Land Movement Updates | Rancho Palos Verdes, CA (2024)

Since Spring 2023, the City has seen a significant increase in land movement in the neighborhoods of Seaview, Portuguese Bend Beach Club and Portuguese Bend Community Association, which has resulted in roadway damage and the red-tagging of two homes on Dauntless Drive near Exultant Drive in June 2023 and August 2023.

In these neighborhoods, the City has also seen utility impacts, including broken water and gas distribution pipes, displaced sanitary sewer collection pipes and leaning utility poles. Land movement caused the temporary closure of Wayfarers Chapel, a federal and state designated historic landmark. Due to worsening land movement, on July 29, 2024, SoCalGas discontinued gas service to 135 homes in the Portuguese Bend community.

Recent land movement in these areas is due to their proximity to a complex of ancient landslides on the south side of the City. The acceleration in movement is believed to be primarily due to heavy winter rainfall resulting in surface water percolating into the ground and lubricating the bentonite soil condition.

While the City continues to closely monitor the conditions and conduct inspections requested by property owners, no evacuations of homes in the area are needed at this time.

The rate of land movement has increased significantly. The identified areas of landslide movement are now moving approximately 88 times faster than in October 2022. The entire active landslide complex has expanded from 380 acres to 680 acres. Read the most recent GPS monitoring data reports.

The City has taken a number of steps since Spring 2023 to immediately address the land movement, including but not limited to:

• Declared a state of local emergency in October 2023. This bolsters the City’s ongoing response and allows staff to request state and federal assistance to address the landslide activity. The emergency declaration is active as of August 2024.
• Coordinated with public safety agencies, utilities, and community partners to monitor the activity and prepare for responses. The City requested that Cal Waterdeploy automatic pipeline leak detection technology at strategic locations to identify leaks immediately. Cal Water has also moved some water pipelines above ground in highly impacted neighborhoods.
• Temporarily closed approximately 8 miles of trailswithin the Portuguese Bend, Abalone Cove, Filiorum, and Forrestal Reserves.
• Formed a working group of stakeholders to address issues related to the land movement and keep channels of communication open. The Working Group meets virtually every Wednesday. Meeting information and notes are available on the RPV Landslide Complex Working Group page.
• Hired a geotechnical engineering firm to conduct additional field observations tosurvey the land movement, detect rates of movement and identify landslide boundaries.
• Directed the City’s Building and Safety Division to conduct regular street-level visual checks in the impacted neighborhoods to monitor any new movement, as well as perform home inspections on request.
• Filled landslide fissures and repaired roadway damage as needed.
• Coordinated with theAbalone Cove Landslide Abatement District (ACLAD) and the Klondike Canyon Landslide Abatement District (KCLAD) to installseven new dewatering wells in the landslide complex area, including four funded by the City.
• Adopted an urgency ordinance to put a moratorium on new construction in the landslide complex that may contribute to the land movement. The City Council approved the moratorium on October 3, 2023 and on November 14, 2023, extended it through October 3, 2024. The California Department of Housing and Community Development approved the moratorium.
• Implemented water restrictions for all properties in the landslide complex.

The Emergency Hydraugers Project involves the installation of two horizontally-drilled dewatering wells to extract water underground in the Portuguese Bend Landslide complex to slow the land movement. Each hydrauger consists of an array of five directionally-drilled drains that extend up to about 1,200 feet, plus temporary water storage tanks and drainage discharge lines, as shown in the diagram below.

On May 7, 2024, the City Council approved construction contracts for the two hydraugers. One will be installed near Burma Road at the north end of the landslide complex where it will intercept water at higher elevations. The other well will be installed on the south end, at the toe of the landslide, and will relieve artesian pressure (pressure that forces groundwater to the surface without pumping). That well will be located in one of two potential locations: in the Portuguese Bend Beach Club near Yacht Harbor Drive and Seawall Road, or in the turnout area along Palos Verdes Drive South formerly known as “Gateway Park.”

The hydrauger on the south side will be drilled first, and the hydrauger on the north side will be drilled second. Construction of each is expected to last 6-8 weeks.

The City regularly inspects Palos Verdes Drive South (PVDS) for land movement damage and conducts repairs as needed to keep the road safe. With road conditions worsening recently due to land movement, particularly in the area known as the “ski jump” near Altamira Canyon, the City is developing plans to regrade portions of PVDS.

