcement.

Some of the buildings are historic or in relatively good condition and slated for restoration; others are simply old and dilapidated and will be torn down.

James Funk, director of community development for Huntington Park, says his city “would look a lot like Whittier right now” if it had taken the brunt of the 6.1 quake Oct. 1 and its numerous aftershocks.

‘Very Fortunate’

Most of Huntington Park’s 123 unreinforced buildings line Pacific Boulevard, a teeming, mile-long commercial district. Only two buildings in Huntington Park suffered significant structural damage, a city official said.

“We were very fortunate,” Funk said in a recent interview.

So were the people who live and work in thousands of unreinforced commercial and residential buildings throughout the county.

Pasadena identified 901 unreinforced buildings in a 1981 survey, said Tom Wilkins, an administrative analyst with the city’s planning, housing and development service. They remain largely unimproved, he said. Pasadena was still assessing damage from the recent quakes, but several buildings suffered structural damage and have been closed temporarily.

There are approximately 400 unreinforced buildings spread throughout Glendale, said Alexander Pyper, superintendent of buildings. Buildings in the city suffered some structural damage, but none required closure, he said.

“If we had an earthquake of seven or greater (on a nearby fault) there could be a potential collapse of these buildings,” he said.

Long Beach has about 600 buildings built before 1934, and the majority of them are made of brick and mortar, building superintendent Eugene Zeller said. The buildings are concentrated downtown and in a corridor that runs east along Ocean Boulevard. Included on that list is the landmark Villa Riviera, a 16-story apartment tower on Ocean Boulevard, Zeller said. The Oct. 1 quake caused little damage.

“These buildings are vulnerable to significant damage, maybe even partial or total collapse,” Zeller said.

Los Angeles leads the list with 6,200 unreinforced buildings, said Al Asakura, chief of the earthquake division in the city’s Building and Safety Department. Many are located downtown, but others are in Hollywood, Venice, South Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley and elsewhere. Dozens of downtown buildings were declared unsafe for occupancy after the earthquake.

Santa Monica has about 195 unreinforced buildings; West Hollywood about 60; Torrance has 48, and South Gate has 38, according to officials in those cities.

Concentrated in 2 Areas

There are 278 such buildings in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Most of those are spread throughout East Los Angeles, which suffered some damage in the quake, and the Firestone area, said Edwin G. Biddlecomb, assistant superintendent of buildings.

The county and some cities have enacted earthquake ordinances that require owners to reinforce or demolish their buildings. Los Angeles has had its ordinance for six years. The county Board of Supervisors approved one last April, and the Glendale City Council approved one last month.

Generally, the ordinances require buildings to be made safe within a period of about three years. Owners bear the expense of reinforcement, but cities and the county absorb some inspection and administrative costs.

Los Angeles County, for example, estimates that it will cost $250,000 a year to administer its ordinance, Biddlecomb said.

But expectations are limited; even with reinforcement, the aging buildings would suffer serious damage in a moderate to major earthquake, officials said.

“As long as the people can get out without a collapse it’s a success,” said John Kelly, a structural research engineer who works for the county.

Of 7,900 buildings classified as unsafe in Los Angeles since its earthquake ordinance was adopted in 1981, 700 have been demolished and about 1,000 have been sufficiently reinforced, Asakura said. In Los Angeles, all unreinforced masonry buildings are supposed to be buttressed or demolished by 1992.

In Long Beach, about 240 buildings have been torn down and 60 strengthened since 1971, said Zeller, the building superintendent. In that year, the city gradually began requiring owners to reinforce or demolish dangerous structures.

Strengthen or Demolish

The county ordinance requires buildings to be strengthened or demolished in three years. In some cases, final strengthening can be delayed for seven years if measures are taken to reinforce them temporarily, Kelly said.

The county has assigned an inspector full time to East Los Angeles, where most of the unreinforced buildings are located, he said.

The Glendale ordinance requires buildings to be strengthened within three years, Pyper said.

Santa Monica notified the owners of about 250 buildings 10 years ago that they were required to upgrade their pre-1933 buildings, said William Rome, head of building and safety.

No deadline was established for making the improvements, he said. So far, about 55 buildings have been made safe and 30 others have been temporarily reinforced.

South Gate passed an ordinance last May calling for reinforcement of its old buildings in three years, said Mark Sutton, director of building and safety.

In neighboring Huntington Park, the lime mortar that holds together many old brick buildings is crumbling. But the city is moving slowly toward adoption of an ordinance that would require owners to upgrade their property, said Funk, the community development director.

Funk said city officials are acutely aware of the danger posed by the old buildings, but it is a problem that is not easy or inexpensive to remedy.

He estimated that the city would have to spend $250,000 on inspection and engineering costs and any legal expenses associated with requiring owners to upgrade their property.

Funk said the city fears lawsuits from owners who don’t want to spend thousands of dollars to strengthen their buildings. (When Los Angeles’ earthquake ordinance took effect, a handful of building owners sued the city, but the city prevailed in every case, a city official said.) Until an earthquake ordinance is adopted, Funk said, Huntington Park will continue using redevelopment to alleviate the problem of unreinforced buildings. Eleven unreinforced buildings in the city’s redevelopment area have been demolished in the last nine years, he said, and 12 more will be destroyed in the next 18 months.

Easiest Route

“Our easiest solution has been to encourage their demolition and replacement with adequate buildings,” he said.

Pasadena has no earthquake ordinance, but unreinforced buildings there must be strengthened when they are to be dedicated for a new use or remodeled, a city building official said.

Some cities are unsure how many unreinforced buildings are within their boundaries.

The small shops that make up the commercial district along Whittier Boulevard in Montebello were scarred but survived last week’s earthquake. The walls of many were cracked and windows were shattered. Three buildings suffered structural damage and can’t be occupied until repairs are made, said City Administrator Joseph M. Goeden.

Goeden said the city was still trying to determine how many unreinforced buildings are in Montebello, a neighbor of Whittier. He said city officials will consider enactment of an earthquake ordinance.

“We’ve seen what can happen in a major quake,” he said. “We’ll sure be taking a look at doing something about having them reinforced.”

West Hollywood suffered no significant damage during last week’s quake, but City Manager Paul Brotzman said it was a good reminder of what the city must do in the next few years. Brotzman said his staff is developing policy recommendations on how to make those buildings more earthquake safe.

“We have concerns about the unreinforced masonry buildings in town,” he said. “We’re going to deal with them.”

Torrance Action

Torrance has been preparing an earthquake ordinance modeled after the one enacted by Los Angeles, an official said. The administration expects to present the ordinance to the City Council by the end of October, the official said.

Meanwhile, a state law that took effect Jan. 1 requires counties and cities in earthquake-prone areas throughout California to inventory unreinforced masonry buildings by Jan. 1, 1990, and to notify building owners.

But the law does not require cities and counties to compel building owners to reinforce their property.

“A lot of cities are reluctant to do that, although I think this earthquake may convince some they should,” said Peter Stromberg, deputy director of the state Seismic Safety Commission.

Times staff writers Mathis Chazanov, Lee Harris, Bill Nottingham, George Stein and Deborrah Wilkinson contributed to this article.