Feds rescue damaged homes/ Some local residents question use of

Todd Hartman

A 7,000-square-foot Broadmoor-area home and another used as a vacation getaway by its Hawaiian owner are among 21 landslide- damaged homes to be bought out with $4.1 million in federal disaster funds.

Officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the city met Thursday and discussed offering low-interest Small Business Administration loans to homeowners who didn't qualify for a buyout.

The homes in line for buyouts range from tiny 880-square-foot homes on the westside to several large, expensive homes in southwest Colorado Springs.

The list, obtained Thursday by The Gazette, angered some victims who question whether federal relief dollars are being properly spent.

They point to a Broadmoor-area homeowner slated for a federal buyout who already has bought another home on the same street, El Paso County assessor records show, in an area geologists regard as risky.

Some are particularly upset at what they see as special treatment for a trio of homes on Regency Drive. Those homes are getting a break, critics say, because they were damaged by landslides in 1995.

The federal money is supposed to be tied to damage caused by rain- induced landslides in the spring of 1999, they say.

When emergency officials appraise the homes, however, they will disregard the 1995 damage, and appraise them at their hypothetical, undamaged value before the 1999 spring rains.

"I believe they are unfairly giving these people an advantage," said Greg Popke, a former Holland Park homeowner who is also on the list for aid. "They are giving them extra money at the expense of the (homes that didn't make the cut)."

Popke believes the difference in value would be enough to help an additional two to three landslide victims with less costly houses.

The 21 homes were culled from about 80 applicants for the federal relief. They include homes in the city's foothills that geologists believe are most damaged - or most threatened with damage - by sliding earth.

Donna Fair, the city's chief emergency official, said criteria for providing aid don't take wealth into account.

"The key there is the fact that this (landslide relief) program was not identified strictly for low-income persons," she said. "It's very easy to judge people, but no one knows what the situation is, and we're, quite honestly, not getting into those situations."

Fair said the issue was discussed with federal officials, who agreed with the city that those people should be helped because they have suffered damages for the past five years.

"Just because we didn't have a disaster declaration at that time, why should they suffer more?" Fair said.

The compilation of homes targeted for aid comes after state geologists recently completed detailed maps of eight landslides in Colorado Springs, ranging from areas smaller than an acre, to a 200- acre active landslide in Broadmoor Valley, one that has damaged at least 10 homes and threatens many more.

Homeowners on the list, recently finalized by FEMA and city officials, will be paid 75 percent of their homes' appraised value before the spring 1999 rains.

Those appraisals haven't been completed.

The program is a savior for many homeowners, as landslides aren't usually covered by insurance.

Thus, landslide victims often lose their home's equity and are still faced with paying off its mortgage.

- Todd Hartman covers the environment and may be reached at 636- 0285 or [email protected] Edited by Bill Vogrin. Headline by Barry Noreen

Landslide meeting

Springs city officials will be holding a public meeting next week to provide more information about possible aid for people with homes damaged by landslides.

The meeting is set for 7 p.m. May 10 at the East Service Center, 701 N. Circle Dr.

Also, to get more specific information about landslide- threatened areas, call the city's Office of Emergency Management, 385- 5957

Landslides: The status, the boundaries, the risks

Landslide 1

Penhurst Place Landslide

Status: Active landslide in undeveloped open space within drainageways. No homes have been damaged and likelihood for damage in the near future is low.

Landslide originally occurred in spring 1995.

The landslide ruptures are easily observed: Scrub oak, shrubs and grasses tilt in the direction of landslide movement.

Boundaries:

Star Ranch Road to the north

Penhurst Place to the west

Wembley Court to the south

Size:

3/4 of an acre, roughly an oval shape, 275 feet at its widest

Risk:

No homes in its boundaries

Two homes face moderate risk - 4265 Star Ranch Road and 4325 Penhurst Place

One home faces low risk, 414 Wembley Court.

Others at low risk because of "landslide susceptible terrain."

