Rancho Palos Verdes Votes to Extend Emergency Declaration Covering Landslide Area
The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council last week voted to extend by 60 days the local emergency declaration covering the landslide area — even as recent survey data shows the landslide complex is moving 54% slower than it was one year ago, despite a slightly above average rainy season.
The 60-day extension keeps critical emergency powers in place — allowing the city to bypass standard competitive bidding requirements for contractors and equipment, maintaining the legal pathway to seek state and federal reimbursement for expenditures, and preserving emergency restrictions along an approximately two-mile stretch of Palos Verdes Drive South. The crisis has forced hundreds of residents from their homes and cut gas and electricity to entire neighborhoods since 2023.
The improvement is attributed to the city’s dewatering wells, which pump groundwater to reduce land movement.
According to survey data presented to the City Council at its May 5 meeting, the average movement rate for areas still active within the landslide boundary was 1.42 inches per week, a 16.7% decrease since February. The Abalone Cove Landslide decelerated 16% to 1.87 inches per week, the Portuguese Bend Landslide decelerated 16% to 1.21 inches per week, and the Klondike Canyon Landslide showed no measurable movement.
The fastest-moving area remains the upper portion of the Abalone Cove Landslide at 2.15 inches per week — still enough to move the land nearly nine feet over a full year.
Despite the encouraging movement data, the financial toll on the small South Bay city has been staggering. Since the local emergency was declared in October 2023, Rancho Palos Verdes has spent $61.5 million from its own reserves responding to the disaster — at one point approaching the equivalent of its entire annual general fund budget — with no reimbursement from the state or federal government to date.
Agoura Hills City Council To Address Wildfire Evacuation Fears Tied to State Housing Mandate
City of Agoura Hills residents concerned that state-mandated housing development along Kanan Road could turn the Santa Monica Mountains community’s primary wildfire evacuation route into a death trap are expected to pack City Hall tomorrow night as the City Council takes up the city’s Draft Evacuation Analysis and related General Plan updates.
The dispute pits California’s state housing mandate — which requires every city to identify sites for new residential development under its Housing Element — against residents who lived through the 2018 Woolsey Fire and say adding hundreds of new housing units along already congested canyon roads could make the next evacuation catastrophic.
According to The Acorn, the Agoura Hills City Council voted 4-1 in 2022 to approve a housing plan that allows up to 564 units at three Kanan Road shopping centers and 44 units at a Driver Avenue location — both of which residents and two organized advocacy groups, PEER (Protect our Emergency Evacuation Routes) and PRISMM (Protectors and Residents in the Santa Monica Mountains), identify as critical evacuation corridors.
The immediate flashpoint is the city’s Draft Evacuation Analysis, presented to the Planning Commission on April 16. According to the Acorn, roughly 50 residents gathered along Kanan Road on May 2 to protest, with many recalling the 2018 Woolsey Fire evacuation — in which drivers reported taking 80 minutes to travel a single mile, with some describing driving through active flames.
Demonstrators argued that any significant increase in residential density along the corridor would make a future evacuation untenable, particularly in light of the January 2025 Palisades Fire, which destroyed more than 9,400 structures in a comparable canyon community.
The city pushed back against what it called misinformation and issued a statement last week clarifying that the Draft Evacuation Analysis is not an evacuation plan and does not propose any permanent physical improvements.
The city also noted that any potential road closure during an emergency — including Kanan Road — would be determined in real time by Incident Command, which includes the LA County Fire Department and the Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff’s Station, based on actual emergency conditions.
The Draft Evacuation Analysis has been available for public review for over a year and was reviewed by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Resource Protection Subcommittee in March, where it was found to meet all statutory requirements.
The meeting is slated for 6 pm, tomorrow, Wednesday, May 13 in the Civic Center Council Chambers, 30001 Ladyface Court in Agoura Hills.
Santa Fe Springs names its first-ever police chief as new department takes shape
The City of Santa Fe Springs has appointed Paul Espinosa as the first police chief in the city’s history, marking a significant milestone in its transition away from nearly four decades of contracted law enforcement provided by the Whittier Police Department.
Espinosa brings more than 30 years of law enforcement experience to a city building its public safety infrastructure from scratch ahead of the February 29, 2028 deadline when its agreement with Whittier officially concludes. He began his career with the Los Angeles Police Department in 1994, rising from patrol officer through the ranks to captain, serving across all four LAPD geographic bureaus in assignments spanning patrol, vice, narcotics, and investigations. He most recently served as Chief of Police for the City of Montebello.
“Appointing our first Police Chief is a historic moment for Santa Fe Springs,” said Mayor Joe Angel Zamora. “Chief Espinosa’s extensive experience, leadership, and commitment to community-focused policing make him the ideal person to lead our new Police Department.”
As LACP previously reported, Santa Fe Springs formally terminated its law enforcement services agreement with Whittier in April.
Sierra Madre asks voters to let it spend the money it already has
The City of Sierra Madre — one of the few small San Gabriel Valley foothill cities that maintains its own full-time fire department rather than contracting with LA County — is asking voters on June 2 to authorize a four-year override of the state’s Gann Limit, a 1979 constitutional spending cap that threatens to prevent the city from fully using tax revenue it already collects.
The Gann Limit, established by California voters in 1979, caps the amount of tax revenue a city may appropriate and spend each year, based on a formula set by the state.
Due to strong local economic activity, post-pandemic revenue recovery, and increased public safety costs, Sierra Madre is projected to exceed its limit in the coming years. If the city surpasses the cap without voter approval, it may be required to refund excess revenues to taxpayers or reduce services — a scenario city officials say would directly threaten fire staffing, wildfire prevention, brush clearing, 911 emergency response, and street and storm drain maintenance.
The measure does not raise existing taxes or impose any new taxes. It simply adjusts the state-mandated ceiling to allow Sierra Madre to budget the revenue it already receives. According to LA Forward, the measure would temporarily increase the city’s appropriations authority by approximately 16 percent over four years.
The city pointed to the January 2025 Eaton Fire as a reason local fire control matters. According to Colorado Boulevard, the City Council voted unanimously to place the measure on the June 2 ballot. Voters who want more information can visit sierramadreca.gov.
Artesia establishes first Sister City partnership in two decades with Portuguese island city
The City of Artesia has approved its first Sister City partnership since 2005, formally establishing an official relationship with Angra do Heroísmo — a historic city on Terceira Island in the Azores archipelago of Portugal — in a move that celebrates the small LA County city’s deep Portuguese-American cultural roots.
The partnership was formally approved May 11 through Resolution No. 26-3083, following the city’s recent adoption of a Sister City Designation Policy that establishes a structured process for evaluating international partnerships.
Angra do Heroísmo — a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its well-preserved 15th and 16th century colonial architecture — responded with a formal Letter of Intent signaling mutual commitment to cultural, educational, and economic collaboration.
“This partnership represents an important opportunity to celebrate our Portuguese residents’ cultural roots while building meaningful international relationships,” said Mayor Rene Trevino. “We look forward to expanding cultural exchanges and exploring new opportunities for collaboration between our two cities.”
The partnership reflects longstanding ties between Artesia’s Portuguese-American community and the Azores — expressed over the years through cultural festivals, performances, and community exchanges.
Artesia, a small city of roughly 17,000 residents in the southeast San Gabriel Valley near Cerritos, has one of the more distinctive Portuguese-American communities in LA County.
