Subject: landslide digest

Geologic Hazard Disclosure Laws: Why They Make Sense
May 30, 2006
by Stephen Cranney and Trevor Salter

The population of Utah County is projected to double in just 25 years,
1 creating tremendous demand for new housing. Such development is
often built close to the mountains. This land is often geologically
hazardous. Hazardous land is designated as such by state and federal
geologic agencies as having an increased risk of mudslides, floods,
earthquakes and other natural disasters. One recent example of the
risks associated with hazardous land development is the Cedar East
Townhomes subdivision in Cedar Hills, Utah County.

Nestled at the mouth of American Fork Canyon on a mountain bench,
Cedar Hills is one of the fastest growing Utah communities. The
demand for plots with scenic views has led to significant
construction along the foothills. In 2000 a geologic study of the
land designated for the Cedar East Townhomes subdivision found it
unsafe to build there. Another study done in 2002 contradicted that
report which highlights the inherent scientific uncertainty and, at
times, guesswork that is involved in hazardous land use decisions.
Nevertheless, the city gave developers permission to build. Having no
legal obligation to do so, the developers failed to notify the buyers
of potential risks due to geologic hazards making the inhabitants
unaware of the potential serious consequences of their purchase.

On April 28, 2004, a portion of a hillside above Cedar East Townhomes
began slowly moving down the hillside and into a fourplex. The
ensuing damage absorbed by the complex forced the evacuation of its
inhabitants and eventually necessitated the destruction of the
townhouses. The homeowners were reimbursed for their mortgages,
closing costs and temporary housing by the developers. While the
developers made admirable recompense to the homeowners, might the
homeowners be better served if the risks were disclosed to them
before they purchased? This article posits that mandatory disclosure
laws benefit all parties in real estate transactions - the seller,
buyer and the municipality that approves new subdivisions. A brief
historical review of real estate disclosure law will be followed by a
discussion of the universal benefits resulting from disclosure. The
question of scientific uncertainty will also be examined in the light
of disclosure laws. Finally, this article will present some specific
recommendations for the Utah State Legislature in considering
enacting disclosure statutes.
(More at website)

Morgan County group says councilman's votes were conflict of
interest
Sent to county attorney: Bart Smith rebuts the charges over
land deals
By Kristen Moulton The Salt Lake Tribune

Morgan County Councilman Bart Smith, accused by a group of residents
of violating county and state ethics codes, said Wednesday he has not
knowingly voted on issues in which he has a conflict of interest.

“It's frustrating. It's hard when your character gets
assassinated,” Smith said in a telephone interview. “If there was
anything done, it was out of ignorance or naiveté.”

During a council meeting Tuesday night, Mountain Green resident
Brad Hall asked the council to suspend and investigate Smith for what
Hall claimed were violations of ethics codes and a state bribery law.

The council declined to take action against Smith but referred
the matter to Morgan County Attorney Jann Farris for investigation.

Hall said he learned of Smith's alleged violations after he and
other residents of the Highlands West subdivision began pressing the
county to do something about a landslide that has destroyed one
luxury home and threatens two others - including Hall's - as well as
a county road, sidewalk, and water and electrical utilities.

Hall on Tuesday described Smith as the “principal developer” of
the subdivision.

Smith said, however, that he acted only as a consultant to
developer Brett Simonsen, who is his partner in other projects.
Smith's brother, Kirk Smith, was the initial developer of Highlands
West, but it was completed by Simonsen, he said.

What to do about the landslide is at the heart of one of Hall's
allegations.

He accused Smith of bribery and conflict of interest because
Smith met with Simonsen and representatives of Gardner Development of
Salt Lake City, including Rulon Gardner, concerning an offer by the
Gardners to give some lots to the county, or the revenue from lots,
in their proposed Cottonwoods project.

Residents Say They Were Unaware of Landslide Danger
April 23rd, 2006 @ 2:17pm

SOUTH WEBER, Utah (AP) -- Residents of a subdivision where a mudslide
destroyed a home and injured a four-year-old girl are saying they
were unaware that the hillside was designated as a landslide hazard.

However, the Highland View Estates subdivision the designation is
marked on the city's master plan in clear cross-hatching.

In 2001, South Weber leaders designated various parts of the city as
sensitive land. Those are areas where developers and residents need
to pay special attention when building. The designations included the
hillside above the Highland View Estates subdivision where the
mudslide occurred and extended along the entire southwest border of
the city.

Many residents say they were unaware of the potential danger, but
city officials say they need to read their contracts more closely.