Landslide 2

Regency Drive Landslide

Status: Active landslide has destroyed one home, poses moderate to high risk to three others and and threatens two others. Its boundary has noticeably widened since initial movement in spring 1995. It accelerated in the spring of 1999.

The land surrounding Regency Drive has been previously mapped, in 1973 and 1977, as part of a much larger landslide complex centered in the Broadmoor Resort Mountain Golf Course.

Steeper slopes and low hilly terrain reveal where the landslide has failed, compared to the surrounding flat but slightly sloping surface.

Boundaries:

Star Ranch Road to the south

Broadmoor Valley Road to the east

Regency Drive to the west

Size:

5 acres, an irregular oval shape, 720 feet at its widest.

Risk:

Five homes in its boundaries. 4270 Regency Drive was condemned and razed after 1995 landslide. 4280 and 4275 Regency Drive are receiving moderate to severe damage. 4260 Regency Drive has displacement cracks in the driveway. The landslide passes through the southeast end of 4265 Regency Drive.

Moderate to high risk for 4280 Star Ranch Road and 9 Broadmoor Hills Drive. There is a high probability that 4280 Star Ranch Road will be affected by the landslide in the future.

Two adjacent Star Ranch Road homes faces lower risk.

Other homes on Star Ranch Road and Regency Drive lie on "landslide susceptible" terrain.

Landslide 3

Marland Court/Broadmoor Valley Landslide

Status: Active landslide encompassing the Marland Court subdivision. It is part of a much larger, bowl-shaped Broadmoor Valley landslide complex, which was dormant in the 1970s but may have reactivated in the last 27 years. There is evidence of recent, large- scale landslide movements in the vicinity.

The patio homes first experienced structural problems in 1982 when they were built.

Concrete walls near tennis courts are bowed out. Two water-valve boxes in the ground have been twisted out of square. A chain-link fence is flexed and bowed. There are "drunken forests" where trees are leaning at odd angles from slope movements.

Boundaries:

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to the west

Broadmoor South Golf Course to the east and south

Cheyenne Mountain Blvd. to the north

Size:

Well over 200 acres, encompassing the Broadmoor South Golf Course. More than 1 mile long and 3/4 of a mile wide.

Risk:

13 homes - four houses and nine patio homes - within Marland Court subdivision. They are 810, 820, 830, 840, 850 and 860 Appian Court and 4150, 4160 and 4170 South Club Drive and a house at 4015 South Club Drive, as well as 910, 950 and 960 Colonnade Court.

810 Appian Court, a patio house, was damaged so severely in April 1999 it was condemned.

Damage to the other patio houses has been slight to severe. But future landslide movements could affect all of these houses to a significant degree.

Damage may be possible to other nearby homes, including two on Genesis Place and several newer houses and duplexes.

Landslide 4

Honey Locust Court Landslide

Status: Active landslide has damaged or threatens eight houses. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development refused to lend money for homes there because they were built on unstable, manmade fill on a hilltop once used for mining. The landslide was activated by April 1999 rains.

The entire hilltop area of Honey Locust Court, Table Top Trail and Pepper Court is underlaid by uncontrolled and uncompacted manmade fill which may be prone to settlement. This creates the potential for damage to houses there.

Boundaries:

King Street to the north

19th Street to the east

Honey Locust Court to the west

Size:

Honey Locust neighborhood

Risk:

Eight homes within its boundaries

1015 Honey Locust Court is damaged and condemned.

1025, 1035, 1045, 1055, 1065, 1075 and 1085 Honey Locust Court are located close to the perimeter of the active landslide and nearly all have been damaged.

There is evidence the landslide is enlarging west of the houses. These houses have a high potential for overall risk-and-damage severity.

1010 Honey Locust Court has lower risk for near-future landslide damage.

1010 Table Top Terrace., 2130 and 2135 Pepper Court are not at risk to current landslides but are near the edge of the hilltop near potentially unstable slopes.

