Fire Sprinklers, Regulation & Historic Buildings

Summer 2007 Recently a fire occurred in a landmark building, the Galaxy, on Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach, CA. For some unknown reason, one of the occupants of this building, who had escaped the fire, returned to the apartment where he needlessly lost his life. Subsequently there has been a hue and cry by politicians to require sprinkler systems in all apartment buildings. The intention is a good one, but let us hope that it is approached in a rational manner and not simply the knee-jerk reaction to a fire victim’s unfortunate choice.
As a historian and preservationist, I initially took the stance that the outcome would be to force the owners of every historic apartment house into a chaotic situation which would destroy the original fabric of the buildings. I have since reformulated my opinion based on a comment I read stating that if a fire starts, sprinklers can be your first line of defense. A system can be costly and can disrupt the fabric of the interior, but if a fire occurs, there may not be any fabric left. I thought that this was an excellent point as I reviewed my stack of Preservation magazines and noted that most historic structures mentioned in each issue were lost due to fire and not the notorious “march of progress.”

Without a thorough investigation of the alternatives to the costly sprinkler system, which in fact could force condo owners to lose their homes as a result of overwhelming assessments, there are a number of alternatives which are affordable and can be almost as effective. Recommendations include upgrades such as a hard-wired, central-station fire detection system. An electrician can check panels, circuitry, outlets, and fixtures, and correct
hazards. Moving out storage items and enclosing mechanical systems with fire-rated partitions reduce other risks at reasonable cost.
Acknowledging a building’s own strengths and offsetting its weaknesses, rather than simply forcing the owner to meet stated mandatory requirements, is the intelligent approach to fire protection. Using computers, fire protection engineers can predict the growth of blazes, as well as study ways to improve a building’s overall fire resistance. They can look at how each structure performs as a self contained system.

Pursuing regulations better suited to historic buildings, city engineers are now creating performance based fire codes. An engineer, working with a property owner, can determine the specific safety features that suffice in protecting the structure. Risk indexing offers a similar strategy without the cost of an engineer. A risk index assigns values to a building’s protective features and sets performance goals. When a building scores high enough, it meets the code.

In terms of fire, preservation is a “catch-22” situation: A structure is most likely to burn during and immediately after rehabilitation since opening up walls, floors, and ceilings reduces its fire resistance. At the same time, more hazards are introduced such as tools, equipment, and heat producing appliances. Additionally, a building under construction offers a plethora of combustible materials: solvents, finishes, paint remover, sawdust, adhesives, and the ever-evil oily rags, which deserve their bad reputation. In May during a rehabilitation, the public library in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C. was consumed by flames, which resulted in the destruction of innumerable treasures of our nation’s history.

There is no argument that fire is a terrible threat to both life and property, but any approaches to improve our fire codes and the issues of safety need to be considered rationally and intelligently. - Stan Poe

Mansionisation

Winter 2007 The problem of “mansionization” continues to rear its’ ugly head, or roof rafters, as the case may be. That has been apparent at many of the public meetings that have been held to “discuss” the subject.

Too often these meetings have resulted in each side expressing their own opinions without focusing on the actual problem.
At a recent meeting concerning the problem in Belmont Shore and the Peninsula, led by Suzanne Frick, director of Planning and Building, the message finally came across loud and clear. The well-attended meeting ended in agreement that neither side was in favor of design guidelines.

The strongest message was that there have been too many variances granted, and although the variances may benefit the developers, too often they are detrimental to the community. There were those present who felt that the sky’s the limit, literally, and setbacks and other zoning regulations
were meant for everyone, but them.  A big issue in this argument is the fact that the neighborhoods don’t feel that they have received adequate notification when the Planning and Building Department considers
granting a variance. In addition, notices of hearings before the Planning Commission are not publicized adequately, and those meetings take place when the average homeowner is likely to be at work.

Zoning laws were enacted in Los Angeles between 1913 and 1916 as a protective device for property owners and as a means by which the city planners could create the type of city that they envisioned.

The central area had become a “beggar’s bag” of high rise office building, hotels (both classy and otherwise), apartment houses, retail buildings and single family dwellings all built side by side.

Bunker Hill, which was the domain of the wealthy and powerful at the end of the nineteenth century, had become a hodge-podge by 1910. The misdirected development of the hill caused influential residents to flee to the West Adams district, leaving some of the magnificent mansions to become rooming houses.

Most of those mansions were less than twenty years old at the time.
That is an amazing statistic which really makes one aware of the need for
zoning laws and the need for their strict enforcement.

