SIMI VALLEY : Quake Protection Delayed for Museum

In hopes that guidelines will be changed, the Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District has postponed reinforcing its historic Strathearn House museum for earthquakes. But a state seismic safety official said historic structures should be among the first to be reinforced.

A city law, which follows state guidelines, gives the owners of unreinforced masonry structures until December, 1993, to submit plans for reinforcing their structures. The owners then have seven years to complete the work, said Gaddis Farmer, Simi Valley’s director of building and safety.

Strathearn House in Strathearn Historical Park has two adobe rooms believed to date back to about 1800. Adobe is considered masonry under state law.

Park district officials hope that the state will exempt adobe from the reinforcement requirement before the 1993 deadline for submitting plans, park district spokesman Rich Harrison said.

Strathearn House has suffered no visible damage from earthquakes in the 25 years that the park district has owned the building, Harrison said.

However, the state is unlikely to exempt adobes, a state Seismic Safety Commission spokesman said.

“There’s no rational reason for that type of thinking,” spokesman Fred Turner said. “If anything, we should be pressing ahead and doing the historic buildings sooner.”

Reinforcing Strathearn’s two adobe rooms would probably cost $7,000 to $12,000, said Gil Sanchez of Santa Cruz, an architect who specializes in adobes.