YORBA LINDA : City Settles on Slide Damage to Homes

The city reached a settlement Tuesday with five homeowners who sued the city after heavy rainstorms caused damage to their property on Rolling Hills Lane.

The agreement calls for the city to haul away dirt, rock and brush that slid into an arroyo traversing the five homeowners’ back yards during rainstorms last winter. The city will also repair damage to the privately owned hillside and install a storm drain in the arroyo to prevent future slides.

City officials estimate the cost of repairing the slope and installing the storm drain will be $545,000. In addition, the city will spend about $100,000 to replace the swimming pool at the home of Thomas and Betty Duteau, which slid down the slope.

Under the agreement, a judge will decide if the city must pay the homeowners’ attorney and engineering fees.

The homeowners filed suit in May, claiming that the city was negligent in allowing inadequate storm drains to be installed in their neighborhood. The lawsuit claimed that runoff from homes above Rolling Hills was channeled into the arroyo behind their houses, which led to slope failure.

Both the city and the homeowners are suing several developers, engineers and contractors. The city hopes to recover the cost of repairs as well as other costs from them.

Construction on the storm drain is expected to start in three weeks, after the arroyo is cleaned out and the slope restored.

In a related matter, a judge granted the city construction easements on four properties downhill from the storm-drain project. The city sought access to eight properties for heavy equipment needed in constructing the storm drain. Four agreed to give access to the city, but the remaining four refused, saying the city, by installing the storm drain only on the five uphill properties, was merely sending the drainage problem downhill.