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Council hears landslide remediation update; staff pursuing BRIC, HMGP and other grants
Summary
City staff reported progress in dewatering and emergency stabilization for the Portuguese Bend landslide complex and outlined a grant strategy (BRIC, HMGP, congressional appropriations) to fund remediation; staff warned of funding gaps and continued need for matching funds.
Rancho Palos Verdes — City engineers and consultants reported continued progress on emergency stabilization of the Greater Portuguese Bend landslide complex and outlined a multi-grant strategy to finance longer-term remediation.
Ramsey (project lead) told the council monitoring shows rates of movement trending down from winter peaks and that dewatering wells and winterization measures are reducing slope movement in many areas, though some locations still show substantially higher movement than pre‑2023 levels. "Overall, the dewatering program is working," he said, while cautioning that certain road segments still show differential movement that creates safety and infrastructure concerns.
Staff summarized grant activity: the city received BRIC and FEMA-related awards in prior cycles and applied rapidly for BRIC‑25 funding with a short turnaround; the repurposed BRIC 2022 allocation and other pending applications could deliver tens of millions in federal funding but leave multi‑million-dollar match gaps. Ramsey and finance staff emphasized the city is not obligated to accept awards without an achievable match and that Cal OES and FEMA are coordinating on avenues to close funding gaps.
Council members commended staff and public works crews for maintenance and stabilization work while noting the city's overall remediation estimate remains large (staff cited a master‑plan figure in the hundreds of millions). The council unanimously received and filed the update and affirmed continuation of the local state of emergency and emergency stabilization measures.
Next steps: Staff will continue weekly coordination with Cal OES and FEMA, pursue BRIC/HMGP/congressionally directed funding, and return with funding and matching strategies as needed. The city also plans to continue dewatering and winterization efforts and to pursue advance match options where feasible.
Sources: Landslide presentation by Ramsey and public works staff, finance update and council remarks.
