Santa Monica : Quake Test Recommended

The Santa Monica Building and Safety Commission recommended last week that owners of 196 unreinforced masonry buildings be required to test their buildings’ ability to withstand an earthquake.

If the City Council approves a commission-recommended ordinance, owners of the older buildings, most of which were built downtown between 1915 and 1933, would be given 9 months to submit an engineer’s report on the seismic safety of their structures, according to Commissioner Russell Barnard.

The proposed ordinance requires only that the building owners hire a state-licensed engineer to test the ability of the building to withstand an earthquake. It does not specifically provide for the strengthening of the building.

If the tests, estimated to cost from $1,000 to $5,000 per building, show that a structure can withstand a ground motion of 2% of gravity, it will be taken off the list of targeted buildings, Barnard said.

Leo Sario, president of the Seismic Assn., a group of owners, landlords, tenants and employees in the targeted buildings, did not agree with the commission’s recommendation.

The buildings withstood the 6.4 1971 Sylmar earthquake, during which ground motion of 13% of gravity was measured, Sario said.

“Why do we need an engineer to tell us we can withstand 2% of gravity when we know we can withstand 6 1/2 times that?” he asked.

The recommended ordinance has not been placed on the council agenda, but will probably be considered within two to three months, building officer William Rome said.