San Clemente city officials said a close eye is being kept on a steep slope under Casa Romantica, where several inch-wide cracks found were expanding on the historic landmark’s terrace overlooking the ocean.
The casa, the former home of San Clemente’s founder Ole Hansen that’s now a cultural center, sits atop a steep bluff overlooking San Clemente Pier. Officials said the cracks were first discovered Sunday, April 16, but have expanded in size since then.
“Staff is closely monitoring the slope just west of Casa Romantica for movement and potential danger,” City Manager Andy Hall said. “There has been some recent change in the slope that warrants additional review and we are working with our geologist and engineers to determine the best course of action.”
Councilman Steve Knoblock said he’s visited the site and saw that the crack had expanded several inches from what was reported on Sunday.
“The crack extends from the south side up through the patio and the back of the casa for a distance of about 40 feet,” he said. “Most of that distance occurred in the last five days. The city is completing a geological study to see the quantity of earth movement.”
Soils engineers have also been assessing any potential threat to the train tracks below and movement detectors have been installed near the rail line and on the hillside, he said.
Knoblock added that city officials are also monitoring several apartment buildings north of the casa near the Pier Bowl parking lot.
Casa Romantica has cordoned its terrace off to visitors, but the building remained open as of Wednesday. Casa Romantica provides programs for all ages in arts, music, history, horticulture and literature and is a premier Southern California cultural center.
