California geologists say an earthquake fault line lies directly beneath Beverly Hills, putting the famous Rodeo Drive shopping district under threat of a magnitude 7 earthquake.
New data has resulted in a final map showing the Santa Monica fault zone running through the middle of the Beverly Hills’ shopping district below Rodeo Drive, according to the Los Angeles Times. The map is different from the draft version, which showed the fault line ending at the western border of Beverly Hills.
Several faults run through high population areas of Southern California. Experts say the Santa Monica fault produced a major earthquake 1,000 to 3,000 years ago.
The state is in the process of drawing official Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zones as an initial step toward applying seismic safety laws to those areas. Limits on development will prohibit builders from constructing or doing major renovations directly on active fault lines.
Rodeo Drive is already well-developed, and it was not clear whether there are any development projects planned that would be impacted by the new laws, The Real Deal reported. Existing buildings are not subject to any alterations.
Although there may be stricter inspections, Beverly Hills real estate broker Rochelle Maize said she doesn’t expect prices to be impacted much by the new maps.
“You’re still going to have Beverly Hills with the iconic 90210 zip code at a premium,” she said, the Real Deal reported.
“We’re all afraid of earthquakes,” Cheese Store of Beverly Hills owner Norbert Wabnig said, the LA Times reported. “To know that there’s [a fault line] close to us, that’s even scarier.”
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