> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Curious caution - URL: https://www.smdp.com/curious-caution/ - Published: 2007-10-11T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T03:18:52.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Real Estate & Housing, Ocean Park, #archive-import *Toxic warnings don’t seem to be chasing away tenants* OCEAN PARK When Vanessa Ortiz moved into her new apartment on Marine Street two months ago, a foreboding little red-and-white sign proved a buzzkill. “This facility contains one or more chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm.” The small, obscure sign is affixed to the wall near the main entryway, warning residents in the two-story apartment complex of the potential dangers that lie ahead. “It’s a little awkward,” Ortiz said, standing in front of her apartment unit last month. “But if they didn’t post the sign, you wouldn’t know and they’re giving you a choice of if you want to stay in the place or not.” The signs — common in Santa Monica apartment complexes — are mandated under Proposition 65, also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986\. The ballot initiative was passed to protect Californians against hazardous materials that can cause cancer and reproductive harm. Prop 65 warnings are often found in cleaning products, tableware and buildings. In rental heavy Santa Monica, the signs can commonly be found in apartment buildings, which could contain cancerous chemicals in the paint, in the household cleaning products used by the residents and in the exhaust of the cars in the parking garages. The state initiative requires that any business that has more than 10 employees must post a warning sign in their establishment as long as the building contains hazardous materials found in a list of cancerous chemicals released by the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment every year. The list includes everything from alcoholic beverages to airborne ceramic fibers. In the case of apartments, the landlord would be obligated to affix a sign to their property if they employ more than 10 people, which could include the landscaping staff, an on-site manager, and even the building cleaning crew, said Debra Carlton, the vice president of public affairs for the California Apartment Association, which represents 50,000 rental property owners and management companies statewide. “If you believe or make the assumption you may have chemicals on property that have been identified by the state of California as contributing to cancer or birth defects, you have to post,” Carlton said last week. The most common cancerous chemicals found in apartments that cause the property owner to post a sign includes car exhaust, swimming pool chemicals and tobacco smoke. “In some cases, where it’s small amounts, it’s considered to be safe,” said Sam Delson, spokesman for the state Office of Environmental and Public Health. “But if it’s above those thresholds, then it’s the obligation (of the owner) to provide some kind of warning.” The warning signs don’t seem to deter prospective tenants on the Westside. Irma Vargas is one of the owners of RST Property Management Services, which oversees 200 buildings on the Westside, most of which are concentrated in Los Angeles. The signs were posted shortly after a class action lawsuit was filed about five years ago when many apartment owners were sued for not notifying their residents about cancerous chemicals that could be found in the buildings. The lawsuit was settled out of court, with the apartment owners prevailing, Vargas said. “When I first put them out in the very beginning, I got a number of calls,” Vargas said. “Since then, nothing.” The warning signs don’t seem to pose much of a problem for Carl Lambert, who owns a dozen buildings in the Santa Monica and LA area. When Lambert first started posting the signs a few years ago, he thought his phone would ring off the hook with concerns from tenants. The phone remained silent. The signs are posted in his buildings because of the asphalt in the roofing materials, household products and exhaust from the cars in the parking garage. “It’s bureaucracy run wild,” remarked Lambert, the president of the Action Apartment Association. “It’s like (warning) drinking alcohol may cause you to get drunk.” For Ortiz, what ultimately made her decide to stay in the Marine Street apartment is its location, situated just a few blocks away from the beach. Her neighbors don’t seem to mind the sign. “You don’t have a choice,” said Ryan Thompson, whose last apartment, in Beverly Hills, exhibited the same sign. “Every place I’ve seen has them.” Still, the regulation has fostered confusion for prospective tenants unaware of the law. “What’s confusing to applicants is they come to one property, file an application and ask questions about the Prop 65 warning,” Carlton said. “They go across the street and see no Prop 65 warning and can’t figure out why.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 11, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/101107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)