Few Apply for Torrance Quake Aid

To the surprise of Torrance city officials, a novel program to help owners of 50 buildings in the old downtown area pay for earthquake-safety improvements has attracted only eight participants.

On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved a plan that will provide the eight landlords a total of $725,000 to complete the improvements by July, 1991.

“It’s rather disappointing because we worked so hard” on the plan, Mayor Katy Geissert said in an interview this week. “I mean, it was supposed to be very innovative.”

Under the plan, hailed as the first of its kind in the state, the city will issue bonds to raise money for the renovations. The bonds will be repaid at 10.75% interest over 12 years by property owners who participate in the program through an assessment district. Voter approval is not required.

Last December, the city staff crafted the plan after the council unanimously adopted a measure that requires reinforcement of 50 apartment and commercial buildings that were considered in danger of major damage or collapse in a major earthquake.

The earthquake safety measure calls for steel bolt reinforcements of walls and ceilings. If the improvements are not made by the deadline, the building must be demolished.

Ralph Grippo director of building and safety, said in an interview that he was surprised at the low participation rate because last year many merchants and building owners asked city officials for help.

Property owners told city officials they were having difficulty obtaining second mortgages for the work, he said, because banks did not believe it added value to a building.

During the meeting Tuesday, Finance Director Mary Giordano said property owners may have found that getting bank loans was not as difficult as they thought.

Grippo said owner may have assumed erroneously that the city could offer significantly lower interest rates.

Lucio Gonzalez, owner of Lucio’s Mexican Restaurant, is adding $50,000 in earthquake safety improvements to his restaurant and apartment building on Cabrillo Avenue. For more than a month, Gonzalez has had a team of 10 workers bolting the building’s roof to the adjoining walls.

He decided to use his own money because interest rates for both the city’s program and a bank loan are too high, he said.

Declined to Participate

Paul Kasper, owner of an auto parts store in business for 54 years, said he plans to get a bank loan to make his building safe. Kasper, who represented the Downtown Merchants Assn. when it helped the city devise the plan, said he did not participate in the city program because he felt “rushed” into joining.

He said city officials wanted him to sign a letter of intent to participate before he could get an estimate on the cost of the work. “I’m really sorry that the program didn’t work, because it’s an excellent idea,” he said. “It was the timing . . . there was just no way.”

Grippo said owners had a year to decide and denied any pressure.

In an interview, Finance Director Giordano said some building owners may not have participated because the program is new and untested.

“When it’s something new, people feel uncomfortable with the concept,” she said.