R-9006
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It
RESOLUTION NO. 900h
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DECLARING THAT AN EMERGENCY EXISTS
WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPERTY AT 1725 THE PROMENADE
WHEREAS, the property at 1725 The Promenade, commonly
known as the Sea Castle Apartments, was severely damaged in the
January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake and was ordered vacated and
"red tagged" by the Building Official due to its structural
instabllity; and
WHEREAS, the City's Nuisance Abatement Board held numerous
hearings from February, 1994 to May, 1994 in order to determine the
extent of the damage to the building and ordered the shoring of the
penthouse portion of the building and boarding and securing of the
premises to reduce the health and fire hazards to the public and
adjacent property owners; and
WHEREAS, since the owner failed to comply with the Nuisance
Abatement Board resolution, the City commenced temporary shoring of
the property, and completed the project in September, 1994; and
WHEREAS, on numerous occasions since the earthquake, and after
the shoring of the building, the owner's representative, Robert
Braun, has been requested to secure the structure against
unauthorized access, however Mr. Braun's response has not been
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timely, adequate or to the Fire Department's specifications for
boarding and securing a vacant building; and
WHEREAS, on December 19, 1995, the Premises was posted with a
First Notice to Abate a Public Nuisance by the city Building
Official due to the presence of conditions which constituted a fire
hazard, and the owner directed to secure the building and to meet
with representatives of the Santa Monica Police and Fire
Departments to discuss the appropriate methods of abating the fire
hazard; and
WHEREAS, due to the continuing failure to abate the ongoing
fire hazard conditions by the property owner, on January 23, 1996
the City of Santa Monica filed a cross-complaint in Los Angeles
Superior Court (Case No. BS 032 530) seeking a court order
requiring the maintenance of the fire extinguishing and detection
system, removal of combustible and hazardous materials and
maintenance of the structure in a secure and barricaded condition
that would prevent entry by unauthorized individuals; and
WHEREAS, on January 26, 1996, a Second Notice to Abate a
Public Nuisance was sent by the City Building Official again
directing the owner to secure the structure and to meet with
representatives of the Police and Fire Departments; and
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WHEREAS, on February 1, 1996, at approximately 6:00 A.M. in
the morning, the Fire Department responded to a major fire at 1725
The Promenade; and
WHEREAS, the February 1, 1996 fire greatly aggravated the
damaged condition of the Sea Castle building and emergency meetings
of the Nuisance Abatement Board were held on February 7, 1996 and
February 9, 1996 to assess the risk presented by the structure; and
WHEREAS, testimony presented at the hearing confirmed that the
structure has extensive fire and water damage, partially collapsed
parapet walls on the north and south towers, exi t stairwells
blocked with debris from the collapsed parapet walls, partial
collapsed floors in the two towers down to approximately the fourth
floor, no roof on the south wing, and large holes in many of the
floors making portions of the building physically inaccessible or
too dangerous to access, making future emergency rescue work
extremely hazardous and creating an imminent danger of collapse;
and
WHEREAS, the shoring installed after the earthquake has burned
and been compromised, and the steel columns in the penthouse
portion of the building are buckled and twisted; and
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WHEREAS, future fire suppression activity would be difficult
since the building is in a dangerous structural condition described
above, and has inoperative fire alarm and sprinkler systems; and
WHEREAS, the building is structurally unsound, and engineers
have determined that the building is unsafe to enter; and
WHEREAS, due to its current weakened condition, any movement
of the building, from an earthquake, strong winds, additional water
falling on the building or from falling debris, could lead to
further collapse; and
WHEREAS, the Sea Castle building is constructed of hollow clay
tiles without layers of brick reinforcement, which greatly elevates
the probability of further collapse and falling debris; and
WHEREAS, occupied residential structures are located
immediately adjacent to the Sea Castle building on the north side
and Lowe's Santa Monica Beach Hotel is located to the northeast of
the building, which means that another fire at the site, coupled
wi th a strong on-shore breeze could endanger the residential
property or the hotel; and
WHEREAS, on February 8, 1996, building materials samples were
taken from the site and tested positive for the presence of
asbestos and lead; and
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WHEREAS, asbestos and lead are known health dangers and
hazardous materials, and the February 1, 1996 fire has caused the
spread of asbestos and lead contamination throughout the building;
and
WHEREAS, given the height of the building and the proximity to
the ocean and the evening wind currents, the asbestos and lead
material are capable of becoming airborne when the materials dry
out; and
WHEREAS, there is a continuing risk that individuals will seek
to enter the building even in its dilapidated condition without
authorization, and unauthorized entry poses significant health and
safety risks, including increasing the potential for another fire
and exposure to hazardous materials; and
WHEREAS, these conditions constitute a major health and fire
hazard, all of which collectively constitutes an imminent threat to
public health and safety requiring immediate abatement; and
WHEREAS, repair and rehabilitation of the building is
infeasible from a safety perspective as the stabilization necessary
for asbestos abatement prior to repair would place work crews and
the public at substantial risk from building collapse and hazardous
material exposure during the stabilization process and would
essentially require the building of a whole new structure to
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support the old structure for the same reason rehabilitation is
economically infeasible; and
WHEREAS, on February 9, 1996 the Nuisance Abatement Board
ordered the property owner to board and secure the building,
provide 24 hour security, conduct weekly air quality monitoring,
obtain a demolition permit by February 23, 1996 and begin
demolition by March 1, 1996 in order to abate the emergency
conditions; and
WHEREAS, while the property owner has met some of the
conditions required as part of the Nuisance Abatement Board Order,
including boarding the building, providing security and performing
weekly air monitoring, albeit after the required deadlines, the
owner has not applied for or obtained a demolition permit, or
commenced the demolition process; and
WHEREAS, the longer the structure is in place, the greater the
risk for collapse, fire, or public exposure to hazardous materials,
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
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SECTION 1.
The City Council of the City of Santa Monica
hereby declares that an emergency exists with respect to 1725 The
Promenade and that the structure presents an imminent threat to the
public of bodily harm and of damage to adjacent property.
SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of
this Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be
in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
trJl~~
MatSha Jone~ Moutrie
ciey Attot-fiey
f:\plan\admin\reso\seacastl
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Adopted and approved thIS 19th of March, 1996
4~
Mayor
I hereby certIfy that the foregomg ResolutIon 9006 (CCS) was duly adopted at a
meetmg of the CIty CounCIl held on the 19th of March, 1996 by the followmg vote.
Ayes CouncIlmembers.
Abdo, O'Connor, Ebner, Greenberg. Genser, Rosenstein
Noes CouncIlmembers
None
Abstam CouncIlmembers-
None
Absent CouncIlmembers'
Holbrook
ATTEST
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CIty Clerk