This regrading project may require a temporary closure of PVDS. In the event of a temporary closure, staff is exploring ways to minimize the disruption to traffic through the potential use of off-peak construction hours and detours. PVDS typically accommodates approximately 16,000 daily trips.

A construction plan is being developed and will be presented to the City Council at a future date.

The City has prioritized and expedited the Portuguese Bend Landslide Remediation Project, a long-term effort to slow the Portuguese Bend Landslide by removing water trapped deep underground and preventing future rainwater percolation through surface drainage swales and fissure filling. In February 2024, the City Council authorized staff to expedite the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which is expected to go before the Council this spring.

The Portuguese Bend Landslide Remediation Project is a long-term effort to slow the Portuguese Bend Landslide. Planned since 2017, the project would remove water trapped deep underground and prevent rainwater from entering the ground in the future. This would be achieved through a combination of the following project components:

• Infilling fissures in the earth to prevent rainwater from entering the ground and contributing to movement
• Creating a surface drainage system using materials reflective of the surrounding environment and planted with native vegetation to convey rainwater to the ocean and prevent it from percolating underground
• Installing hydraugers (horizontal dewatering wells) to extract water trapped deep underground

The project has been modeled to reduce land movement to 1-2 inches per year and drastically reduce the threat of sudden movement that could result in the failure of Palos Verdes Drive South, a major road connecting the Peninsula and the City of Los Angeles.

City staff continues to work toward completion of the Portuguese Bend Landslide Remediation Project’s Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which is expected to go before the City Council this Spring. A Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the project was released in February 2023.

The estimated cost of the project is $33 million. In 2023, the City was selected as a candidate for a $23.3 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help fund the project. The City is working to identify funding opportunities for roughly $10 million needed in non-federal matching funds from state and local representatives and agencies.

Read more about the Portuguese Bend Landslide Remediation Project.

The Portuguese Bend Landslide is part of a larger complex of ancient landslides on the south side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It was reactivated in 1956 by Los Angeles County’s planned extension of Crenshaw Boulevard and has been moving ever since, becoming one of the largest continuously active landslides in the U.S. and moving homes by hundreds of feet over the years.

The land moves because of the dynamics of surface water percolating into the ground and water trapped deep underground, sliding as much as 8.5 feet per year. The City spends approximately $1 million annually resurfacing a portion of Palos Verdes Drive South that is continuously shifting and cracking due to the landslide. The Abalone Cove Landslide Abatement District’s operation of dewatering wells in the Portuguese Bend Community Association over the past two decades has essentially managed land movement in this neighborhood until recently.

In 2017, the City restarted efforts to explore options for long-term stabilization, forming a City Council Subcommittee to begin a collaborative effort with the community, holding public workshops and hiring a consultant to conduct a feasibility study. The City Council approved a concept for the Portuguese Bend Landslide Remediation Project based on the feasibility study in 2019.

Given the large size of the landslide complex and its long history of slow-moving behavior, there is not believed to be a risk of a sudden catastrophic landslide.

Per Ready.Gov, if you are worried about land movement on your property, look for signs of potential land activity, such as cracks or bulges in the ground, street pavement, or sidewalks; soil moving away from foundations; tilting of patios or foundations; broken water lines; or leaning telephone poles, trees, walls, or fences. Watch for slow-moving landslides, or earthflows, that pose threats to property:

• Changes occur in your landscape such as patterns of storm-water drainage on slopes (especially the places where runoff water converges) land movement, small slides, flows, or progressively leaning trees.
• Doors or windows stick or jam for the first time.
• New cracks appear in plaster, tile, brick or foundations.
• Outside walls, walkways or stairs begin pulling away from the building.
• Slowly developing, widening cracks appear on the ground or on paved areas such as streets or driveways.
• Underground utility lines break.
• Bulging ground appears at the base of a slope.
• Water breaks through the ground surface in new locations.
• Fences, retaining walls, utility poles, or trees tilt or move.
• The ground slopes downward in one direction and may begin shifting in that direction under your feet.

For urgent matters or observation of any sudden shifts on your property, please call 9-1-1.

You may consider hiring a geologist to review the conditions of your property. Please note that the City’s geologist does not conduct site visits of private property that is not part of a development permit application. While the City does not make referrals or recommendations, the Building and Safety Division maintains a list of geotechnical engineers who work in the area, which is available on request. The Building and Safety Division can be reached at 310-544-5280 or BuildingSafety@RPVca.gov.

