The Aftermath of 2020 Kittredge

The Aftermath of 2020 Kittredge

It's Not Just About Decks

6 dead, 7 badly injured, millions directly or indirectly affected by the ramifications.

Scrutiny and retrospection almost always spring from the pulverized soil of tragedy. The aftermath of the 2020 Kittredge deck collapse only a few blocks from UC Berkeley and the Berkeley Building Department offices was certainly no exception. True to form, Berkeley got busy and built an entire wing onto their already formidable bureaucratic juggernaut and set to work probing the decks and walkways attached to thousands of residential buildings.

Over a year and a half later, I'm still working in Berkeley, responding to requests to inspect decks, and assisting in retrofit projects.

This small disaster was a wake-up call which reverberated for several months in the community and property management industry. And then...?

What I have observed is that a very specific response to the Berkeley fiasco was initiated - Everyone cared a whole lot about decks - and rightfully so.

...for about a year and a half.

And now the memory, the initiative, the impetus, are shrinking against the horizon as time and distance grow between the immediate needs of right now and the crisis of back then.

But let me take a side-track, which will become the theme for a series of newsletters moving forward. I firmly believe that the deck at 2020 Kittredge, and the decks that you cringed at in the aftermath of 12:40 am June 16, 2015, are only a single facet of a much greater deferred maintenance problem hiding in plain sight within many Bay Area HOAs.  It's not just decks. No surprises here - right?

How many of you have told me in the last year, that one of your communities is at a crisis point? How many of you have opined that you really don't know how your community is going to pay for the large maintenance projects pressing for resolution?

Many of you, and more now than ever.

In the next few Newsletters, I would like to explore the reasons behind the overwhelming tide of deferred maintenance.

I'll discuss some of the following issues:

• The 50-year problem
• Exactly why was such crummy construction allowed?
• Where did all the money go?
• It's not your fault - sort of.
• Fight or Flight - The future of The Great Social Experiment (HOAs)
• And others...

Over time I will be hoping for your feedback. You are the industry professionals. If anyone is likely to find a solution  - it's you.