Had the most recent San Clemente landslide simply dumped debris onto the beach, as hillsides have done for millions of years, few people would take notice.
But the massive pile of dirt fell down the slope behind a condominium complex onto a city-owned bridge built 20 years ago as part of its 2.3-mile coastal path. And then, on Jan. 24, the hillside dumped onto the Orange County Transportation Authority’s rail line, leaving passengers stranded as services, for the fifth time in three years, were halted through the coastal town.
The seven-unit condo complex is sound, according to the HOA’s engineers, because it is set back on the bluff.
So whose responsibility is it to ensure landslides don’t damage public infrastructure? And where does the money come from for recovery? It’s a complex puzzle officials are trying to untangle – and a question they may continue to grapple with as rain soaks hillsides, especially if storms become more frequent in coming years, as climate change experts believe.
The potential for eroding of the hillside at this location was recognized by the city engineers who designed the Mariposa Bridge with expectations that small amounts of debris would fall under it and naturally replenish the beach.
Orange County Transportation Authority also knew it was a vulnerable area, noting in the 2021 “OCTA Rail Defense Against Climate Change Plan” that the steep ground in the area “has historically experienced surficial erosion, sloughing, landslides and general landward retreat, which is likely to continue, which threaten the serviceability of the existing railway infrastructure.”
San Clemente officials in 2022 sent a letter asking the condo complex’s homeowners association to “repair and secure” the hillside following a previous bluff failure in 2019, which damaged the pedestrian bridge and closed it for months.
The city was going to begin the process of designing and constructing a new pedestrian bridge and wanted the slope…
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