Palmdale Settles 11 Claims, but Flood-Damage Fight Continues

To many people, the heavy rains that pelted Southern California several months ago were a blessing that helped stave off the worst of the drought. But to dozens of Antelope Valley families and the city of Palmdale, the so-called March miracle brought misery and mud.

More than three months after two downpours sent storm waters rushing through the community of Quartz Hill, flooding more than 40 homes, the victims are angrily blaming adjoining Palmdale for the damage, and the two sides may be headed for a costly legal battle.

Last week, Palmdale settled some of the 61 flood claims seeking more than $1.4 million in damages from the city. In two days, the city settled 11 claims for $27,318 and plans to continue making offers this week.

Many of the settled claims were among the smaller ones, with the settlements close to what residents demanded. In accepting payments, homeowners give up their right to sue the city. But some residents who blame the flooding on improper drainage in nearby Palmdale tracts are considering a lawsuit to force the city to both pay compensation and improve the flood-control system.

In addition, the flooding revived controversial city and county plans to tax all Antelope Valley landowners, perhaps up to several hundred dollars a year each, for costly flood-control projects.

Most of the flood-control basins that overflowed or gave way belonged to tract developers. But the homeowners are bringing claims against the city on grounds that it should have required the developers to construct better flood controls.

It may sound odd that the sandy high desert is beset by flooding problems while the state suffers from its fifth year of drought.

But longtime residents say flooding is a longstanding problem that has been made worse by rapid development in recent years.

“We have, for many years, had flood problems here,” Palmdale Councilman Joe Davies said at a City Council meeting last week. Davies recalled seeing people taking boat rides through the flooded streets of Lancaster in past years, and similar problems in Palmdale.

Lancaster and Palmdale were once small desert towns, but the lure of low-cost housing drew so many new residents that the cities now have a combined population of 180,000.

Construction of expensive flood-control projects lagged far behind the pace of development. Officials in Palmdale and the county, which governs unincorporated areas such as Quartz Hill, say they have built only a fraction of the projects detailed in their flood plans.

In the immediate aftermath of the March flooding, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who represents the area, accused Palmdale officials of ignoring the county’s warnings about potential flood problems there.

A flood-control plan passed by county supervisors in 1987 called for more than $500 million in flood-control projects for the Antelope Valley, which were to be financed with fees imposed on developers. But a county report in April said the county had collected only $4.7 million thus far.

Palmdale has a $340-million flood-control plan to be supported by developer fees, but thus far the city has collected only $1.8 million, and the slump in the housing market has reduced the flow of revenues.

As a result, Antonovich and the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale agreed to explore extending to the high desert the county’s flood-control district, which could tax residents to pay for the projects.

But the plan to assess owners of existing homes and property probably will get a cold reception if talks reach the money stage. Even residents of Quartz Hill--where damage in March was heaviest--forced the county in 1989 to abandon a $107-million assessment plan officials suggested for the area.

Dale Valdivia, a Northrop Corp. engineer who has lived in Quartz Hill since 1988, said his neighbors in the semi-rural area never had severe flooding problems until big developers such as Kaufman & Broad built hundreds of residences on higher ground to the south in Palmdale.

Now, Valdivia and others whose homes were flooded in March are blaming the city of Palmdale and nearby developers for not installing adequate drainage. And they say they want the city and the developers to make the improvements needed to prevent future flooding.

In recent months, Valdivia and other flood victims have been meeting weekly and attending City Council meetings to chide council members for inaction, wearing T-shirts that depict a house with water spilling out its windows. Valdivia says the number of families damaged was about 80, twice the official estimate.

Palmdale council members insist the city wants to settle the flood claims, has been moving as quickly as possible to do so and intends to try to remedy the area’s problems.

“I believe we’re truly re-evaluating our approach,” Councilman Jim Ledford said.

Palmdale officials have said they are negotiating for financial contributions from the county, Kaufman & Broad and others. But beyond that, because of the threat of lawsuits, they have been silent on responsibility for the flooding or what specifically the city plans to do.

Eileen Rose, a spokeswoman for Kaufman & Broad--one of the state’s largest home builders--said the developer has been cooperating with the city and plans to contribute money to help pay the claims. Rose said she could not discuss whether the developer’s project was to blame.

In the first storm, which dumped nearly four inches of rain on the Quartz Hill area between Feb. 27 and March 1, the county report said five flood-control basins serving tracts in Palmdale failed, including one at Kaufman & Broad’s California Chateau project that apparently flooded the others, causing them to fail too.

The rainfall in that period was about half of the area’s average for an entire year. A subsequent storm on March 26-27 added two inches more. In both cases, residents reported torrents of water rushing through their neighborhoods.

Residents said the water reached depths of eight inches or more inside homes, covering carpets and personal belongings with silt and mud. Outside, the rushing water cut channels in unpaved streets, tore up concrete, eroded yards and covered them with silt and mud.

“We’re four months past the time it happened, and my wife and I are still washing . . . our furniture,” said Mike Penland, who said he and his wife were forced to stay in a motel long after the flooding ended because of the damage to their home.

“Until you live in it, you have absolutely no concept of what it’s like to go through this,” said Penland, whose insurance company has filed a $275,000 claim against Palmdale, the second largest of the flood claims thus far.

Many residents said their insurance did not cover the flood damage.

John and Virginia Jones of Quartz Hill filed a $500,000 claim, the largest thus far, saying the flooding made their property worthless. Paraclete High School, a Catholic girls’ school, filed the third largest claim, for $100,000, saying its athletic fields were ruined.

Two weeks after the second storm, the Palmdale City Council hired the Los Angeles engineering firm of Daniel Mann Johnson & Mendenhall for $33,000 to investigate drainage problems and to determine specifically what caused the failures of the flood basins.

The study was supposed to have been completed by now. But Palmdale City Administrator Bob Toone said last week that it is incomplete and will not be made public until after the city settles most of the claims.

Flood victims have accused the city of suppressing the report, a charge the city denies.

Palmdale Finance Director Bill Ramsey said the 61 flood claims filed against the city are by far the most for any single incident he could recall. Those claims boosted the city’s total number of claims for all causes through May of this year to 84, compared to 30 for the first five months last year.

Immediately after the flooding, the city did settle a few of the earliest claims, paying $4,416 total to five people. But as the claims began to mount, the city halted payments and made no more until last week.