LAGUNA BEACH : Slide Area Residents Asked to Sign Waiver

City officials have given a group of slide-affected homeowners until Friday to absolve the city from liability or the city will sharply scale back a $600,000 project designed to shore up unstable slopes on Mystic Lane.

Unless all five property owners at the site of January’s devastating landslide agree to sign the legal waiver, the city’s stabilization efforts will be greatly limited, city officials said at a special meeting on Tuesday.

“It’s only normal for the city to want to avoid being sued,” said Katherine Jenson, an attorney representing the city.

Three lawsuits have been filed against the city since the slide caused by heavy rainstorms in January destroyed three expensive hilltop homes on Mystic Lane.

Neighborhood residents say some homeowners have balked at signing the waiver because they feel it might damage their chances of winning their lawsuits. Others have agreed to waive their legal rights to get slope repairs started.

With the rainy season approaching, the legal snarl has created anxiety among neighbors who want the city to move as quickly as possible.

“We feel like we’re in a Catch 22--we’re caught in a situation where nothing can happen,” resident Jerry Thompson said.

But City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said that even if all homeowners refuse to waive their legal rights, the city will do enough slope repair to prevent another crisis.

Although Mystic Lane is not likely to slide again, another series of slopes where homes on Vista Lane sit will give way in the near future, Frank said. City workers hope to install a series of steel girders in the ground by Nov. 15 to forestall potential problems.

One Mystic Lane property owner who lost her house in January said she will sign the waiver, but also criticized the city for moving too slowly.

“They’re trying to prevent homes above (on Vista Lane) from slipping down, but what if it rains in November?” asked Vida Kucenas, who now lives in West Hollywood.