July 2, 2025 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Seismically Hazardous Buildings To Be Identified:

City Hall will hire an engineering firm to create list of buildings made of concrete, steel, or wood framing and are at risk of collapsing in a major earthquake, thanks to unanimous vote by the Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday.

Accordingly, Santa Monica becomes the first city in California to compile a list of earthquake-vulnerable buildings and require those potentially threatened edifices to be retrofitted.

Degenkolb Engineers will partner with City Hall to identify buildings “that are potentially hazardous during and after a seismic event.”

The City Manager’s office was authorized by the council to negotiate and execute a contract with Degennkolb Engineers for $91,524.

According to City staff, the survey will look into buildings constructed before 1996.

“Buildings that were constructed prior to 1996 may sustain significant damage during a seismic event and the aftershocks that follow. In cases of moderate to major earthquakes, older buildings suffer the most damage due to failures in the building’s structural system,” City staff stated. “Santa Monica has many buildings that pre-date 1996 which may require seismic retrofit.”

City staff added while some buildings built prior to 1996 could have already been retrofitted, there are probably “many buildings that remain unretrofitted and may present a hazard to public safety.”

Engineers from Degenkolb and City Hall will look at five types of “older buildings” as part of the survey, including unreinforced masonry, concrete wall tilt-up, weak open front soft story, non-ductile concrete, and steel moment frame.

“Despite the effort of staff and building owners to retrofit buildings that fall into the five categories, there remain buildings that are not fully retrofitted,” City staff stated. “It is the goal of the City to identify these buildings to determine the extent and effect to public safety.”

City staff stated it does not know exactly how many buildings would need to be retrofitted, though estimates indicate 30 to 100 of each type of building exists.

There were 14 submissions for the City contract. Degenkolb Engineers was selected for its experience as a structural engineering firm. Established in 1940 and offices located in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle, Degenkolb Engineers “specializes in structural design and retrofit and has worked with several municipalities in the retrofit design of city-owned buildings.”

Less than 24 hours after the Santa Monica City Council’s vote, the 15-member elected panel in Los Angeles voted to compile a similar list of wood-framed buildings constructed prior to 1978 that are possibly vulnerable to significant damage in a major earthquake.

Los Angeles’ Dept. of Building and Safety will, at the City Council’s direction, take inventory of “soft-story” buildings. A soft-story building is one built atop a ground-floor parking garage.

In 1994, the Northridge earthquake reportedly destroyed about 200 soft-story residential buildings; one of those buildings claimed 16 lives after it collapsed.

Los Angeles officials anticipate it would take about a year to perform site visits of almost 12,000 soft-story buildings.

in News
<>Related Posts

People are Using Palisades for “Disaster Tours.” Local Officials Are Trying to Stop Them

July 1, 2025

July 1, 2025

A new motion introduced to City Council requests a coordinated strategy from LADOT, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the...

Santa Monica Favorite Esters Rebrands as Esters Wine Shop & Oyster Bar

June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

New Concept Launches With French-Spanish Flair and Free Bubbles Esters Wine Shop, the fave Parisian-style wine bar in downtown Santa...

Letter to the Editor: Santa Monica’s Great Park: It’s Time to Deliver on 100 Years of Promise

June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

Santa Monica stands at the edge of history. For nearly a century, residents have consistently supported turning the airport land...

Why Nordstrom Says It’s Closing Its Santa Monica Place Location

June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

A Nordstrom spokesperson explained the closure as a strategic realignment Nordstrom confirmed its decision to close its Santa Monica store...

Three-Bed Palisades Highlands Townhouse Hits Market for $1.7M

June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

The Mediterranean-style property, located at 1529 Michael Lane, is part of a 71-unit community A remodeled 1,919-square-foot townhouse in the...

Six-Bed Mar Vista Hilltop Home Under Construction Lists for $5.3M

June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

The private backyard is complete with a pool, spa, fire pit, built-in BBQ, and areas for outdoor dining A stunning...

(Video) Getty Villa Reopens Six Months After Dodging Destruction of Palisades Wildfires

June 29, 2025

June 29, 2025

With the reopening also comes a new exhibit, “The Kingdom of Pylos” Getty Villa Reopens Six Months After Dodging Destruction...

Free Virtual Planetarium Shows Coming to SMC in July

June 29, 2025

June 29, 2025

The virtual format is in place as construction of the new SMC Planetarium and Observatory nears completion The Santa Monica...

Santa Monica Adopts $793.3M Budget for FY25-27, Prioritizing Housing and Safety

June 29, 2025

June 29, 2025

The budget preserves core services and invests in major projects, including over $1 billion in hotel investments The Santa Monica...

Iranian Pastor in West L.A. Speaks as Church Rocked by Immigration Raids 

June 28, 2025

June 28, 2025

Five Detained as Fear Spreads Through Persian Christian Faith Community  Fear has spread through a West Los Angeles congregation after...

California Doubles Down on Hollywood: $750M in Tax Credits Approved for Film and TV Industry

June 28, 2025

June 28, 2025

State Lawmakers Back Major Expansion of Production Incentives, Raising Job Projections Los Angeles’ film and television industry is poised to...

Park: “Our Water Infrastructure Must Be Emergency-Ready Every Day”

June 28, 2025

June 28, 2025

Councilwoman expressed cautious relief at the news but emphasized the need for robust infrastructure The Los Angeles Department of Water...

Washington Square Pizza Opens to the Public

June 28, 2025

June 28, 2025

New York Style Pizza “By-The-Slice” Now at the Beach By Nick Antonicello  Washington Square Pizza formally opened its doors today...

California Allocates $5B for Road Repairs, Transit Expansion

June 28, 2025

June 28, 2025

The funding aims to improve road safety, reduce traffic congestion, and promote cleaner transportation California is investing nearly $5 billion...

THIS SUNDAY: Palisades Symphony Presents “Best of Broadway”

June 28, 2025

June 28, 2025

The performance will feature a full orchestra playing iconic selections, from John Philip Sousa’s *El Capitan* and George Gershwin’s *The...