[blackcat23]

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0...815-story.html

No active quake fault is under Hollywood projects, state official says

A state official Thursday agreed with developers who contend an active earthquake fault does not exist underneath several prominent Hollywood projects, including the site of the proposed Millennium Hollywood skyscrapers.

Stephen Testa, executive officer of the State Mining and Geology Board, said at a public hearing at the state Capitol that there appears to be "a lot of strong evidence" that the active fault is not present as indicated by the California Geological Survey's proposed zoning map.

"You know what you see, and there was no fault or faulting deposits in those trenches that were observed," said Testa, who visited the site when consultants hired by developers conducted a search for the fault.

Testa's conclusion, as well as more than 200 pages of public comments, now goes to state geologist John Parrish, who as head of the state geological survey has final say over how the map is drawn.

Parrish, however, said that the developers' consultant has not provided the technical data backing its conclusions. He said he was eager to review the data but will not make any decisions about changing the map until he receives it.