Building Ordinances Don’t Go Far Enough : In a state where the experts predict major earthquakes will continue, elected representatives must enact legislation that safeguards the lives and welfare of residents.

Monday’s earthquake is a tragic reminder that government must do more to protect the lives of its citizens.

In 1981, when I was chairman of the Building and Safety Committee, the Los Angeles City Council passed legislation I introduced to retrofit the unreinforced brick and masonry buildings in Los Angeles. This legislation required that more than 8,000 pre-1933 buildings be retrofitted in order to prevent collapse in case of an earthquake.

In the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, the collapse of such buildings had demonstrated the necessity of making reinforcements.

The passage of this legislation was unique and was the result of a study that predicted the deaths of 50,000 people and more than 100,000 injuries due to the collapse of these unreinforced buildings if a major earthquake occurred.

As of last year, work on all but about 100 of these buildings had been completed. The latter were either unoccupied or were due to be demolished. Based on our knowledge, if these buildings had not been reinforced, most probably would have collapsed in Monday’s earthquake.

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As far as it is currently known, all of these buildings withstood the Monday quake--in all probability saving thousands of lives.

There was tremendous opposition to the enhancement of this law by building owners in 1981. It took a great deal of persuasion on my part, but the City Council eventually proceeded with the implementation of the ordinance. It was a step forward to protect our citizens.

But was that enough?

Five years ago, I introduced a motion asking Building and Safety to develop an ordinance adding a new element to the ordinance on unreinforced brick and masonry buildings. This legislation would have applied to tilt-up and “non-ductible” concrete construction. Both types of solid-wall construction have been shown to be dangerous.

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Unfortunately, this has not been developed by the Building and Safety Department. Although these buildings were not particularly affected by Monday’s earthquake, it demonstrates our need to act immediately to prioritize and institute changes in our current code.

With the tragic collapse of the Northridge apartment in Monday’s earthquake, a new category of dangerous buildings has emerged--those multifamily residences with nothing more to support them but carports. They have proved to be one of the most dangerous type of buildings we have.

All the above categories will require retrofitting. These are the same type of buildings that also collapsed in the Mexico City quake.

Unfortunately, the state has not yet enacted legislation, even though the State Seismic Commission (of which I am a member) has repeatedly asked that the Unified Building Code include these types of regulations.

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We live in a state where the experts tell us major earthquakes will continue to occur. It is the responsibility of elected representatives to enact legislation that will protect the lives and welfare of its residents. I hope that the state Legislature will take notice of Monday’s tragic events and pass legislation to enact laws immediately to protect our citizens.

When safety requirements are proposed, there is always an outcry that it may cost too much. Lawmakers must decide what degree of risk is acceptable. The present degree of risk is not acceptable to me.