Red tags are expected to be removed in the coming days from three oceanfront apartment buildings in San Clemente, where a landslide in mid March sent debris, parts of concrete patios and furniture down the slope and onto a beach path below, Mayor Chris Duncan said.
Residents and short-term renters of 20 units in four apartment buildings in north San Clemente were swiftly evacuated following the storm damage on March 15 that sent sections of hillside sliding several hundred feet toward the ocean. Duncan said he was told geology reports have deemed three structures safe and residents will be allowed to move back in.
One building remains red tagged, but is in the process of completing the necessary paperwork required by the city, Duncan said.
“We’re very excited,” said Clayton Robinson, owner of one of the buildings with his wife, Kim. The couple, who live in Long Beach, bought their property 20 years ago and use it as their primary income. “We’ve been working with the city all week long, we knew it was coming.”
The sudden scenario of possibly losing their property has been a “nightmare,” but the city has been on top of the process, Clayton Robinson said, while he worked around the clock with geologists to ensure all the paperwork was in place.
“We’re just so thankful it’s progressing in such a way,” he said. “We were afraid we were going to lose everything.”
Insurance typically does not cover landslide damage, so the loss could have been in the millions.
The San Clemente landslide helped spur a federal emergency declaration for Orange County, which should help fund some of the city’s and the county’s response, but financial help has been limited for the residents who needed to suddenly find new temporary housing until the buildings were deemed safe.
The popular beach trail that runs from North Beach along the damaged area, where heaps of dirt still remain, will stay fenced off to the public until it can be cleaned up, Duncan…
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