Local Construction Sites Must Observe “Safer at Home” Orders

April 1, 2020 2:01 PM

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The City of Santa Monica today issued stronger local enforcement measures for construction projects allowed under the Governor’s Stay at Home and the LA County Department of Public Health Safer at Home Orders. All construction projects must operate in accordance with social distancing and hygiene requirements pursuant to those Orders. The Order provides the City’s Building Officer the authority to stop construction work if the requirements are not followed.

“We need all construction sites in Santa Monica to be good neighbors and to take all required steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said City Manager and Director of Emergency Services Rick Cole who signed the supplement today. “We will shut down projects that put our community at risk by not following physical distancing and hygiene measures.”

The tenth supplement to the local emergency requires:

handwashing facilities or hand sanitizer to be installed at entrances to construction projects,
shared tools and equipment to be sanitized,
posting signage instructing workers of the social distancing and sanitation requirements, and entrance limitations for ill workers or those in recent close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, and
workers not to gather in groups larger than three during breaks and to maintain a six-foot social distance during such breaks.

In addition, if construction is taking place within an occupied residential building, steps must be taken to minimize contact with areas within the building but not within the construction site and to clean and sanitize those areas regularly.

The Building Officer is authorized to issue a stop work order at any construction site operating in violation of the state and county orders or the City’s tenth supplement. This is effective through April 30, 2020.

The City emailed all active construction projects with detailed requirements this week. Guidance for construction sites is available at santamonica.gov/coronavirus.

The public is encouraged to report concerns related to non-compliant construction work to info@santamonica.gov.

For information on COVID-19 in Santa Monica, visit santamonica.gov/coronavirus or call the Santa Monica coronavirus hotline: (310) 458-8400. Get Santa Monica emergency alerts by texting SMCOVID to 888-777. Sign up for daily COVID-19 updates at www.santamonica.gov/newsletter.

Tenth Supplement on Construction >

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Media Contact

Constance Farrell
Communications & Public Information Manager
Constance.Farrell@santamonica.gov

Departments

Office of Emergency Management

More Information

https://www.santamonica.gov/Media/Default/COVID-19/Supplement_10_Local_Emergency_COVID_19.pdf