22 houses on the interior of the subdivision have very low risk or no risk.

1960 and 2010 Yampa Street West are low risk because of their proximity to the base of the slope below the active landslides.

2020, 2025, 2030, 2035 and 2040 Yampa Street West are moderate risk because of their proximity to the base of another hill slope experiencing tension cracking and a history of landslide movement.

Landslide 5

Friendship Lane East Landslide

Status: Two active landslides, a main landslide that appears to be enlarging and a second that may be an older landslide that is reactivating. They have damaged or threaten three duplexes.

There is potential for other geologic conditions to cause damage to houses in the area due to settling of manmade fill.

Boundaries:

King Street to the south

19th Street to the east

Size:

Friendship Lane area

Risk:

Three duplexes are damaged or immediately threatened.

They are 1247-1249, 1253-1255 and 1261-1265 Friendship Lane East. All three face moderate to high risk for overall risk-and-damage severity.

Three houses along the eastern edge of the hilltop to the north of the main landslide - 1299, 1307 and 1313 Friendship Lane East, are low to moderate risk because they are located near the edge of the hilltop near potentially unstable slopes.

Landslide 6

Hofstead Court and Hofstead Terrace Landslide

Status: Active landslide.

Landslides are common on the slopes of the mesa where weathered and disturbed claystone is at or near the surface.

The landscape suggests activity of very recent geologic past, possibly a few hundred years ago.

Boundaries:

Base of the northeast slope of the Kissing Camels Mesa

Hofstead Terrace to the north

Hofstead Court to the east

Size:

5 acres, an irregular oval 690 feet at its widest

Risk:

Five homes are located within its boundaries, which have suffered severe structural damage or been destroyed. They are 1233, 1243, 1253 and 1263 Hofstead Terrace and 3576 Hofstead Court.

They are at very high risk to further damage. The last three have been condemned.

3566 Hofstead Court is at high risk of damage because of its proximity to the landslide boundary.

3556 and 3546 Hofstead Court are at lower potential but still susceptible to movements.

Homes at the end of the cul-de-sac and eastern side of Hofstead Court are in landslide-susceptible areas.

1273 Hofstead Terrace is at moderate risk of impact by the landslide. Homes at 1282 and 1283 Hofstead Terrace are at low risk.

1283 Hofstead Terrace is at the base of a small, dormant landslide and at low risk.

Landslide 7

Haverhill Place Landslide

Status: Active landslide at the head of a small, deep valley and threatens one house, undamaged to date.

Boundary:

Haverhill Place to the west

Size:

80 feet along the slope and 40 feet up the slope

Risk:

One house threatened, 1080 Haverhill Place, which is within 8 feet of the landslide. Its risk is rated moderate.

1085 Haverhill Place is designated low risk. Though not in the landslide path, it could be affected by water drainage from the landslide.

1140 Points of the Pines Drive and 5111 Cliff Point Circle West are low to moderate risk due to their location near the edge of the hilltop and potentially unstable slopes.

Flash-flooding could affect the houses at the base of the valley at 1080 and 1085 Haverhill Place.

Landslide 8

Spring Creek Court Landslide

Status: Active landslide in the backyards of three houses. It may be enlarging to a second and third, deeper level.

Another potential for damage, rated low, is coal mine subsidence.

The Pikeview coal mine dug shafts about 225 feet below the houses in the area. Numerous subsidence depressions, about 10 feet across, exist in the area.

Boundaries:

Tamarron Drive to the south

Anaconda Drive to the east

Spring Creek Court to the north

Size:

120 feet wide and 60 feet up the slope

Risk:

535, 545 Spring Creek Court and 490 Tamarron Road are moderate to high risk for severe damage.

525 and 550 Spring Creek Court and 470 Tamarron Road are low risk because they are located close to the landslide.

502, 505, 530 and 540 Spring Creek Court are rated no- to very low-risk, but the potential for unstable slopes is unclear because of incomplete information.

Source: Colorado Geological Survey

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