Information from: Deseret Morning News www.deseretnews.com

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

On perilous terrain: Building in Utah's flood, landslide areas poses risks
By Doug Smeath, Deseret Morning News

US/Mountain Land Slipping In Mountain Green, Layton Areas
Apr 25, 2006 12:16 pm

SLIPPERY SLOPES: Landslide Crushes Utahns' Dreams, Homes
Re: Morgan County

Rapid growth in Utah in and around Salt Lake County has created a
hunger for land left to be developed. Whether that hunger has made
local officials less cognizant of historical problems with some land
is debatable, but homeowners in a small subdivision in Utah's Morgan
County are saying that hunger led to a bad decision. That bad
decision led to the approval of a subdivision that is sloughing off
the hillside, taking their homes and dreams, but not their mortgages
with it. [more]

Aid considered for slide victims
By Doug Smeath, Deseret Morning News

MOUNTAIN GREEN — As residents of a neighborhood built atop an
active landslide weigh their options — including talk of legal action
— Morgan County officials say they are taking a close look at just
what they can do to help.

Council discusses lawsuit and repairs
Carlsbad, California: In a closed-to-the-public meeting Tuesday
evening, City Council members reiterated their support for the
mediation process between the city and the La Costa de Marbella
Homeowners Association regarding the proposed repair work. Council
members emphasized, "Let's not be adversarial," Glenn Pruim, deputy
public works director, said Wednesday afternoon.

At the meeting, the council had two subjects to discuss related to
the slow-moving landslide, which in the last several months has torn
apart eight condos, a private roadway and the sidewalk along La Costa
Avenue east of El Camino Real.

The first topic before the council Tuesday evening was the mediation,
a debate over how extensive the city's repair work ought to be. The
second item was the lawsuit, filed June 28 by the owners of five of
the landslide-damaged condos in the 58-unit complex.

One attorney is representing the condominium homeowners' association
in the mediation effort, and another one is representing the
residents in their lawsuit.

Council to debate Marbella landslide assistance
By: BARBARA HENRY -
Staff Writer
CARLSBAD CA ---- The City Council will debate Tuesday whether to
spend $900,000 to make repairs along La Costa Avenue where a
landslide is destroying part of the Marbella condominium complex.

While the item is on the council's agenda, there is no legal
settlement yet between the city and the complex's homeowners
association, lawyers for both parties said Friday afternoon.

Landslide Victim Letter
Mr. Gerald Steiner
Fax: (714) 773-5409
February 21, 1998

Subject: Landslide Litigation

Dear Mr. Steiner,

I am a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit, “Walker versus Rancho Solano
Enterprises et al” -- a lawsuit filed because of non-disclosure of
known landslide potentials, serious landsliding, property damage,
property diminution of value, emotional distress, etc., etc...

A couple of weeks ago I read an article published in the Fairfield
Daily Republic by the Associated Press that told about your Website
and your involvement in a Landslide Litigation. I decided to “surf”
the web after hours and was truly shocked by your materials.

I felt as if some of my chronological summaries and letters of pain
and outrage were yours. I copied several pages of your material and
read them anxiously. I was outraged that there was this other group
of individuals suffering as we are. I was furious when I read how
you have and continue to be victimized by Developer's and your City
Government.

The similarity between your suit and ours is very direct and
significant except that we have not yet sued the City of
Fairfield ... only the Developer’s, Sub-Contractor’s, Sales Agents,
some Realtors, The Soils Engineers. Last month the Developers filed
suit against Aetna Casualty for not paying off claims. The City of
Fairfield may be named before this is over with.

Just like your case, the City of Fairfield signed off the
Environmental Impact Report which contains the same type of scary
verbiage about slopes, landslides, 3 earthquake faults that bi-sect
through the development of Rancho Solano (one previous earthquake
registered 7.8 on the Richter scale).

There is even a Geological Survey Landslide map that was released in
1987, one week before we purchased our property, that indicates there
are well over 100 landslide zones in Rancho Solano. Of course it was
never mentioned or included within the City or County records for the
Title Companies to see.

In Rancho Solano there has been some significant landslides where
streets have dropped off the side of the slope, one split down the
middle then raised un-evenly by several feet and drained 1000’s of
gallons of water. One house shifted and dropped significantly from
an underlain swale. Many springs have surfaced beneath homes or in
yards, foundations, sidewalks, and driveways. Interior walls are
cracking. Roofs and windows leak, which, many of us believe, is from
the unstable soils and resultant house settling.

Underground utilities are constantly being replaced. Water running
from yards, up through cracks in asphalt, is continuos year round
including summer. Cracks in driveways are numerous. Porches are
sinking and separating from some homes. Garage doors don't meet the
driveway floor evenly. One man's kitchen counter snapped away from
the wall during the night.

