Owners of Condos Vent Ire : Earthquake: FEMA officials are criticized at meeting for their negative response to requests for housing assistance.

Nearly 200 frustrated and angry condominium owners packed a town hall meeting in Encino on Saturday morning, blasting federal disaster relief officials for their recent handling of requests for aid from residents of quake-damaged condominiums.

In sometimes emotional presentations, speaker after speaker complained of being denied temporary housing assistance because the Federal Emergency Management Agency wrongly determined that the condominium units could still be lived in. Now, the owners argued, they are faced with unexpected--and unpayable--costs.

“I’m paying rent, and I’m paying a mortgage,” said Andrea Dorfman, 43, of Sherman Oaks. “I might have to sell my condo and move back with my parents. I don’t want to do that.”

The encounter took place at a regularly scheduled community forum hosted by Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills). Beilenson’s office invited representatives of FEMA, the state Office of Emergency Services and the federal Small Business Administration to attend the meeting after hearing that owners of quake-damaged condos were unhappy with their treatment.

“We are here, and we are committed to helping everybody we can,” said Josie Arcurio, a FEMA human services officer for the Northridge disaster.

Contradicting earlier statements by a FEMA official, which caused many condo owners to attend the meeting to voice their dismay, Arcurio said the agency can indeed provide assistance to repair common areas of condominium complexes. She stressed, however, that only quake-related damage will be considered and that each situation will be dealt with individually.

“We look at all earthquake-related damage--common areas and individual units, and we will work collectively with the site engineer to make a determination as to the livability,” she said.

Len DeCarlo, a FEMA spokesman, had told The Times last week that the agency would provide assistance only for “damage to living quarters.”

“We do not provide assistance for repairs to common areas or upgrading areas,” he said.

The housing assistance program for victims of the Northridge quake is scheduled to end in July--18 months after the quake--but FEMA is monitoring the program and there is a possibility that the assistance may be extended, Arcurio said.

“If it’s in the public’s best interest to extend the program, FEMA certainly will do that,” Arcurio told the group. Assistance was extended after the Loma Prieta quake in Northern California and other disasters, she said.

So many condominium owners showed up at the Encino Elementary School where the meeting was held that the gathering was divided into two groups: Those who wanted to address Beilenson about non-FEMA concerns met inside in the school auditorium; those who had FEMA concerns gathered outside, sitting on cafeteria lunch benches and tables.

Most condo owners told of similar dilemmas. Their homes were damaged in the earthquake, but because of prolonged discussions and sometimes disputes with insurance companies, repair work is only now beginning. As they prepare to move out, they are now being told that they are ineligible for federal assistance because their homes are livable and the work being done is cosmetic, an upgrade or damage mitigation to meet local building codes.

Others had received assistance payments earlier but were cut off for the same reasons. In addition to their mortgages and various condo association fees, they must pay rent on temporary living quarters.

Dorfman is paying $850 a month for the apartment she is renting while her condominium is being repaired.

“I’ve gone to FEMA six times,” she said. “They turned us down. They said we have to appeal.”

Stephen D. Linett moved out of his Sherman Oaks condominium in June and cannot move back in until the summer or fall of 1996, he said. Recently, Linett and others in his complex received a letter from FEMA officials informing them they would no longer receive assistance because they had voluntarily moved out and the work being done is mitigation and upgrades.

“Our building has basically been a shell all this time,” Linett said. “We have approximately $4 million to $5 million worth of damage. Yet they arbitrarily make this decision from Washington.”

Herman and Sonia Garber must be out of their Tarzana condominium by June 1.

“We have asbestos in the condominium,” said Herman Garber, 74. “Our condo is 22 years old; we have plenty of cracks in the building. The whole unit is going to be gutted. I have to be out. I have to leave.”

Others complained that FEMA inspectors sometimes fail to discover substantive, but concealed, damage at condo complexes.

“The inspectors are not spending enough time, and they’re not asking the right questions,” said Mark H. Savel, an architect with Fremer/Savel Associates. Savel said FEMA has determined that one large complex he is working on suffered only cosmetic damage when in fact the building suffered major structural damage and residents must move out while it is being repaired.

Especially hard hit are older owners of condominiums, many of whom attended the meeting.

“They’re on a fixed income,” said Joan Rubin, president of a Tarzana condominium homeowners association. “They’re nervous about Social Security, they’re nervous about everything. It’s scary for them.”

Arcurio encouraged residents to begin the process of applying for assistance long before they are scheduled to move. Condo owners should meet with FEMA officials, bringing documentation from an engineer or contractor that substantiates the need for them to move out of the building, she said. The necessary documentation includes a report of the scope of work to be done that details structural damage repairs and seismic retrofitting, a proposed construction schedule for that building and an insurance adjuster’s report for the building.

“We don’t want you to wait,” Arcurio told the group. “Go ahead and get that started.”

At the end of the meeting, Beilenson addressed the group and promised to support condo owners in the efforts.

The meeting seemed to offer a glimmer of hope for some condo owners, but others were skeptical.

“Until I see some kind of action, I can’t say that I’m satisfied,” said Bonnie Bizoza of Sherman Oaks. “I’m on the verge of losing my home.”