Methane Gas Code Approved by Council

Los Angeles City Council members voted unanimously Wednesday to impose uniform standards for builders and developers to deal with naturally occurring -- and potentially explosive -- methane gas underlying portions of the city.

The ordinance, which passed 12 to 0 after the late arrival of Councilman Alex Padilla, requires builders to test for methane and to install remediation systems if the gas is found.

Methane is a colorless and odorless gas often associated with oil fields. If it accumulates in a high enough concentration in an enclosed space and is exposed to an ignition source, it can explode.

Methane also poses a suffocation risk if high concentrations accumulate inside buildings, reducing the available oxygen.

Building and safety officials determined that new standards were needed citywide after activists complained about the presence of methane at Playa Vista, a large housing and commercial project between Marina del Rey and Westchester.

Playa Vista installed a variety of systems designed to detect methane and keep it from entering buildings.

In 2001, city officials and consultants began devising stricter, uniform rules on methane to replace a mishmash of guidelines that had been in effect since the mid-1980s, primarily in the Fairfax district.

A 1985 methane gas explosion and fire at a store in the Fairfax area had prompted those standards.

The ordinance identifies about 8% of the city “as a potential action area,” said Lisa Gritzner, chief of staff for Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski.

The affected areas are broken down into methane zones, which would require stricter measures, and methane buffer zones. Most affected, Miscikowski said, would be the city’s central region, extending from downtown west and including Baldwin Hills and mid-city neighborhoods.