Mandatory Shut-Off Valves OKd

Despite concerns about the cost, the Los Angeles City Council gave final approval Wednesday to a bill requiring the installation of automatic gas shut-off valves before escrow may close on property sales.

The devices, which shut off gas during earthquakes, cost $100 to $500 installed depending on the size of the building. The cost for many houses is $300 or less.

Councilman Hal Bernson, whose north San Fernando Valley district includes the epicenter of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, said the ordinance is essential because the current requirement that valves be installed within 12 months of sale is being ignored.

“The safety of the city of Los Angeles, the future, is at stake,” Bernson said. “This is earthquake country.”

Bernson said there might have been many more gas-related fires in the Northridge earthquake if it had not occurred early in the morning on a holiday when many people were home to turn off their gas with a wrench.

The earthquake resulted in many changes to city building and safety laws, including the 1998 ordinance that requires installation of valves within 12 months of a property transfer. Since that ordinance became law, 64,000 properties have changed hands in the city but only 24,000 owners have certified that their buildings were in compliance.

Bernson said requiring the valve to be installed before escrow closes makes it more likely that owners will comply.

The measure was opposed by real estate groups including the Southland Regional Assn. of Realtors, which argued that if the valves are essential to public safety then all properties should be retrofitted, not just those being sold.

Councilman Nate Holden, one of three council members who opposed the requirement, said it is an unnecessary financial hardship for home buyers, many of whom may never have the need for the valve.

“I don’t want to be stuck with this device,” Holden told his colleagues.

“To impose this on the people of the city of Los Angeles is outrageous.”