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Rancho Palos Verdes wants to ban new construction in the landslide area — again
Southern California Edison workers on Exultant Drive in the Seaview neighborhood of Rancho Palos Verdes.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
)
It looks like Mother Nature will win again in Rancho Palos Verdes.
City officials are looking to permanently ban new construction in the Portuguese Bend area, where landslides have damaged hundreds of homes — and threaten many more.
City officials are holding a town hall Wednesday to seek residents’ input. But little will be surprising. After all, we’ve been here before.
Here’s a brief recap.
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The backstory
The peninsula is known for its breathtaking views — and an unstable geography that has been shifting and sliding for more than 250,000 years, albeit very, very slowly.
That didn't matter when the peninsula was largely undeveloped. But, the more aggressive geological movements started after World War II.
That’s when the peninsula experienced a housing boom and when Los Angeles County attempted to extend Crenshaw Boulevard toward the coastline in 1956.
The construction contributed to land shifts and fissures that measured around 20 feet in just over six months, from September 1956 to April 1957.
Still, construction continued.
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Why it matters now
The next big shift took place nearly 20 years later, when very heavy rains came in 1978. Water-soaked landslides measured about 40 feet a year at one point. The city managed to slow some of it down with wells that pumped water out of the ground and whisked it away.
Rancho Palos Verdes would ban new construction in 1978. Then, came a lawsuit in 2002 stating that the city had restricted development too much. Although a judge initially ruled in favor of the city, an appeals court overturned the ruling, paving the way for new construction on some empty lots.
What happens next
Today, some of those very same homes are uninhabitable.
The city has also initiated a voluntary property buyout program with federal taxpayer funds, and it plans to tear down some of the damaged homes and restore the land to open space.
How to weigh in
City officials will share more information about the proposed moratorium and answer resident questions at a town hall Wednesday.
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The town hall is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday — in person at the Ladera Linda Park Community Center, 32201 Forrestal Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes, and via Zoom.
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