WESTMINSTER : Residents May Sue City for Damages

The City Council will consider spending $20,000 to repair damaged curbs, gutters and sidewalks on three residential streets at its meeting tonight, but area homeowners who contend that shifting soil has caused structural damage to their homes say that the amount is not enough.

For months, residents of Bel Air Circle, Del Rey Circle and Bermuda Avenue have complained that unstable soil has resulted in cracks in the sidewalks, curbs and streets, as well as damage to their homes, including tilting floors, cracked foundations and doors that won’t shut. And they want the city to pay for repairs.

The city conducted soil tests last month which revealed that an organic, sandy silt material underneath two of the streets may have caused some natural shifting and sinking of the ground, according to a report prepared by Public Works Director Don Vestal.

The report also said that the city is responsible for the damaged curbs, gutters and sidewalks but that repairs to private property are the responsibility of the homeowners.

“We were very afraid that they were going to say that their responsibility ends at the sidewalk and that’s just not satisfactory to us,” said Faye Knapp, whose home on Bel Air Circle has suffered extensive damage since her family moved there in 1973.

Knapp said that suing the city for damages may be the only way for the residents to get their homes repaired.

“We really don’t want it to come to that,” Knapp said. “But if the city says they don’t have to do anything, we’ll have to see what the courts say. It’s not our objective to sue the city for money; we just want our homes repaired to a salable and safe condition. Right now, I don’t think they’re safe.”

In 1975, the city replaced portions of the curbs and gutters on Bel Air Circle and Del Rey Circle when similar problems arose.