ANAHEIM

The City Council approved formation of the 23-acre Santiago Geologic Hazard Abatement District at Tuesday’s meeting and appointed a five-member board to oversee well repairs and construction in the area, where torrential rains caused massive landslides in 1993. “This is historic,” said Mayor Tom Daly. “The city, to our knowledge, has not done this before in our 142-year history.” The newly formed district will include the area bounded by Georgetown Circle, Avenida de Santiago, Rimwood Drive and Williams Circle. After the landslides in January 1993, which forced emergency evacuations of residents, many home and property owners filed suit against the city. In a settlement, city officials agreed to set aside $3.5 million to operate and maintain a series of wells that monitor and control the level of water in the ground, in an effort to prevent future slides. The new Santiago Geologic Hazard Abatement District board plans to meet in two weeks.