WHOLE LOTTA SHAKING GOING ON
By John
Davis
Well, the City hopes not. As the
Planners rubber stamp yet more and more permits for monolithic structures in
Venice they are failing to comply with laws that protect public health and
safety.
While the entire Los Angeles basin is prone
to earthquakes, some places are more dangerous than others due to liquefaction
damage.
When the shock waves from
quakes pass through areas with high water tables (underground water) intermixed
with sand and gravel, the stability of the ground is compromised and reacts like
mud with a liquefied surface.
Sometimes large surface ruptures occur
like they did at Mothers Beach in Marina del Rey during the 1994 Northridge
earthquake. Large heavy buildings sometimes sink and collapse.
Luckily small wooden homes tend to
float like small boats and are far less prone to catastrophic
failure.
The California Seismic Hazard
Mapping Act is supposed to protect people and the economy by requiring large
developments in Seismic Hazard Zones to produce geologic reports and file copies
with the State Geologist prior to issuing permits for
development.
Most of Venice is located
in the Venice Quadrangle Seismic Hazard
Zone.
When the City of Los Angeles
issues permits they are known as the Lead Agency. It is responsible for ensuring
large developments in the hazard zone produce geologic reports before issuing
permits. And the public is entitled to read these reports.
So where are the geology reports for
the proposed large developments like the one proposed for Abbot Kinney and San
Juan Avenues?
The Environmental Review
Section of City Planning is claiming ignorance. The City issued permits without
the geologic report. It seems that the City may have been grossly negligent on
other recent large projects as well.
I
explained to the planners that if I tried to tell a cop that I was unaware of
the necessity to stop at a stop sign he would obviously laugh at me while
penning a ticket. Ignorance of the law is no
excuse.
It is quite clear that the City
is simply letting developers violate the State Act. The City allows developers
to profit by saving big money in the construction process and prevents the
public from examining the required geologic
reports.
Who loses? The Seismic Hazard
Mapping Act helps separate California from other countries where shoddy building
practices are permitted, causing collapse of buildings, loss of life, and
economic hardships resulting from
earthquakes.
But if the City fails to
enforce the State law there is no
difference.
It is clear that the City
has routinely sacrificed public safety so developers can put a few more pieces
of bloody silver in their already fat red pockets.
Posted: Sun - June 1, 2003 at 03:20 PM