Dec 122017
 

Palo Alto City Council may require seismic retrofits

According to a recent story in the Palo Alto Weekly, hundreds of Palo Alto property owners could be forced to firm up the shaky foundations of their buildings under a proposal that the City Council will be considering in the coming months.

The city is embarking on a dramatic expansion of its Seismic Hazards and Identification Program, which was adopted in 1986 and created reporting requirements and retrofit incentives for owners of buildings deemed particularly vulnerable. The existing program focuses on the buildings that building officials deem to be particularly vulnerable: those constructed of unreinforced masonry; those built before 1935 and containing 100 or more occupants; and those that went up before 1976 and have 300 or more occupants. (Ed. note: None of these would apply to Barron Square)…

Now, Palo Alto is looking to add some teeth to the ordinance and to add four new buildings categories to the three that currently fall under its purview. The biggest addition to the list will be soft-story wood-frame buildings, a category that fared particularly poorly after the October 1989 earthquake in San Francisco and the 1994 tremor in Northridge. These multistory buildings typically have a ground-floor level that is weaker, has fewer partitions and is more flexible than the stories above it, making it more likely to collapse during an earthquake (Ed. note: Typically apartments built over garages or carports).

While it doesn’t appear that the new categories would include Barron Square we will be keeping an eye on City Council actions.

WHAT ABOUT EARTHQUAKE INSURANCE?

As you may know the Barron Square HOA carries Earthquake Insurance for the buildings and property. As noted in the 2018 budget package sent to you, the total valuation for Barron Square is $28,740,000 with a 15% deductible (minimum $25,000 per building for a single event). For the past several years the Board has chosen to pay a higher premium for the lower deductible rate. The small increase in your HOA dues for the premium is offset by a lower cost for your personal insurance.

If you assume a TOTAL loss of all buildings then the maximum deductible would be about $4,311,000 and this would be paid for by a special assessment of all owners in accordance with the assessment table in the CC&Rs (ranging from 1.25% to 1.79%). This means that an individual owner could be liable for between $54K and $77K.  THIS IS THE AMOUNT YOU NEED TO COVER WITH YOUR PERSONAL EARTHQUAKE INSURANCE, plus personal property and loss of use expenses.

California calculations!

 Posted by at 1:56 AM
Nov 202017
 

Smoking Restrictions in Palo Alto

Multi-unit Residences

Palo Alto City Council unanimously voted in December 2016 to restrict smoking at all multi-unit residences and common areas to reduce public exposure to secondhand smoke. Smoking restrictions for multi-unit residences go into effect on January 1, 2018. 

Landlords and sellers of condominium units are required to give written notice to tenants and buyers about the smoking ban and include smoking prohibitions as part of the terms of their rental agreements. This ordinance requirement considered input from a 2015 survey of Palo Alto multi-unit residents. The survey showed that:

  • 80% of multi-unit residents said smoking inside the unit bothers them;
  • 64% indicated smoke bothers them very much;
  • 90% favored smoking restrictions in multi-unit housing.

The following is from the Staff Report of December 5, 2016:

While there would not be an active enforcement program, Committee members noted that adopting the Ordinance would help to create a social norm for Palo Alto. Several Bay Area cities have done this, and believe that it has been successful. Council may decide that this approach is desirable. There remains a concern, however, that Palo Alto residents may expect outreach and
enforcement, for which there are no available resources.

 Posted by at 9:49 PM
Oct 282017
 

With sadness we must inform you of the death of one of our long-term residents, Margaret Ledford (4130) who passed away on Thursday, October 26th after a short illness. Margaret, and her husband Alan, were the realtors who sold the Barron Square properties when they were first built in 1979. We will inform the community of arrangements, etc. as the information becomes available.

 

At the 25th Anniversary of Barron Square, Margaret shared the following memories:

BARRON SQUARE

IN THE BEGINNING…

A Sharing by Margaret Ledford

After all the permits were granted, red tape satisfied, and a bank to offer loans was in place, Ledford Realty [Margaret & Alan] could now sell the 65 Barron Square Condominiums. This was a time when the condominium style of living was becoming very popular. The location was excellent, and the award-winning architectural plans spoke for themselves. The developer, Gerry Markoe, was concerned that the condos would move slowly and rushed to put them up for sale. The fact that the work had just started didn’t sway him. The trailer sales office was placed on the corner of Maybell and Thain Way, the “Condos For Sale” ad went into the Palo Alto Times, we crossed our fingers and hoped for a reasonable amount of lookers and buyers to come in.

My memory fails me regarding how many came in the first few days, but it turned out to be a very successful and speedy sales program. The first section sold fast, followed by the second, equally fast. When the units were completed, the buyers were pleased to see how really nice the units were, in spite of buying them off the blueprints.

(From the 25th Anniversary Newsletter, March 2004)

 Posted by at 5:36 PM
Oct 022017
 

With sadness we must inform you of the death of our long-time PML maintenance man, Dennis Forrest, who passed away on September 27th from complications after open heart surgery. His excellent work and his jovial attitude will be sorely missed by those of us who had the opportunity to work with him here at Barron Square. We extend our condolences to his daughter Christina and all his family.

Services for Dennis will be held 10:30AM on Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at Peninsula Temple Beth El, 1700 Alameda de las Pulgas, San Mateo, CA 94403 (map). Donations in his name may be made to the charity or foundation of your choice or the Peninsula Humane Society. The full obituary is available here.

 Posted by at 3:01 PM