PALOS VERDES RANCH, Calif. (CNS) — Homeowners in Rancho Palos Verdes in the Greater Portuguese Bend landslide area who have been plagued by land shifting under and around their homes were offered a $42 million voluntary buyout Monday by the federal agency of Emergency Management and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council announced the program at a special public meeting Monday and shared details of the program with FEMA and Cal OES representatives in attendance, Rancho Palos Verdes city officials said.

Old, slow-moving landslides in Rancho Palos Verdes have accelerated significantly since 2023 after two consecutive heavy rainy seasons that caused damage to homes, roads and utilities, leading to gas and electricity outages for a indefinite duration for hundreds of residents, city officials said.

FEMA allocated funding for this program based on California’s federally declared disaster for winter storms between January 31 and February 9, 2024.

“Over the past two years, our residents have endured extraordinary hardship as a result of this landslide, with some facing the real risk of losing their homes completely,” said Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor, John Cruikshank. “This buyout program provides a viable pathway for our most vulnerable community members, providing the opportunity to move and rebuild with meaningful compensation.

“On behalf of the entire city, I express my deep gratitude to FEMA and Cal OES for working with the city to establish this program. We understand the complexity and emotional weight of this for our residents and we are committed to making the process as transparent and compassionate as possible.”

Created with funding from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant program, the Voluntary Home Buyout Program is intended to help eligible homeowners relocate to safer areas by providing fair market value for their properties based on pre-disaster assessments. Properties acquired by the city under this program will be permanently converted to open space and deed restricted, thereby protecting the community from future redevelopment risks in these vulnerable areas.

Property owners interested in applying for the buyout program must request a voluntary property inspection from the city by Monday, November 4 at 5:30 p.m. and submit a completed program application by November 8. Properties will be prioritized based on factors such as safety concerns, structural condition and utility status.

If selected for a grant under the program, the city will purchase the property at a price determined by an appraisal based on the fair market value of the land as of Dec. 1, 2022, before the landslide accelerated.

The FEMA grant will cover 75 percent of the sale and homeowners will contribute the remaining 25 percent by reducing the fair market value payment, city officials said. Owners who have been selected to proceed with the purchase of their property may withdraw at any time before the sale closes.

Upon closing, the property will be considered open space and the city will not be able to sell it to individuals or develop it.

Monday’s announcement represents the largest grant in Rancho Palos Verdes’ history and comes as the hillside community continues to see promising signs of an unprecedented slowdown in land movement.

The deceleration in land movement is the result of dewatering efforts by the city, the Abalone Cove Landslide Mitigation District and the Klondike Canyon Landslide Mitigation District, combined with more severe weather conditions. dry, according to Rancho Palos Verdes officials.

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