USC : Repair Plan Could Hold Up Museum

State officials say that a $43.5-million plan to correct seismic problems at the Howard F. Ahmanson building has not won the approval of two agencies, which could delay construction on the California Museum of Science and Industry exposition hall.

“We haven’t formally seen the plans,” said Raymond Girvigian, chairman emeritus of the State Historical Building Safety Board, one of the state agencies that has yet to review the proposal. “The plans were supposed to go through our board for the required mandatory viewing before going on to the next step. The project could be held up because it hasn’t followed the law.”

On Friday the state Public Works Board was scheduled to review plans for a new museum that would replace the Ahmanson building. It was closed in 1990 after state seismic officials deemed it and the nearby armory unsafe.

State Sen. Nicholas C. Petris, chairman of the Legislature’s joint rules subcommittee, has said the plan misuses state funds that were allocated to correct seismic problems to build a new museum.

Last week, he reiterated his opposition in a letter to the State Public Works board, saying that the two state agencies that have jurisdiction over the preservation--the Office of Historic Preservation and the Historic Building Safety Board--”have opposed the new construction up to this very day and are being bypassed.”

State Architect Harry Hallenbeck denied that any state agencies have been ignored. “The contention that we have bypassed the board is totally unfounded,” said Hallenbeck.

The debate began in December when Petris called for a meeting with the museum’s board of directors to discuss a design that would demolish the Ahmanson but retain its brick and terra-cotta facade.

Work on the building is part of a $350-million master plan to give Exposition Park a greener, more accessible look which will include tree-shaded promenades and four small community parks. Construction was to start next year.

Dan Visnich, acting executive officer of the Historic State Capitol Commission, also faulted the plan for imposing stricter and more costly seismic requirements while failing to preserve the original 1913 building.

The plans call for Field Act guidelines, stricter seismic codes used in schools and educational centers, because about 100,000 students visit the museum annually through educational programs. “People had no idea this was something other than a retrofitting,” said Visnich.

Museum officials are concerned that the project may be delayed.

“This is something that came up on us out of the dark,” said Bob Campbell, deputy director for administration and operations at the California Museum of Science and Industry. “Whenever you have an elected official who voices concerns, you are at risk, and (Petris) has threatened through his staffer to challenge the funding.”