The Manhattan Beach City Council last week issued an emergency order requiring social distancing measures at construction sites.
The order was approved at the council’s Friday morning meeting and went into effect Saturday. The city sent out a task force Saturday that included building inspectors and part-time fire inspectors that visited 357 construction sites. Four of those sites were shut down. Those violating the emergency order could face fines of $1,000 for failing to abide by the city’s social distancing guidelines.
“It is clear that some construction sites and other members of the public are not taking the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 seriously, and are putting our residents and construction workers in further danger,” said City Manager Bruce Moe. “Social distancing was not being practiced in public spaces, such as Ocean Drive, and at various construction sites in the City. We heard from residents and our City Council, and are taking actions immediately to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Manhattan Beach.”
The construction measures include posting signs requiring hygienic practices on each site; installing handwashing facilities; no tool sharing; frequent cleaning of surfaces; six feet social distance among workers at all times; all workers to use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including face masks, eye protection, and gloves (here are some things to remember with PPE); prohibiting anyone on site who is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms; minimizing interactions when picking up or delivering equipment; staggering different construction trades’ work to ensure social distancing can be maintained; and controlling “choke points” where workers are forced to stand close, such as hallways, hoists, and elevators.
On Friday, the Council will consider reducing the construction week from six to five days. Councilperson Nancy Hersman proposed the measure at the council’s meeting on Monday morning. She suggested either banning construction on Saturdays or Mondays to give residents near sites at least two days’ peace.
“At this time, when everyone is working from home and school is at home, giving our residents some kind of relief one day a week would be a positive thing,” Hersman said. “…We are talking about our kids trying to study at home, our teachers who live here are also trying to teach from home. If you have a [construction] project next door, it can be really annoying.”
At the outset of the pandemic and its ensuing stay-at-home orders, the Council banned all construction. Shortly thereafter, however, in order to comply with Governor Gavin Newsom’s order allowing construction work to continue, the city lifted its ban.
Councilperson Steve Napolitano agreed that reducing construction by a day a week was worth considering but asked that as much outreach to local contractors be conducted as possible in order to receive feedback.
“I just think last time we did things in an emergency mindset, which was fine and needed at the time,” Napolitano said. “But now we have gone down that road to ban it all, then brought it back, and now we are talking about taking a day away…. Notice it, and let people know we are going to talk about it.”
The council will convene a special meeting, available via CityMB.info, at 8 a.m. Friday morning, April 10, to discuss the matter.
