COUNTYWIDE : Building Upgrade Law Tentatively OKd
The owners of 56 unreinforced masonry buildings would be required to upgrade their structures to withstand a major earthquake under an ordinance tentatively approved Tuesday by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.
The measure, due for a final board vote July 24, would give the buildings’ owners 4 1/2 years to make them earthquake safe.
Many of the structures are stores in the strip area along Ventura Boulevard in Camarillo, according to William E. Windroth, director of the county Division of Building and Safety.
Others are in unincorporated areas in the county.
The buildings, constructed of brick or concrete block, were built before codes were tightened in 1962, Windroth said.
“Seismologists tell us the odds are 50-50 that a major earthquake will hit California within the next 20 years,” Windroth said in urging the supervisors to approve the measure amending the county Building Code.
Upgrading the buildings, he said, will minimize the threat of injury and property loss.
One- and two-story homes and apartment houses with fewer than five units are exempt from the proposed ordinance.
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