CC RES 2024-052 RESOLUTION NO. 2024-52
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA, DECLARING
THE EXISTENCE OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY WITHIN THE
GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES OF THE PORTUGUESE
BEND COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BASED ON A
SUDDEN AND SEVERE ENERGY SHORTAGE
WHEREAS, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes is home to four out of five sub-slides
that comprise the Greater Portuguese Landslide Complex (Landslide Complex): the
Portuguese Bend Landslide, Abalone Cove Landslide, Klondike Canyon Landslide, and
Beach Club Landslide. The Portuguese Bend Landslide encompasses the Portuguese
Bend Community Association (PBCA). The Landslide Complex has been active since the
1950s.
WHEREAS, the 2022-2023 rainy season brought exceptional amounts of rain to
the region, dumping 20.9" of rain or 190% of the average annual rainfall in the region.
WHEREAS, by April 26, 2024, total rainfall for the 2023-24 season (beginning Oct
1, 2023) was 23.01" or 169% of the historical 67-year average of 13.63" for this rain
gauge. (All data based on LACDPW Rainfall Gauge No. 1011 B at Rolling Hills FS.)
WHEREAS, beginning in 2018, but particularly since May 2023, the land
movement in the Landslide Complex has increased significantly due to increased rainfall
in the last two rainy seasons, which caused the water table to rise dramatically and
destabilize the landslides. The City has established, via repeated geologic studies, that a
significant factor in the speed of land movement in the Districts is the amount of water in
the soil.
WHEREAS, Chapter 2.44 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code (RPVMC)
details the powers and responsibilities of the City during emergency circumstances, which
is defined in Section 2.24.020 as "the actual or threatened existence of conditions of
disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within this city caused
by such conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic, riot, or earthquake, or
other conditions, including conditions resulting from war or imminent threat of war, but
other than conditions resulting from a labor controversy which conditions are or are likely
to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of this city,
requiring the combined forces of other political subdivisions to combat."
WHEREAS, on October 3, 2023, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes adopted Resolution No. 2023-47, declaring a local state of emergency due to the
alarming increase of land movement in the Landslide Complex. The state of emergency
based on the land movement has been extended as required by law and is still active.
WHEREAS, the land movement in the Landslide Complex is currently 9"-12" per
week (depending on the location). As a result, utility companies (sewer, electric, water,
gas) have had to take innovative and extraordinary measures to repair infrastructure and
provide service to the residents within the Landslide Complex. By way of example, water
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pipes and sewer trunk lines have been and are being moved above ground and flexible
joints have been added to provide more give as the land moves; electric lines are de-
energized and poles removed or moved; and slack is added to the electrical lines to
account for the land drift. The constant movement of the land presents a logistical and
costly challenge for utilities that is unprecedented in scale, and even more so for the
residents.
WHEREAS, on July 29, 2024 at 9:00 a.m., with less than 72 hours' notice, the
Southern California Gas Company turned 'off natural gas service to approximately 135
homes in the PBCA, stating that providing service is no longer safe due to the land
movement. Until the landslide is stabilized, it is unlikely that natural gas service can be
restored. The following streets are impacted: Cherryhill Lane; Cinnamon Lane; Clovetree
Place; Figtree Road; Fruit Tree Road; Ginger Root Lane; Kumquat Lane; Narcissa Drive;
Palos Verdes Drive; Peppertree Drive; Plumtree Road; E. Pomegranate Road; W.
Pomegranate Road; Roseapple Road; Sweetbay Road; Tangerine Road; Thyme Place;
and Vanderlip Drive.
WHEREAS, as the land movement continues to accelerate throughout the wider
the Landslide Complex, it is possible that additional homes may experience temporary or
permanent natural gas shut-offs that are sudden and severe.
WHEREAS, Subdivision (c)(1) of Section 8558 of the Government Code provides
that a local emergency "means the duly proclaimed existence of conditions of disaster or
of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of a ...
city, caused by conditions such as ... sudden and severe energy shortage, deenergization
event ... or other conditions, other than conditions resulting from a labor controversy,
which are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment,
and facilities of that political subdivision and require the combined forces of other political
subdivisions to combat, or with respect to regulated energy utilities, a sudden and severe
energy shortage or deenergization event that requires extraordinary measures beyond
the authority vested in the Public Utilities Commission."
