Hearing on Hillside-Homeowner Tax Postponed in San Juan Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano officials postponed a public hearing Tuesday on a plan that would bill new-home owners for hillside stabilization if their houses are damaged by landslides.

The City Council is debating whether to create a so-called Geologic Hazard Abatement District at the 350-home Pacific Point subdivision in the southern part of the city. Council members voted to delay action until geological reports are completed on the hilly site.

Under the 1979 state law authorizing such districts, the city could issue bonds to raise money for repairing homes and stabilizing hillsides after a landslide. Homeowners in the district--in this case all the homeowners in Pacific Point--would be assessed an annual tax to pay off the bonds.

The city’s proposal has drawn criticism from residents who say that creating such a district could encourage developers to put homes on potentially unstable land and would let them off the hook too easily if they build in such areas.

City officials, though, say no subdivision can be built unless the project meets stringent safety requirements. An abatement district, they say, is simply an extra measure of protection, providing a way to pay for hillside repairs and temporary housing for displaced residents while homeowners and developers resolve their differences.

The Pacific Point project, being built by SunCal Cos. of Anaheim, has been controversial from the outset. Grading for the development may have played a part in a landslide in May in which older homes in a neighboring subdivision, Meredith Canyon, were damaged, according to some residents. Nearly two dozen homeowners have sued SunCal alleging that work at Pacific Point caused damage to their property.