Developer Fails to Fill Shaft; L.A. Posts Guard

A developer has failed to fill in a deep construction shaft that a Woodland Hills man fell into last week, forcing Los Angeles officials to post a 24-hour guard at the project site.

Administrators of the city’s Department of Building and Safety said Tuesday that they do not know where the builder is--or whether he intends to secure the 30-foot-deep shaft that trapped a neighbor Thursday night.

They were unable Tuesday to identify the developer--described by workers at the site as an Inglewood partnership.

Officials said they will decide today whether to hire workers to install heavy-duty covers over the 18-inch-wide hole and a dozen similar shafts on the hillside construction site.

The holes are designed to hold one-ton steel beams to serve as support caissons for a 4,000-square-foot home planned for the Ensenada Drive site a mile south of Ventura Boulevard.

City officials said their use of an around-the-clock guard at a private construction site is unprecedented.

“We’ve never had this problem before, quite frankly,” said Art Johnson, assistant chief of building and safety’s bureau of community safety.

Johnson said Thursday night’s accident is causing building and safety officials to consider requiring safety fences around all construction sites where major digging is scheduled. Such a move would require the City Council to amend the city’s Building Code.

“We’re looking at the code now in light of what happened. It was an odd accident, but it can happen. We’re looking at what else we can do to tighten things up.”

The Building Code requires property owners or people in charge of construction projects to securely cover all holes wider than six inches or deeper than three feet. Those who fail to do so can face misdemeanor charges.

Hole Next to Street

Thursday’s accident occurred shortly after nightfall when Ensenada Drive resident Ronald Costello, 22, slipped into a hole next to the street while showing his aunt a drilling machine that had tumbled down the hill earlier in the day.

The slightly built Costello was trapped 40 minutes until Los Angeles firefighters lowered an oxygen hose and a shoulder sling that they used to pull him out.

On Tuesday, Ken Patrick was completing temporary repairs to his damaged $300,000 drill in preparation for its removal from the site. He said neither the developer nor his contractor had been seen since Thursday afternoon.

Johnson said the cost of the private guard service will be added to the site’s property tax bill if the developer is not found and billed directly.

In the meantime, the guard will remain on duty. “We don’t want anything else to happen,” he said.