Background
California is earthquake country.(1) Most of us take it for granted. We know we’re going to experience seismic events from time to time, and we don’t think too much about it. When the earth actually shakes, we’re invariably surprised. We hold on, duck and cover. And when it’s over, we thank God we got through it all right. We start thinking about all the things we ought to do to get ready for the next time it happens. Sometimes we even do them. Then, we forget about it again.
On a collective basis, Californians have tried to “get ready for the next time it happens” in three main ways. We have beefed up our building codes, imposing higher construction standards. We have made an effort to identify fault lines, prohibiting new construction in areas of the highest risk. And we have heightened our requirements for the disclosure of earthquake risks when properties are bought and sold.
The most comprehensive effort at earthquake legislation in California took place – appropriately enough – right after a major earthquake – specifically, the Sylmar quake of 1971. The Legislature considered a total of 35 different laws the next year, of which many were enacted. A law was passed requiring the inspection of every dam in the state. Seismic standards were strengthened for hospitals and schools. But easily the most far-reaching bill adopted was the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act of 1972.
The A-P Act, as it is often called, required the State Geologist to establish regulatory areas, known as Earthquake Fault Zones, generally about a quarter-mile feet wide, on either side of every surface trace(2)of an active earthquake fault in the State of California. The law then provided that before a city or county could permit any new construction in one of these zones, it had to require the builder to undertake a geologic investigation to demonstrate that the project was not going to be constructed across a surface trace of an active fault. If the geologic investigation discovered a surface trace, no structure for human habitation could be built within 50 feet of it.
The A-P Act was revolutionary when it was enacted, and while it has no doubt accomplished a great deal to reduce potential earthquake damage, it contained a significant exception.
It did not apply to buildings that were constructed before 1972.
Another feature of the A-P Act, that was unfortunate from the Richmond Temple perspective, is that it took quite a while to implement. Maps had to be prepared and circulated for review among geologists before the Fault Zones could be established. So, even though the law was passed in December of 1972, it didn’t actually go into effect until July 31, 1974.(3)
In the meantime, SRF purchased the Richmond Temple from the Northern California Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists. The deed was dated May 14th, 1974.
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1) The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) lists 45 earthquakes “of general historic interest” as having occurred in California in the last decade alone. See http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/historical_state.php.
2) Although earthquake faults are typically represented as lines on a map, in reality they are far more complicated. The fault itself typically lies far beneath the surface. The movement along the fault generates cracks at the surface, These cracks are known as surface traces.
3) Even if the law had gone into effect sooner, it wasn’t until 1998 that the Natural Hazards Disclosure Act was passed, requiring sellers of real property to disclose whether or not the property being sold was located within an Earthquake Fault Zone.