$42 million buyout program offered to RPV homeowners

RPV landslide victims offered buyout

Rancho Palos Verdes homeowners in the Greater Portuguese Bend landslide area who have been plagued by shifting land underneath and around their homes are being offered part of a $42 million voluntary buyout Tuesday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council announced the program at a special town hall meeting on Monday and shared details of the program with FEMA and Cal OES representatives in attendance.

Slow-moving, ancient landslides in Rancho Palos Verdes have significantly accelerated since 2023 following two consecutive heavy rainy seasons that caused damage to homes, roads, and utilities, resulting in indefinite gas and electricity shutoffs for hundreds of residents, city officials said.

FEMA has allocated funding for this program based on the federally declared California disaster for the winter storms between Jan. 31 and Feb. 9, 2024.

"For the past two years, our residents have endured extraordinary hardships as a result of this landslide, with some facing the real prospect of losing their homes entirely," said Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank. "This buyout program provides a viable pathway forward for our most vulnerable community members, offering the opportunity to relocate and rebuild with meaningful compensation.

"On behalf of the entire city, I express my deep appreciation to FEMA and Cal OES for working with the city to establish this program. We understand the complexity and emotional weight of this for our residents and are committed to making the process as transparent and compassionate as possible."

Established with funding from FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, the Voluntary Property Buyout Program is intended to help eligible homeowners relocate to safer areas by offering a fair market value for their properties based on pre-disaster appraisals. Properties acquired by the city through this program will be permanently converted to open space and deed-restricted, protecting the community from future redevelopment risks in these vulnerable areas.

Property owners interested in applying for the buyout program must request a voluntary property inspection from the city by Monday at 5:30 p.m. and submit a completed program application by Nov. 8. Properties will be prioritized for selection based on factors such as safety concerns, structural condition and utility statuses.

If selected for a grant under the program, the city will purchase the property for a price determined by an appraisal that is based on the fair market value of the land on Dec. 1, 2022, prior to the acceleration of the landslide.

The FEMA grant will pay for 75% of the sale and property owners will contribute the remaining 25% through a reduction of the fair market value payment, city officials said. Property owners who have been selected to proceed with the purchase of their property may withdraw at any time prior to sale closing.

At closing, the property will be deed restricted as open space, and the city cannot sell it to private individuals or develop it.

Monday's announcement represents the largest grant amount in Rancho Palos Verdes' history and comes as the hillside community continues to see promising signs that the unprecedented land movement is slowing.

The deceleration in land movement is the result of dewatering efforts by the city, Abalone Cove Landslide Abatement District, and Klondike Canyon Landslide Abatement District, in combination with drier weather conditions, according to Rancho Palos Verdes officials.

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