LA Mayor's Quake Plan Calls For Retrofitting Buildings, Boosting Local Water Supply
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Calling it the "toughest plan in the country", Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a proposal Monday to retrofit thousands of buildings that are most at-risk in a major earthquake.
Under the Resilience by Design plan (PDF), two types of vulnerable buildings citywide would be required to be retrofitted within as little as five years for "soft-first-story" buildings - which are commonly wood frame apartment complexes and other structures - built prior to 1980.
Retrofits would also be required within 25 years at "non-ductile reinforced concrete" buildings such as apartment complexes, schools, hospitals, office buildings, and warehouses that were built before 1980.
Many of the city's 1,400 non-ductile reinforced concrete buildings could be at risk for collapse in future earthquakes, according to the 123-page report.
How much of that cost might hit tenants' wallets wasn't clear. Officials haven't yet released an estimate of what the final cost would be and who would get the bill.
"The biggest risk to our lives is posed by our older buildings, because the harsh reality is no building code in the world is retroactive, and however much we improve the building code it doesn't make older buildings disappear," the mayor said.
The plan also calls for significant investments in fortifying L.A.'s water supply, including developing an alternative water system for firefighting, protecting our aqueducts that cross the San Andreas Fault, increasing local water sources, and developing a network of resilient pipes.
Garcetti said, "We have thousands of miles of very old pipe in this city. And we need to take an approach to moving toward seismic resiliency in pipes across the city so water continues to come to your houses."
The plan also calls on the city to protect the communications infrastructure so that people can still access internet during disasters. The report suggests building a solar-powered citywide wi-fi system and fortifying cell towers.
In a message posted to the mayor's official Twitter account, Garcetti called the package a "tectonic shift of how #earthquake policy is made in LA."
Garcetti thinks these changes will be the start of improved seismic safety: "Today, ladies and gentleman, we make history."
The recommendations come on the heels of a seismic safety audit headed by the mayor's science advisor and USGS quake expert Dr. Lucy Jones.
"I am really proud of what has happened here," said Jones as she stood beside the mayor at Monday's announcement. "If everything in this report is enacted I believe that Los Angeles will not just survive the next earthquake but it's going to be able to recover quickly and be there for my grandchildren to enjoy the city as well as I have."
But many are concerned about the cost for all these projects, which would be in the billions of dollars. The mayor said everyone will need to contribute, including taxpayers, businesses and that state government.
Jim Clark, executive vice president of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles told KNX 1070 that while he's cautiously optimistic about Mayor Garcetti's plan, he's concerned about the cost, which he estimates could add as much as $75 to what tenants pay in rent.
"It's a lot of money, and I don't think a lot of owners would be willing to go to $75 for fear that they'd be losing some good tenants," Clark said. "We're not in the business of gouging our customers...the tenants are our customers and we want to protect them."
The City Council must vote on the recommendations before they are enacted, but Garcetti expects the proposal to pass.
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