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City Lifts Restrictions on Multiple Buildings Impacted by Landslide

BY C. JAYDEN SMITH

Over a month after a landslide forced roughly two dozen occupants to evacuate residential complexes near San Clemente’s Dije Court Beach, the city has lifted the red tags from three of the four involved buildings.

Residents at 1501, 1503, 1505 and 1507 Buena Vista woke up to loud noises coming from beneath them in the early morning hours of March 15. Within hours, all had to be evacuated from the blufftop buildings.

The landslide that occurred amid heavy rainstorms resulted in some of the structures’ back patios and other debris to slide down the hillside and the closure of the portion of the Beach Trail where wreckage had piled up.

Now, only 1507 Buena Vista is subject to a red tag, and 1503 has a yellow tag for restricted use—both because of “bluff failure,” according to the city’s inspection.

Mayor Chris Duncan said on Tuesday, April 18, that he believes the only hold- up for the yellow-tagged structure is for the city to approve a barrier that would prevent people from walking onto the damaged patio area.

“I think that’s the only limitation,” he said. “I believe they all have their electricity and gas turned back on.”

After that approval goes through, there is no restriction from the city in terms of letting residents move back into the building, according to Duncan.

The property owners have the discretion to decide whether to allow inhabitants inside all three structures that are no longer red-tagged. However, Duncan added that he doesn’t know whether people have moved back in.

In terms of the process to determining the buildings’ status, the owners worked at different speeds but mostly coordinated with the same geological expert, which saved time. Duncan said the city worked diligently on its own end to help the displaced residents.