SIMI VALLEY : County Gets Maps of Slide-Prone Areas

State maps identifying landslide-prone areas in and near Simi Valley were presented to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors for its review Tuesday.

The maps, copies of which were previously distributed to county and city planners, cover 100 square miles of undeveloped hillsides between Moorpark and the Santa Susana Pass, said Pamela J. Irvine, a geologist with the state Department of Mines and Geology.

“The main purpose of the maps is to provide local governments with information for land-use planning,” she said. “The goals are to reduce property losses and improve public safety.”

Irvine said her agency was authorized by the Legislature in 1984 to analyze areas of rapid growth in hilly or mountainous terrain. She said that is why Simi Valley was chosen for this study.

Jim Lightfoot, a Simi Valley planning official, said one of the areas identified in the maps as most prone to landslides is within the boundaries of the proposed Whiteface development project, which would include more than 1,400 houses. The site is north of city limits between Erringer and Tapo Canyon roads.

However, Lightfoot said the developer was aware of the potential geological problems and is investigating ways to offset them, such as special grading techniques. The Planning Commission is scheduled to hold the first public hearing on the Whiteface project Oct. 23.

Other landslide-prone areas identified in the maps include portions of hillsides on the far west end of the city between Madera Road and the Moorpark Freeway. Numerous slopes south of the city between the Moorpark Freeway and Stearns Street are also considered unstable. The majority of the hazardous areas are outside the city limits, where there is little or no development.

“We don’t zone areas that are already developed because we don’t know what has been done to stabilize slope stability problems,” Irvine said.

She said similar maps covering 130 square miles of hillsides between Moorpark and Santa Paula should be completed by the end of the year.

The Simi Valley maps are not expected to be available for public review for several weeks because additional copies have not been made, Irvine said.