Environment |

As coastal bluffs collapse, costs mount for repairs, prevention

Had the most recent San Clemente landslide simply dumped debris onto the beach, as hillsides have done for millions of years, few people would take notice.

But the massive pile of dirt fell down the slope behind a condominium complex onto a city-owned bridge built 20 years ago as part of its 2.3-mile coastal path. And then, on Jan. 24, the hillside dumped onto the Orange County Transportation Authority’s rail line, leaving passengers stranded as services, for the fifth time in three years, were halted through the coastal town.

The seven-unit condo complex is sound, according to the HOA’s engineers, because it is set back on the bluff.

So whose responsibility is it to ensure landslides don’t damage public infrastructure? And where does the money come from for recovery? It’s a complex puzzle officials are trying to untangle – and a question they may continue to grapple with as rain soaks hillsides, especially if storms become more frequent in coming years, as climate change experts believe.

The potential for eroding of the hillside at this location was recognized by the city engineers who designed the Mariposa Bridge with expectations that small amounts of debris would fall under it and naturally replenish the beach.

Orange County Transportation Authority also knew it was a vulnerable area, noting in the 2021 “OCTA Rail Defense Against Climate Change Plan” that the steep ground in the area “has historically experienced surficial erosion, sloughing, landslides and general landward retreat, which is likely to continue, which threaten the serviceability of the existing railway infrastructure.”

San Clemente officials in 2022 sent a letter asking the condo complex’s homeowners association to “repair and secure” the hillside following a previous bluff failure in 2019, which damaged the pedestrian bridge and closed it for months.

The city was going to begin the process of designing and constructing a new pedestrian bridge and wanted the slope repaired before it started construction to prevent any future damage to the new structure, the letter said.

“It is impossible to predict the timing and scale of a subsequent slope failure,” the letter said. “However, based on the observed slope conditions, it appears that further slope failure may continue.”

Resident Mike Laubach, who sits on the homeowner’s association board, said they had been in talks with the city for years, but no concrete plans were made because the city was trying to figure out its long-term plans to replace the bridge.

The replacement project was delayed when the funds allocated for the bridge were diverted to fix the historic Casa Romantic building and its crumbling slope after a landslide there last year.

“They never got back to us, we figured they were busy with other landslides,” Laubach said, noting there had been several changes in city positions in recent years and that could have led to missed communication between the HOA and the city.

Laubach also said all the parties – from the city to the railroad representatives – have now been working together and ultimately the engineers and geologists will determine the best course of action. Councilman Chris Duncan also said the building’s homeowner’s association is being cooperative.

“We’re relying on the smart people,” Laubach said.

In the Casa Romantica slide last year, Duncan noted roles were reversed. It was city-owned property that threatened a private apartment building and halted rail service.

All the parties were able to work together amicably, he said. “That was the best way to resolve it.”

As soaked slopes continue to slip across the region, with recent landslides causing property damage in San Clemente, Newport Beach and Palos Verdes  – what can be done to foresee future problems or fix hillsides in danger of collapsing?

In nearby Dana Point, which has a chronic problem of landslides along Pacific Coast Highway near Palisades Drive, workers were busy over the last week clearing debris from railings set out to try and prevent dirt spilling onto the highway. Sandbags that had wear and tear were replaced, said Public Works Director Matt Sinacori.

Each year ahead of the rain season, the city sends letters to every bluff owner to remind them to pay attention to water use on their property and discourages automated irrigation. There are recommendations for planting landscaping known to hold bluffs in place, Sinacori said.

“We want to partner with the community on making sure we’re all paying attention,” he said.

In dealing with past landslides, property owners, insurance companies and the city all have to work together, he noted.

“It ends up being a mixed bag,” Sinacori said. “It’s not really an easy question to answer. It depends on the circumstance and every circumstance is different.”

San Clemente tries to be proactive in reducing the potential for landslides by addressing landscaping and drainage requirements, said City Manager Andy Hall. Also, there are building regulations and the city works to implement those regulations to the extent possible.

“Still, there are situations that will result in landslides regardless of the preparation,” he said. “We are still reviewing the situation to determine who should be financially responsible and whether any code enforcement actions are necessary and warranted.”

Over the past three years, San Clemente’s eroding bluffs – on both city and private property – have repeatedly forced the closure of the rail line, which had “operated largely uninterrupted for more than 125 years,” according to OCTA.

“Once again, a vital stretch of Southern California’s rail infrastructure has been forced to close because of slope failures on private property above the railroad,” OCTA officials said in a statement.  “We will continue that work, collaborating with local, state and federal partners, to find solutions for the longer term, even as we are forced to respond to these emergencies to keep rail traffic, and the people who rely on it, moving.”

On Thursday, the state issued an official emergency declaration for the landslide, allowing OCTA to access up to $10 million in emergency funding toward protecting the tracks and restoring passenger service.

OCTA and the state have already spent $27.7 million responding to landslides in San Clemente in recent years.

The cost to secure the tracks and put up a barrier wall on the south end of town at the private community of Cyprus Shores following landslides in 2022 was $21.7 million, with $8 million in OCTA funds paying for initial track stabilization work. The remaining $13.7 million came mostly from a mix of federal and state funds.

Following the Casa Romantica slide last year, OCTA footed $3 million of the costs and the state spent $3 million in Interregional Transportation Improvement Program funds to do repairs and put up another retaining wall.  That doesn’t include the $8.5 million the city has spent to secure the slope below the city-owned historic building, funds diverted from the long-planned Mariposa Bridge replacement project.

“Unfortunately, we have to respond to each of these private property slope failures on a case-by-case basis,” OCTA  spokesman Eric Carpenter said.  “We are in communication with state partners who understand the urgency and have been a strong partner in responding to the issues of track protection through coastal Orange County.”

The priority at the moment is to get service running again as soon as possible and the recovery of costs will be determined at a later point, Carpenter said.

“Each area that can potentially impact the rail line is different and will need to be addressed separately,” he said.

A OCTA-led resiliency study started last year will develop recommendations to consider for each of the areas that are most vulnerable, he noted.

Many of the town’s homeowners don’t have the means to pay millions to secure the slopes, Duncan noted. “We can ask them to, or demand them to, but that’s not going to stop the landslide from coming down the hillside.”

Just a short distance away, where a landslide occurred in North Beach last year, slabs of concrete, parts of a patio and other remnants of the slide remain on the hill. The city won’t go in and clean up the debris because it is private property, Duncan said.

Even if the HOA or homeowners are asked to foot the bill, which could be in the millions, would they have the means?

“The short answer: No,” said Laubach.

“I have no idea what the charge would even be,” he said. “We do have some reserves, but you keep burning through them because of things like this.”

Not only does the HOA pay annually for a geologist to assess the building, which has regularly come back saying it is sound, but it has also paid thousands for tarping to try and keep the slope in place during this week’s storm.

“We’re just trying to keep afloat,” Laubach said. “I know the insurance doesn’t cover it.”

“That’s why we’re all trying to wait and see,” he said. “No one seems to know anything.”

Neighbors, too, are curious about the situation.

“They could be next,” he said. “There’s not a lot to say, we’re just waiting. No one really knows anything to share.

“Only Mother Nature knows.”