Rancho Palos Verdes city council to discuss landslide buyback – NBC Los Angeles

City leaders in Rancho Palos Verdes will meet on Tuesday to discuss the next steps as more homes in the area are red tagged following a buyout offer made a couple of weeks ago.

Officials are slated to discuss the upcoming rains that will batter the area Saturday through next Monday and when eligible homeowners can begin moving through the escrow process.

Last month on Oct. 29, the city announced the $42 million program at a special town hall meeting. The program is backed by The Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Homeowners in the Greater Portuguese Bend and Seaview landslide were eligible. FEMA allocated funding as part of disaster declaration stemming from winter storms between Jan. 31 and Feb. 9.

Eighty five eligible buyback applications were submitted. Of those, 18 properties have been red tagged (unsafe to occupy) and 34 have been yellow tagged (habitable but unsafe under certain conditions).

The city will spend an estimated $43.6 million. It anticipates the review and selection process will take at least several months.

Properties purchased by the city through this program will be permanently converted to open space and deed-restricted, protecting the community from future redevelopment risks in these vulnerable areas.

The overall rate of movement has slowed from earlier this year in September by 76%, however, the land is still shifting by approximately 3.3 inches every week. 

The city’s recent dewatering efforts and a dry summer played a large role in the slowdown.