Santa Monica : Sprinkler Upgrade Ordered

Three high-rise residences for low-income senior citizens that have been exempted from city fire-sprinkler laws for nine years would lose their exemptions, under a proposal given tentative approval Tuesday by the City Council.

In voting to draft an ordinance lifting the exemptions, however, the council directed the city staff to look to install the sprinklers without increasing the residents’ rents.

The council ordered the staff to investigate every possible funding source--including the city. The proposal, which would give building operators two years to install the sprinklers, will come back to the council for a vote within 45 days.

The buildings, Westminister Towers at 1112 7th St., Santa Monica Towers at 1233 6th St. and Geneva Plaza at 1441 21st St., were exempted from sprinkler requirements in 1981 because the council believed installation of sprinklers would cause rents to rise too high. The city’s rent control law allows such costs to be passed on to tenants.

Now, however, the city staff says the buildings’ landlords would need a combined total of $157,000 in outside financing to avoid raising rents. The total costs of installing the sprinklers will be $1.2 million, according to city staff.

Harrison Betts, president of Westminister and Geneva Towers, criticized the council proposal, saying the reserve funds accumulated by the buildings in recent years should go to sorely needed improvements, such as elevator and roof replacement at Westminister Towers.

Nancy West, the city’s housing program director, disagreed: “We believe it’s a life-safety issue more than a finance issue.”