The hills look very threatening and homes are terraced and laced
throughout them. To date there has been only a few evacuated. I
believe that one home early on was quietly condemned and the people
paid off before others caught on to what was going on. It was later
sold to a salvage agency, and then sold again at less than half of
its original value.

Approximately, 18 months ago (after a couple of years of litigation
and seven suits merged together under a special master suit
pertaining to Rancho Solano) we went before the City Council and
asked that they allow the residents of Rancho Solano to borrow
$400,000.00 from the streets and landscape district to do another
Geological survey post development.

Results of the survey: Bad news... all areas were either unstable,
or marginally unstable.

So the defendants all fussed about the study which was put together
under the guidance of a special master assigned by the courts with an
un-biased soils engineering firm "Cotton & Shires Associates"
overseeing and leading the study.

So more studies were done. More bad news. In fact the more they
study, the worse things seem to look. By the way, David Rogers (U.C.
Berkeley) has also spoke with us and was retained for a period of
time by our attorney Chipman Miles of Miles & Brummitt of Walnut
Creek-Contra Costa County, Ca.

The Fairfield City Manager (whom did not sign the Environmental
Impact Report; he was not City Manager at the time) was fired within
a couple of weeks after speaking on our behalf at the Council
Meeting. He was instrumental in us getting the survey loan. The
City Attorney was also fired. It was in the newspapers for several
weeks, as the City would not disclose why they were fired, only that
there were significant differences and views on City Government
issues between him and a couple on the council members. The whole
circumstances were obviously stinky politics.

I literally began to feel ill, tense, and nauseous as I read your
materials. When I read about you and the other 240 families
suffering the same way as we have been I cried for you, I prayed for
you, and then I exercised for about 45 minutes to release the tension
and anger. I felt like I had the flu for a couple days. I awoke
with seething anger for the next few days. By the way I wake up
angry often but I remind myself as to why, and have learned to
meditate and focus the anger (perceived positively by others) into
projects at work or in the garden. You spoke how some in your suit
have died or divorced. Well I'm one of the divorced statistics in my
suit, the whole ordeal literally tore us apart and has affected our
health also. My ex-husband takes anti-depressants and I drink a lot
of Malox.

I decided to share your story with those residents that decided to
attend a recent townhall meeting. Attached is the letter I placed on
about 20 pages of your material. I had 80 copies made and passed
them all out.

Mr. Steiner, and your family, and friends, fight hard, stay determined.

Thank you so much for reaching out and sharing to those on the
Internet.

K.W.

CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
Tuesday, July 5, 2005 6:00 p.m.
Public Safety Building
3925 W Cedar Hills Drive, Cedar Hills, Utah

(more at website)

2. Noticed Agenda Items for this Regular Council Meeting
City Manager Report:
• There was a three-page proposal submitted to
David Bunker regarding the landslide reparation. The plan that was
submitted will be emailed to the Council

Slip Slidin' Away: Geologic Hazards Ordinance fueling dispute
Re: Colorado Springs
by Bob
Campbell
JUNE 29, 2000: City Council's recent approval of back-to-back agenda
items -- one to approve building more houses on a dormant landslide
and the other to pay off homeowners whose dwellings have recently
slid into oblivion -- suggests the shaping of a two-headed monster.

Regarding the problem of homes built on landslides, on the one hand
we have champions of absolute private property rights and, on the
other, those who want development subjected to greater regulatory
control.

Council seems to be caught somewhere in the middle, approving, in
this case, the interests of both.

(more at website)

MEREDITH CANYON HOMEOWNERS FILE TWO MORE SUITS AGAINST CITY
OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO AND PACIFIC POINT DEVELOPER
3/5/2002:
Homeowners whose homes were damaged during the 1998 Meredith Canyon
landslide filed in Orange County Superior Court Monday two additional
lawsuits against the City of San Juan Capistrano and the developer of
the Pacific Point residential project.

One of the lawsuits contends that the 256-acre Pacific Point
project has been "abandoned" by its developer, SJD Partners, Ltd.,
and SJD Development Corporation. Consequently, the suit states that a
$6.34 million surety bond secured by the developers ensuring
completion of the project grading must be used by the city to
stabilize the Meredith Canyon slope.

Landslide threat prompts owners to sue
Daly City, Calif. - Homeowners are threatening to sue the county to
force it to repair three surface landslides jeopardizing 20 homes at
the base of San Bruno Mountain, one of several slides causing
continued problems around the county in the wake of heavy spring rains.