 "Photo: Josh Tatum/Poly Post")
After a detailed study conducted by the CSU Seismic Review Board, 15 Cal Poly buildings have been found to be earthquake hazards, the largest number in the entire CSU system.
Of the buildings on the list, 13 have been rated a “5,” which designates them as hazardous, but unlikely to collapse. Five of these buildings are barns or sheds associated with Cal Poly’s agricultural and livestock operations. The Manor House, President Ortiz’s place of residence, and the University Theatre are also on the list.
Only two buildings on campus are rated a “6,” which means they present a risk of collapse during an earthquake. This list includes the CLA Building and the Kellogg West Conference Center. According to the report, the CSU System has plans to retrofit both buildings in the next few years, though California’s budget problems may delay progress.
Ray Morrison, director of Facilities Planning, said all buildings present some hazard during an earthquake, but that the CLA Building has been deemed safe for use by the seismic review board.
“The CSU has a seismic Policy that we follow,” Morrison said. “The SRB has determined that the CSU can continue to occupy and use the building. We wouldn’t allow people to occupy an unsafe building.”
Andrew Leung, a historian specializing in campus facilities, said the CLA Building is a high-risk structure, as evidenced by damage from the recent Chino Hills earthquake.
Morrison said the damage from the quake was fairly insignificant.
“Last July 2009, the Chino Hills’ magnitude 5.4 earthquake caused minor cosmetic damage to the CLA and other buildings on campus,” Morrison said. “The next day, the SRB investigated the effects of the earthquake on several campus buildings, including the CLA, and determined that there was not any structural damage.”
The findings of the study, combined with recent seismic activity in Haiti and Baja California, have some students beginning to worry about the safety of their school.
“There have been so many quakes lately and everyone says the big one is still coming,” said Jake Aldman, a second-year business student. “I just want to feel safe on campus.”
Valerie Cortez, a first-year business student, agreed with Aldman.
“I’m worried about the safety of the people in the buildings,” Cortez said.
Students are also shocked by the number of buildings on campus outlined by the seismic study.
“I can’t believe we have the most unsafe structures out of the whole CSU,” said Aaron Heatherington, a third-year animal science student. “It just seems like that shouldn’t be us.”
The Engineering Building is also among the list of unsafe buildings.
“It’s interesting that this is an engineering school and doesn’t meet earthquake standards,” said Cameron Berlino, a fourth-year business and computer information systems student.
Trevor Riordan, a third- year mechanical engineering student, is not shaken by the findings.
“I think it’s ironic, but to be honest with you, I’m not particularly worried,” Riordan said. “I don’t think it’s embarrassing, our engineering program didn’t build it. I’ll bet anything this started out as a budget-related problem.”
Cal Poly’s vast number of seismically unsound buildings can be attributed to the history present on campus. A good number of the buildings on the list have been present since before Cal Poly became part of the CSU system in 1966.
“The buildings complied with all building codes when they were constructed,” Morrison said.
The old horse stables, Building 112, are among the list of unsafe buildings.
“It’s one of the original Kellogg Ranch structures and like I mentioned, all old ranch buildings on campus survived various [past] quakes with minimal damage” Leung said.
“Building 5 is another 1959 structure and like the several buildings built by the state between 1957 and 1959, they seem pretty stable today.”
A complete list of affected buildings is available at http://californiawatch.org/higher-ed/map-seismically-hazardous-buildings-csu-system.
Reach Evan Perkins at: news@thepolypost.com
Be the first to comment on this article!