Rancho Palos Verdes residents affected by land movement to receive emergency funds

The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council approved $2.8 million in landslide relief funds to some 280 homeowners affected, if not devastated. by recent land movement and utility shutoffs.

The affected area on the Palos Verdes Peninsula has been part of a decades-long, slow-moving landslide. Last year's spring rains greatly accelerated land movement, leaving homes and streets cracked and ripped apart, forcing some to evacuate. City leaders called the situation "unprecedented."

Both Southern California Edison and SoCalGas elected to terminate services to clusters of homes at different stages as determined by worsening land movement.  

Since the end of July, hundreds of homes in Rancho Palos Verdes have had their utility services cut off. Some homeowners in the affected area don't have any visual signs of destruction but had to scramble after their utilities were shut off.

"We apologize for this unexpected disruption of service. This dynamic situation requires we take immediate action to protect public safety," SoCalGas said in a July statement.

In early September, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Since then, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn's office provided $5 million in landslide relief funding. A little over half of that is going to homeowners – up to $10,000 to each affected property owner.

The funds could be used to cover a variety of critical expenses such as purchasing supplies, home repairs, temporary housing and other related costs.

The remaining $2.2 million from the supervisor's office will be used to bolster the city's ongoing landslide response and stabilization efforts, according to the city.

Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank said the emergency grants will bring long-overdue immediate assistance to those whose lives have been upended by land movement and utility shutoffs.

"Our community has faced unfathomable challenges in the face of this landslide disaster, and it's critical that we swiftly deploy this funding to support our residents who have been most impacted," Cruikshank said.

Individual grants will be made available to homeowners in the Portuguese Bend Community Association, Seaview and Portuguese Bend Beach Club neighborhoods.

Also at Tuesday's council meeting, geologists delivered a small glimmer of hope, saying while the landslide is still moving, it has decelerated from an average of 13 inches a week to 8 inches.