Federal Government to Buy El Nino-Damaged Homes

Confirming an on-again, off-again program that federal officials earlier said was only under study, U.S. officials announced Wednesday the government will spend $20 million to buy California homes made unlivable by El Nino-related mudslides.

Under the program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay up to $140 per square foot of indoor space for houses made uninhabitable by mudslides and in danger of further damage.

The reimbursement cap probably means owners of homes in well-to-do hillside neighborhoods--where most mudslide damage was sustained--are not going to receive the previous market value of their homes. “They’re probably only going to get 60% to 70% of the cost,” estimated Key Darabi, owner of Northridge-based Procomm Properties.

The program was made public earlier this month by California congressional representatives, including Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), based on leaks from FEMA officials in Sacramento. FEMA headquarters in Washington quashed the reports, saying such a proposal was under study but had not been approved.

The program marks the first time landslide victims will be eligible for FEMA buyouts. Previously, landslide losses were not considered large enough for such relief, but the destruction wrought by last winter’s storms compelled the agency to change its position, said Michael Armstrong, director of FEMA’s mitigation directorate in Washington.

Under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, local governments, serving as brokers for individual homeowners, can submit buyout proposals to the state Office of Emergency Services after Monday and before Sept. 18. The state will then decide which applications meet FEMA’s criteria. Finally, the OES will disperse the funds to cities and counties throughout the state.

Approved homeowners can expect to receive the money by the end of the year, said Cheryl Tateishi of the OES.

Homeowners must be willing to relocate, away from the mudslide-endangered land, to qualify.

Applications were mailed Wednesday to more than 1,000 city and county administrators throughout the state, Tateishi said. FEMA officials said they will conduct briefings for local government officials in August.