Gilroy
 – More empty storefronts could appear downtown under a law
aimed at buildings considered earthquake hazards.
Gilroy – More empty storefronts could appear downtown under a law aimed at buildings considered earthquake hazards.
The historic business district along Monterey Street is already sprinkled with dark storefront windows bearing earthquake hazard warnings. Owners of such single-tenant buildings are barred from leasing the space to new tenants. Now city leaders are going after owners of unreinforced masonry buildings that have multiple tenants.
Under the latest refinement of the seismic safety ordinance, owners of such buildings would be barred from renting space to new businesses or residents once existing tenants move out. The rule will return to city council Feb. 26 for a final vote.
If approved, the regulation will apply to all of the 35 downtown buildings flagged as earthquake hazards, nearly half of which have multiple tenants.
“It will be a challenge to administer but we’ll figure it out,” said Community Development Director Wendie Rooney. “We could refuse to hand out a business license, but on a more proactive side, we’d like to advise tenants in advance that they won’t be able to occupy (a certain) portion of the building.”
The new regulation is part of a package of incentives and penalties the city has instituted to spur redevelopment of unsafe buildings. Property owners can save tens of thousands of dollars on development fees under special policies council has approved, or they can face $10,000 monthly fines if they haven’t upgraded their buildings by the end of 2008.
At least one downtown developer, Gary Walton, said barring new tenants will prove counterproductive.
“The hammer’s at the end,” he said. “Ten thousand dollars a month in fines – that’s a big incentive to start working on (upgrades). But if a person has said ‘I’m going to redo my building and I’m spending money on that,’ now they’re spending money but they’ve got no money coming in on the rents.”