WHEREAS, subdivision (g) of Government Code Section 8557 defines a sudden
and severe energy shortage as "a rapid, unforeseen shortage of energy, resulting from,
but not limited to, events such as ...natural disasters, and that has statewide, regional, or
local impact."
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES, CALIFORNIA, HEREBY FINDS, DETERMINES, AND RESOLVES AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Recitals. The City Council hereby determines that the above recitals
are true and correct and incorporates the same as the findings of the City Council.
SECTION 2. Proclamation of Emergency. The City Council finds, pursuant to
RPVMC Chapter 2.24 and Government Code §§ 8630, 8680.9, and 8558 there exists,
and continues to exist, an actual condition of peril to the safety of persons and property
exiting within the PBCA, and based on the staff report and recommendations and public
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testimony, and hereby proclaims that a state of local emergency continues to exist
throughout the'same.
SECTION 3. Sudden and Severe Energy Shortage. The City Council finds that
turning off natural gas service to approximately 135 homes in the PBCA due to safety
concerns with a mere 72-hour notice constitutes a sudden and severe energy shortage
based on a natural disaster that has a local impact, as defined in state law. Natural gas
is a form of energy, used by residents in the PBCA to power water heaters, washer-dryers,
stoves, and other appliances.
SECTION 4. State of Emergency Declared. After consideration of all facts
reasonably available, the City Council now desires to adopt a declaration of a state of
local emergency within the PBCA based on the sudden and severe energy shortage that
resulted from the natural gas shut-off.
SECTION 5. Authority Granted. It is further proclaimed and ordered that during
the existence of said local emergency, the powers, authority, functions and duties of the
Disaster Council, Director, and the City's emergency services organizations shall be
those prescribed by State Law, City ordinances, Resolution No. 2023-47, and any other
applicable resolutions, and approved plans of the City in order to mitigate the effects of
the local emergency.
SECTION 6. Immunity Invoked. To the maximum extent permitted by law, and
pursuant to Government Code § 866, the City Council hereby invokes the immunity
afforded to the City of Rancho Palos Verds in adopting and implementing the declaration
of local emergency within the Landslide Complex
SECTION 7. Duration. The local emergency shall be deemed to continue to exist
until its termination is proclaimed by the City Council in accordance with law. Government
Code § 8630 requires the City Council to review of the need for continuing the local
emergency at least once every 60 days until the City Council determines the local
emergency within the geographic boundaries of the Landslide Complex has been abated
or mitigated to insignificance.
SECTION 8. Continuing Declaration. Government Code § 8630 requires the
City Council to review of the need for continuing the local emergency at least once every
60 days until the City Council determines the local emergency within Landslide Complex
has been abated or mitigated to insignificance.
SECTION 9. Severability. If any subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of
this Resolution or any application of it to any person, structure, gathering, or circumstance
is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction,
then such decision will not affect the validity of the remaining portions or applications of
this Resolution.
SECTION 10. CEQA. The City Council finds that this Resolution is proposed to
allow the City to continue to address and mitigate an imminent threat to public health and
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safety and therefore is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Public Resources Code, Section
21080(b)(4) and CEQA Guidelines, Section 15269.
SECTION 11. Effectiveness. This Resolution shall take effect immediately. A
copy of the Proclamation and this Resolution shall be forwarded to the California Office
of Emergency Management. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of
this resolution..
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED on this 6th day of August, 2024.
r431,07
Mayor
ATTEST:
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City Cler
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )ss
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES )
I, Teresa Takaoka, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, hereby certify that
the above Resolution No. 2024-52 was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the
said City Council at a regular meeting thereof held on August 6, 2024.
CY,,t1k,aeke__,.
ity Clerk
111
01203 0023/1003066 1 Resolution No. 2024-52
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