Expanding Seismic Retrofit in LA
Under Councilmember Blumenfield's leadership, the City in 2015 included seismic retrofits in the state’s successful Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program, which lets property owners finance specific upgrades through an assessment on their property taxes. This move is designed to give property owners a practical tool to help finance the costs of necessary retrofits that will enhance the City’s resiliency in the event of a major earthquake.
As an Assemblymember, Blumenfield authored and passed the legislation that expanded the PACE program for energy conservation and added new provisions for water efficiency upgrades. He also was a strong proponent of the 2011 legislation that added seismic retrofits to the program. As a Councilmember, Blumenfield also successfully pushed for City participation in PACE’s water and energy financing programs.
Making LA the First City to Enact Quake Safety Standards on New Cellphone Towers
Concerned about the damage cell towers could create in the event of a destructive earthquake, Blumenfield authored a measure in 2015 to approve seismic standards for all new cellphone towers. When this passed, LA became the first City in the US to approve seismic standards in an ongoing effort to strengthen communications infrastructure in preparation for the next big quake. There has not been a major quake in CA since cellphone and wifi became commonplace, and Cities need to have strong standards in place to maintain local communication systems. Blumenfield's measure effectively requires all new freestanding cellphone towers to be built to the same seismic standards as public safety facilities.