Preview: For Valley Landlords, Seismic Deadline Looms

The million-dollar question right now is which will strike first — the year 2022, or the Big One? “The Big One,” of course, refers to the decades-anticipated major earthquake which threatens to devastate the state, while 2022 holds significance as the deadline L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti has imposed on owners of soft-story apartment buildings to retrofit their structures in hopes of minimizing damage, injuries and loss of life when the big quake hits. With three years left to work, many Valley complexes haven’t even started to comply with the seismic regulations, experts tell the Business Journal. “Soft-story” refers to apartment structures also known as “dingbats” or “tuck-unders” that provide housing built above ground-level parking. During an earthquake, the bottom story is vulnerable to collapse.