Our present day zoning laws are really quite adequate and provide a
reasonable assurance for residents that their neighborhoods will remain
stable. It is the responsibility of the Planning and Building Department to adhere to those zoning regulations and weigh heavily requests for variances,
while considering the effects those variances may have on the immediate
community. The Planning Commission needs to give responsible
consideration to appeals, as well.
—Stan Poe

For more information on mansionization.

Belmont Heights Spurred to Action Over
Increase in Tear-Downs

LBH President's Message

Spring 2008   The history of a city is essential to its identity as a viable and unique community.  We often don’t realize how fortunate we are in Long Beach to have such a widespread stock of both residential and commercial historic structures. It is easy to concentrate on the desecration of downtown Long Beach and lament the loss of so much of the historic fabric, but it is just as easy to overlook the resources which still exist in the rest of our city.

I recently had the opportunity to lead a historic tour of the city at the request of a design jury serving a furniture competition at CSULB. The members were from various areas of the country, New York to Texas. We began at Rancho Los Alamitos, toured most of the 17 historic districts, drove to the Rancho Los Cerritos and surrounding area,and ended up on Signal Hill to survey our fascinating cityscape. They were highly impressed. They had previously thought Long Beach was a non-descript suburb of Los Angeles. Education is key to preservation.

Historic districts were formed because of the desires of the residents and were created to preserve and stabilize the various neighborhoods. The resultant efforts were due to perseverance of the Office of Historic Preservation and the Cultural Heritage Commission. The CHC is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year. It was created to prevent the haphazard destruction of the built environment, and it has done its’ job well. The continued operation of the CHC is of the utmost importance to address projects which affect historic properties throughout the city. I have served on the CHC since 1993, first as a regular commissioner and then as ex-officio commissioner, due to my background in architectural history. Our normal agenda has been four to twelve items for our consideration. Since the new fee schedule was established last fall, the agenda items have dwindled to two in December and one in January. In February the meeting of the CHC was cancelled due to no agenda items. This was the first time since 1993 that the meeting was cancelled!

I am extremely concerned that the new fee schedule is at least partially responsible for the lack of items brought to the CHC. I’m not sure that it represents what is actually occurring in the historic districts. We need to contact our council members and the mayor to revisit the new exorbitant increases in building and planning fees so that voluntary compliance continues. Fees for services should be reasonable for the services provided and not be punitive consequences for ownership, restoration, and maintenance of historic properties. —Stan Poe

Winter 2008 Preservation My pronuncement for the year is that preservation is alive and kicking in Long Beach. I was recently involved in two situations that gave evidence of that observation. The first was in the fall when I was asked to participate in the “University by the Sea” event which was held in downtown Long Beach. I was initially skeptical as to how many people would flock to attend my lecture on the history of Long Beach when such a large smorgasbord of options was being offered. My concerns were assuaged, however, when I received a call from the organizers to ask if I would agree to teaching two classes because the first one had filled immediately. I finally gave two sessions of my power point presentation showing one hundred historic post cards to outline the history of Long Beach. There were other historic offerings as well, including walking tours and lectures by our Vice President, John Thomas, and our mayor, Bob Foster, and the opening of the Jergins Trust tunnel where Ken Larkey provided a film presentation of some historic events in the city.

I believe that the event was vastly more successful than the planners had hoped for. The classes filled quickly and a great many people had to be turned away, but they still brought a huge number of people to the downtown area of the city that they normally don’t visit. It really made participants aware of our built environment and the importance of preserving our history. My understanding is that plans are already underway for next year!

The second incident of affirmation occurred in early December at the Bembridge House. During an afternoon meeting, I heard a bit of a commotion on the front porch. When I investigated, I found a very smartly dressed young lady of elementary school age surrounded by a number of young children. I listened to her for a few moments and realized that she was captivating her audience with the history of the house and the families who had lived there. The amazing fact that she had all of her information absolutely correct was almost eclipsed by the fact that all of the kids were listening intently and appeared to absorb what they were hearing. They asked me some good questions while I stood there. When I asked the young lady, who was a neighborhood child, where she learned all of that, she told me that her school had toured the house, and that she and her mother attended every function that we have presented for the community. She said she especially liked our members who portrayed the family during these tours.

This vignette was significant to me as it demonstrated the success of our efforts in that these children have begun to appreciate the history and culture of their community. Indeed, the young lady, who found it important to pass the information on to her friends, possessed great poise. The concept of preservation should begin in childhood.

The three precepts that I have held foremost have been education first, followed by preservation and advocacy. I am truly fortunate to have a board of directors and general members who support me in this, and apparently we are all right on target.

In addition to our constant efforts in the area of advocacy, on-going dialogue with the city of Long Beach, preservation of the Bembridge home and various programs that we provide are an invaluable means of conveying the message that preservation is a concept that everyone in the city should embrace.. —Stan Poe