Previously, California's state geologist concluded there was an active earthquake fault running under the site of the Millennium Hollywood development, which, however, didn't stop the LA City Council from approving the project.
"Our conclusion from the data is that there is an active fault, and it does run right along the course that's right along the map," state geologist John Parrish told the LA Times last November.
Since state law requires developers in the fault zone to prove that new buildings can be constructed safely away from any active faults, new studies were conducted by Millennium's geotechnical consultant, Group Delta. Though the new study confirmed that there was likely a fault below the site, contrary to the state's conclusions Group Delta estimated the fault to be too old — at least 150,000 years — to be active.
It is the responsibility of the city building officials to determine whether a developer has done sufficient underground studies. After a two-year dispute, the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety agreed with the developer that the project was seismically safe.
