Earthquake Upgrading Urged for Downtown : Ventura: A study says nearly 140 buildings need safety reinforcements. City officials say lives could be saved.

Nearly 140 unreinforced masonry buildings in downtown Ventura should be upgraded to meet state earthquake safety standards, according to an environmental impact study released Thursday.

The study clears the way for the City Council to pass an ordinance requiring owners to strengthen the buildings, including many historic landmarks and businesses along Main Street.

Although the upgrades will be costly and disruptive, in the long run it would be worse to risk destruction of the buildings in an earthquake, the report says.

“To not adopt some form of mandatory upgrade ordinance risks the sudden destruction of downtown and perhaps needless loss of life,” Everett Millais, the director of the city Department of Community Development, wrote in a letter accompanying the report.

The study will be available for review until May 14, and a public hearing is scheduled for May 9.

After the public review, the City Council would have to approve the environmental report before it could pass an ordinance requiring building owners to make the safety improvements.

In 1989, the City Council passed an ordinance asking building owners to upgrade their structures, but the measure was rescinded after the owners asked that an environmental impact report be done.

Although some officials said business owners were stalling to avoid costly repairs, the city attorney ruled that Ventura was required by law to conduct the study.

The city spent about $80,000 on the report, which took two years to complete.

Once the report is approved, the council can move ahead with plans to implement an ordinance on unreinforced masonry buildings, Mayor Richard Francis said.

“It is extremely important that we do something to protect the public,” Francis said. But at the same time, he added, “We should not break the backs of the property owners.

“Where the balance is, I don’t know,” Francis said. “Unreinforced masonry is dangerous. But if you demand too much from the business owners, you end up destroying the village in order to stay in it.”

The report suggests that the city obtain loans and grants to help building owners.

But some owners wonder if they can make the costly improvements, even with the city’s help, and still stay afloat. It is expected to cost a total of up to $4 million to retrofit buildings on a four-block area of Main Street, and that figure does not include business lost during construction.

“It worries me,” said Michael Avrea, operator of the Club Soda nightclub. “It could be devastating.” Avrea, who leases space in a brick building on Main Street, is concerned that construction would drive away his customers.

The issue is expected to be an emotional one.

“I’m sure we are going to hear a great deal of anguished outcries,” Councilman Don Villeneuve said. “We have to be very careful how we develop this and implement it. It’s a balancing act.”

The report, prepared by The Planning Corp. of Santa Barbara, recommends that public buildings along busy streets meet stringent state codes. The buildings’ walls and ceilings should be strengthened with steel reinforcements, according to the report.

About 86 buildings, including 11 historic structures, should meet these standards, the report says.

Another 52 less-frequented buildings would require minimal upgrades, such as brackets attaching the ceiling to the walls, the report says.

The report suggests that all the improvements be under way by 1996.

Some of the buildings and businesses affected by the report include the Pierano Store, Wilson Studio, the San Buenaventura Mission, the First Post Office Building, the Hamilton Hotel and the Busy Bee Cafe.