City of Palos Verdes Estates Evaluating Their Ownership of Bluff Cove Homes

The City of Palos Verdes Estates has hired a consultant to evaluate their options relating to the City’s ownership of several bluff top homes and lots above Bluff Cove which it acquired years ago in settlement of a lawsuit. The following are excerpts from an article written by Melissa Palmer and published in the Daily Breeze today:

“The homes are among 10 properties overlooking Bluff Cove that the city acquired in a series of long-running lawsuits that lasted from 1978 to 1990.Homes in the affluent area – which offers some of the best coastal views in Los Angeles County – had been seriously damaged by a slow-moving landslide that was aided by the effects of a poorly maintained city storm drain system. The city’s purchase of the homes was the most economical solution to the litigation.

A few of the 11 properties along Palos Verdes Drive West in Palos Verdes Estates that were taken over by the city after mudslides and long-running lawsuits. (Brad Graverson )

The settlements ended up costing Palos Verdes Estates about $6.5 million when the dust settled – and after the cityand its insurers battled in court – in 2002. Two of the homes on Paseo del Mar were so unsafe they had to be demolished. In 1986, when many of the homeowner lawsuits were being settled, the city moved a handful of municipal workers into the homes on Palos Verdes Drive West to counteract vandalism and graffiti.Today, three aging homes are still occupied by employees – City Manager Judy Smith, who’s lived there since 1998, plus Planning Director Allan Rigg and a police official.

Now, the city is trying to figure out whether to continue this arrangement. It could make some repairs, sell the homes, rent them out or raze them and create a park. The City Council recently approved a contract with a consultant to evaluate the use of the properties, which ordinarily would be worth millions of dollars.

At issue are seven homes and three vacant lots, one of which was always undeveloped and two of which saw homes demolished. In addition to the three homes occupied by city employees, one houses a family that retained the right to live there until death as a result of the owners’ settlement with the city.That leaves three vacant homes in varying degrees of upkeep.

The last analysis of the properties was done in 2003, with the city determining it should continue to have employees live in a few of the homes. The firm hired to do the economic analysis, Kibel Green also will evaluate the city’s tiny “gatehouse” property, a round stone building constructed in 1926 on Via Valmonte as an entrance to what was then known as the Palos Verdes Project. Marking the border with Torrance, the structure is also called the Mirlo Gate Lodge or Tower House.

The report from Kibel Green is expected by February, when Palos Verdes Estates officials said things will get more interesting for the unusual Bluff Cove properties.”