Rattling Big-Building Owners

Among the structures damaged by the Northridge earthquake of 1994 were hundreds of steel-frame buildings. Many in the San Fernando Valley and the Westside sustained unseen but potentially catastrophic damage to their welded joints. After that discovery--one that surprised many experts--the Los Angeles City Council last year ordered owners of 259 steel-frame buildings across the city to inspect for damaged welds and to make repairs as needed. But with the deadline now passed, owners of as many as 61 of these buildings, mostly large office structures, have yet to give an inspection report to the city. Later this week, the city will tell these owners that they have 30 days to cough up the reports or face sanctions that could include revocation of a building’s occupancy certificate.

Many of the 61 or so buildings have, in fact, been inspected and found to have no damage. The hitch? No one ever sent the paperwork to the city.

The problem stems in part from the sometimes confusing way in which large buildings are owned and managed. Owners may order property management firms to hire an engineering company to make inspections. Once done, each thinks the responsibility to forward reports to the city lies with someone else. A reminder from the city--backed by the threat of sanctions--will go a long way toward breaking corporate logjams. So the city letters represent a good, strong step, but one that should have been taken months ago.

At the same time, the city should act swiftly to force compliance from those owners who have failed to make even preliminary inspections. Complaints that inspections or repairs are too costly in a sluggish commercial market are insignificant compared to the risks that unsafe buildings pose. Faced with major sanctions, building owners are more likely to take their responsibility seriously.

The Northridge quake demonstrated how susceptible steel-frame buildings can be to seismic force. Now building owners with a keen sense of the bottom line may prove susceptible to properly applied bureaucratic force.