Every year, California experiences thousands upon thousands of small earthquakes – hundreds each day.
Debra Carlton
Ninety-nine percent are so small we never feel them. Once in a while, though, we get a large tremor — like the 5.1 quake in Orange County this past spring — that reminds us to prepare for the Big One that seismologists keep talking about.
When it comes to the rental housing industry, California lawmakers have authorized local governments to establish seismic-retrofit standards for particular types of buildings they consider to be hazardous during an earthquake.
These would include certain unreinforced-masonry buildings, specified wood-frame, soft-story, and multi-unit residential buildings constructed before 1978. Local governments must notify building owners when a structure is considered hazardous, meaning it is assumed to have little resistance to earthquake motion.
California also mandates specific disclosures. When notified that their building consists of unreinforced masonry, owners must post a warning in a conspicuous place by the entrance regarding the structure’s earthquake risks.
The state also requires water heaters to be braced, anchored, or strapped to resist falling from earthquake shaking.
But most experts believe, however, at both the state and local levels, California’s approach to seismic safety needs a stronger foundation.
California has made great strides protecting our water systems, pipelines, bridges, and other types of infrastructure against earthquake damage, yet most local governments continue their struggle to identify and strengthen potentially hazardous buildings.
Some state lawmakers are trying to help, with two bills to advance building safety having surfaced this year.
The first came in February from Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica. Under his bill, AB 2181, cities and counties could require property owners to evaluate earthquake hazards in soft-story residential buildings and older concrete residential structures. The proposal also added more types of concrete residential buildings as potentially vulnerable in a tremor. The bill, however, has not been heard in committee and won’t likely move forward this year.
The second bill, AB 1510, by Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, D-Sherman Oaks, called for a tax credit of 30 percent on qualified costs paid or incurred for seismic retrofitting. Unfortunately for property owners, that bill failed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in May.
Certainly, California still lacks a comprehensive system to ensure seismic safety when strong tremors strike. Bills like those proposed by Bloom and Nazarian show that at least some legislators are ready to take action.
As a rental property owner, you can’t wait for the government to mandate the protections needed to keep you and your residents safe when the Big One hits.
The Seismic Safety Commission and some local governments have produced a number of handbooks to help prepare for an earthquake and to deal with its aftermath. Some worthwhile reading includes the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Emergency Preparedness handbook and the Earthquake Country Alliance’s Steps to Earthquake Safety at http://earthquakecountry.org/sevensteps/.
Debra Carlton is senior vice president of public affairs for the California Apartment Association.