Valleywide : City Examines Its Seismic Inspections

How good a job is Los Angeles doing to make sure city buildings are earthquake-resistant?

That is the question the Los Angeles City Council had in mind Wednesday when it asked the Building and Safety Department and Bureau of Engineering to come back with an answer in 30 days.

The City Council acted in response to last week’s finding by a state panel that inadequate inspection by building inspectors, among other things, contributed to earthquake damage that could have been prevented.

“We have important standards in place,” said Councilman Mike Feuer, who made the motion, “but we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can in terms of enforcement.”

On July 12, the state Seismic Safety Commission reported that the 1994 earthquake would have caused far less damage if building codes had been rigorously enforced. The panel also criticized developers, engineers and architects who in some cases, it said, designed and built shoddy structures that suffered greater-than-necessary quake damage.

The panel recommended that government officials and utilities consider making automatic gas shut-off valves mandatory and improving enforcement of building codes.

The panel also suggested new state laws to improve seismic safety, and major improvements in construction methods.

Feuer said that he does not know how the city measures up against the panel’s recommendations, and that is why he is asking for the city report. He wants the city to be responsive to the state recommendations, he said.