Laguna Beach Landslide Repair Grants Will Total $10.4 Million

Laguna Beach officials received final word Friday that they would receive $10.4 million in federal emergency grants to help repair the hillside that collapsed last spring in the Bluebird Canyon landslide.

FEMA announced in November that it planned to chip in about $5.9 million to help repair storm drains, remove debris and construct retaining walls -- a reversal of an earlier decision not to provide federal assistance.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California), who asked FEMA to review its decision, helped the city secure an extra $4.5 million for the reconstruction of Flamingo Road, which was badly damaged in the June 1 landslide.

“I’m very pleased,” City Manager Kenneth Frank said. “Six months ago, we had no federal help. Today we have $10 million in federal help. It’s a huge, huge benefit to our community.”

The $10.4 million covers only about two-thirds of the cost of repairing the fallen hillside, which destroyed or damaged 20 homes when it slid. City residents approved a six-year, half-cent-on-the-dollar sales tax increase in December to help raise the rest of the money.

Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider said she had hoped for more money from FEMA so that the tax increase could end earlier, but she acknowledged: “We’ve come a long way.”

The grant money and sales tax revenue should allow the city to complete repairs by the end of the year, Frank said.

Many residents who left the area after the slide have moved back home.