In addition to keeping an emergency supply kit, evacuation packing list and having a plan for your family, make sure you are signed up for Alert SouthBay emergency alerts by texting “alertrpv” to 888-777 or registering at AlertSouthBay.com. Get familiar with the Peninsula cities’ new Know Your Zone evacuation information platform. Go to PVPready.gov to find your zone number, then save it in your phone or write it down and keep it somewhere that’s easy to find in an emergency, such as on your refrigerator or near the front door. In an emergency, such as a landslide or wildfire, check the zone map at PVPready.gov to see if your zone is under an evacuation warning or order.

News reports underscore that land movement-related damages are not usually covered by most homeowners insurance policies. Now may be a good time to re-read your policy. While understanding the nuances of your insurance coverage is essential, generally, homeowners insurance policies in California offer coverage for accidental physical loss to property, but with certain exclusions and limitations. Standard exclusions often include damages from floods, earth movements, earthquakes, landslides, mudflows, etc. You may have read that a specialized difference in conditions (DIC) policy can secure coverage against land movement. However, it is City staff’s understanding that these policies are nearly impossible to find, available only from large brokers who sell commercial insurance, extremely expensive, and/or may not be currently available in Southern California. Please note that these DIC policies are different from DIC policies that are paired with FAIR Plan policies to fill gaps in coverage. Residents are encouraged to visit the California Department of Insurance's website with any homeowners insurance questions or contact the agency at 1-800-927-4357.

The City received State and Federal disaster declarations in February and April 2024. Under the federal disaster declaration,low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available to California businesses and residents affected by the severe winter storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides and mudslides that occurred Jan. 31 – Feb. 9. A Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center is available to answer questions about SBA’s disaster loan program, explain the application process, and help complete applications.

Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center

Monday – Friday (5 days/week)

8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

FOCWAssistance@sba.gov

916-735-1501

The deadline to apply for property damage is July 16, 2024. The deadline to apply for economic injury is Feb. 18, 2025. For more information and to apply, visitsba.gov/disaster.

The federal disaster declaration also provides public assistance for local government agencies’ emergency response and recovery costs.

The City will continue to monitor and communicate any other future opportunities for individual assistance. To reduce barriers and costs for Rancho Palos Verdes homeowners, the City has waived all permitting fees and is expediting projects to repair property damage from land movement.

If you believe that your property value warrants review due to a decline in market value, you may file an application for Decline-in-Value Review by the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office.

The annual Decline-in-Value filing period is July 2 through November 30.

California’s Proposition 13 established the base year value for property tax assessment. It also caps the growth of a property’s assessed value at no more than 2% a year unless the market value of a property falls below the base year value.

In 1978, California voters passed Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that allows a temporary reduction in assessed value when a property suffers a “Decline-in-Value.” A Decline-in-Value occurs when the current market value of your property is less than the current assessed value as of January 1.

It is important to keep in mind that owners that experienced a reduction in property taxes in prior years, could see their property tax bill go up by more than 2% in markets where property values have increased. Property owners are encouraged to go to assessor.lacounty.gov/tax-relief/decline-in-value for more information about Decline-in-Value and how property value is assessed.

Additional L.A. County Assessor Resources

• L.A. County Assessor Presentation to Rancho Palos Verdes City Council (PDF)
• Tax Resources for Hard Times (PDF)
• Useful Resources for Homeowners (PDF)
• Misfortune and Calamity FAQ (PDF)
• ADS-820.2 M and C (PDF)
• ADS-820.3 Property Tax Deferral (No-Escrow) (PDF)

Out of an abundance of caution, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes has temporarily closed about 10.5 miles of trails in the Portuguese Bend, Abalone Cove, Filiorum, and Forrestal Reserves due to the potential for hazardous natural conditions associated with increased land movement. Conditions associated with the land movement include sinkholes, unstable trails and surfaces, erosion, steep cliffs, and falling rocks.

The trail closures follow the recommendations of the City’s geologist, who evaluated the area due to an increase in fissures and signs of land movement observed since late spring and early summer. A copy of the geologist’s September 2023 report is available on the City website.

Maps showing the trail closures are available on the City’s website.

The City is working with geologists and its land co-managers, including the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, and state and federal wildlife agencies, on solutions to restore public access, ensure public safety, and protect natural resources.