Slide Victims May Not Get Relief After All

An announcement Thursday by California congressmen of a federal program to buy homes devastated by El Nino landslides was made in error, and if there were such a program, it may not be the salvation that financially desperate homeowners had hoped for, officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Friday.

“This was not something that should have been disseminated for public consumption,” said one official during a teleconference connecting FEMA’s Washington D.C. and Sacramento offices. FEMA officials said that while they are studying the possibility, they have not completed plans for the program or received necessary commitments from other agencies, such as the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, for a federal buyout of damaged homes.

“This is not as simple as: ‘We have a good idea so let’s do it,’ ” said FEMA spokesman Bob Shea. “There’s a lot of local and community decision-making that has to be made.”

“We regret if it has caused any confusion or inconvenience to the residents affected by landslides,” said Eliza Chan, a FEMA spokeswoman.

U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) was one of three California congressmen who announced Thursday that the FEMA program would buy homes made uninhabitable by mudslides last winter.

An internal FEMA memo laying out draft proposals was leaked by a state FEMA official to congressional staffers, said Sherman and the FEMA representatives. Sherman said he had clearance from FEMA officials in Sacramento to disclose the program, and did not learn until later that the agency’s Washington headquarters did not consider the proposal final.

Although FEMA’s plans are uncertain, Sherman said he still hopes the agency will do its best to find a solution for El Nino victims.

“FEMA is extremely aware of the problems of homeowners affected by El Nino,” Sherman said. “We have gotten a peek into the thinking of the [FEMA’s] Sacramento office--unfortunately it was an unauthorized peek.”

While releasing few details, state and local disaster-relief officials said they hoped to have a plan in place well before the next rainy season. Federal officials say they are trying to secure two funding sources for the proposed buyout: FEMA’s $38-million hazard-mitigation fund and unspecified funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Although FEMA allocates money for fire and flood disasters, traditionally landslides have been outside the agency’s jurisdiction.

“The Disaster Relief Act doesn’t have language addressing landslides,” said FEMA’s Chan. “We cannot give out emergency funding to stabilize landslides unless the law is changed.”

Chan said FEMA lawyers are trying to find a loophole that will allow the agency to help landslide victims.

“It all depends on what local and state governments want to do,” Chan said.

Officials at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, which administers FEMA funds, said they are in favor of a buyout program and are trying to nail down eligibility requirements for applicants.

Meanwhile, officials of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety say they will not pursue fines or jail terms for the five West Hills families whose homes were damaged in a February landslide. The families had been asked to pay for costly hillside repairs to bring the hill into compliance with city regulations, under threat of severe penalties.

“We thought there were extenuating circumstances here,” said Richard Holguin, the department’s assistant general manager.

“No one individual can really repair this hill,” he said. “It’s going to take the cooperation of all five and I don’t think all the property owners have been totally open with each other with the threat of litigation.”

All but one of the West Hills families have retained lawyers and are poised to face off in court to determine who will pay the estimated $2 million for repairs. Holguin said easing the threat of city penalties may avert litigation and allow the property owners to work together.

But the department will not be as understanding with 300 other property owners who face similar city action.

“The rest will have to comply,” Holguin said.