California, FEMA Offer $42 Million to Buy Out Rancho Palos Verdes Landslide Homes

A home damaged by land movement in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., on Sept. 3, 2024. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Local, state, and federal officials announced on Oct. 28 a $42 million voluntary home buyout program for hundreds of Rancho Palos Verdes residents who are slowly losing their homes to a fast-moving landslide.

The voluntary buyout program for property owners in the Greater Portuguese Bend landslide area is meant to help homeowners relocate by offering them a percentage of fair market value for their properties based on predisaster appraisals of Dec. 1, 2022, the city reported on Monday.

The program will be funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, according to the city.

If a property is selected, the city will buy it for a price determined by an appraisal. The FEMA grant will pay for 75 percent of it, and the property owners will effectively contribute the remaining 25 percent through a reduction in the property’s value, the city announced.

Properties acquired by the city will be permanently converted to open space with restrictions on the deeds, the city said.

The average home price in the wealthy coastal city was $1.84 million on Sept. 30, an increase of 2.2 percent over last year, according to national real estate company Zillow.

Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank thanked FEMA and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Office of Emergency Services in a statement on Monday.

“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,” Cruikshank said. “This buyout program provides a viable pathway forward for our most vulnerable community members, offering the opportunity to relocate and rebuild with meaningful compensation.”

Rancho Palos Verdes City Council members announced the program at a special town hall meeting on Monday night.

FEMA has two programs to respond to disasters, a spokesman told The Epoch Times on Tuesday. The funds set aside in FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Program are different from those reserved for disaster response, the spokesman said.

According to the city, FEMA allocated the funds based on the federally declared state disaster after last winter’s storms dumped massive amounts of rain and snow on the state between Jan. 31 and Feb. 9.

A cracked walkway outside Wayfarers Chapel, which was closed due to land movement after heavy rains, in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., on Feb. 16. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

More funding might become available in the future, the city reported.

The $42 million grant is the largest award received in the city’s history and comes at a time when the land movement in the area is slowing.

The City Council also approved $5 million in relief funding provided by Los Angeles County on Oct. 2, allowing it to provide up to $10,000 to each affected property owner.

Earlier this year, the city embarked on a program to remove water from the ground around the landslide area. The city continues to see promising signs that the land movement is slowing, according to Monday’s announcement.

“The deceleration is the result of dewatering efforts by the city, the Abalone Cove Landslide Abatement District, and the Klondike Canyon Landslide Abatement District, in combination with drier weather conditions,” the city said in a statement.

A sign is displayed outside Wayfarers Chapel following its closure in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., on Feb. 16. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Nearly 300 homeowners in the landslide area had been cut off from electricity, natural gas, and internet service in the past year as the ground movement increased.

About 28 had their electricity restored last week after studies showed the landslide had slowed.

Property owners interested in applying for the new buyout program must request an inspection from the city by the end of the workday on Nov. 4 and submit an application by Nov. 8.