Crystal Ballroom Scores Victory Over Portland On Seismic Placards

PORTLAND, OR – The Crystal Ballroom scored a big victory over the city of Portland. The city agreed to take the iconic McMenamins property off the list of buildings vulnerable to damage in an earthquake.

The company was able to prove that they had undertaken a major seismic retrofit that was complete more than a decade ago.

On March 1, Portland is scheduled to begin enforcing a city ordinance passed last year requiring owners of unreinforced masonry buildings to place placards saying that the buildings may be unsafe in an earthquake.

Get all the latest information on what's happening in your community by signing up for Patch's newsletters and breaking news alerts

The city forced Crystal Ballroom to file an appeal to be removed from the city's online database of vulnerable buildings.

That forced the company to pay contractors to find all the permits they received more than a decade ago even though the city, which issued the permits, would already have access to them.

It's still not clear if the city's enforcement plan will still go ahead on schedule.

Last week, City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who oversees the fire bureau, ordered the bureau not to start enforcing the law until more community input can be gathered.

Soon after the law was passed, many building owners voiced objections, saying that it would decrease the value of their buildings and discourage people from entering, something that the leaders of African-American churches said was particularly troubling.

Portland has more than 1,500 brick buildings that are considered at risk of collapse in a large earthquake.

As a result, the law, which requires signs saying, "This is an unreinforced masonry buildings. Unreinforced masonry buildings may be unsafe in the event of a major earthquake."

The signs would have to be at least eight by ten inches and written in a large-sized type.

Officials say that the smarter plan would be to require buildings to be retrofitted but with the cost to many being prohibitive, they see the signs as a good step along the way.

The city maintains an interactive online map that allows you to check if a building is made of unreinforced masonry.

Photo via Google Maps Streetview.