06/12/1978 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Obie wondered if staff could give assurance that once homes were built, they would not slide down the hill. Don Allen, Director e of Public Works, said that with the data available and with the engineer using sound practices, the odds are that the site is buildable. City staff will be a party to checking plans prior to issuance of a building permit, as to whether or not the structures are properly designed and if they have used the data properly. Mr. Lieuallen wondered who would be liable for houses that might slip, for roads and utilities breaking up. Mr. Allen said the City would be liable for any damage in the public right-of-way and the public utilities. If damage occurs on private property, the courts would have to make any determination on a lawsuit. He said there was no clear-cut liability regarding private property. In response to a question from Mr. Lieuallen, Bert Teitzel, City Engineer, said it was his understanding there is a mixture of sand, siltstone, and shale, all of which would react similarly under a load in their natural state. Mick Nolte, Building Inspector, said that the deeper the footings, the more stable conditions there will be. In rebuttal, Mr. Knapp felt there was a relationship between the six items in the South Hills Study present on this site and the resultant soil movement. Regarding the 19-20 percent slopage, he had drawings showing up to 40 percent. He argued there was evidence available that the basic hillside is not stable as there appears to be extensive movements on the hillside. Regarding the bearing value e and the agreement by the two geologists, he said he did not know how they came to that agreement. He raised the question regarding impervious structures and how many houses had already been approved for the South Hills area within the Amazon drainage. He assumed that there had been several ~undred, all of which would affect the drain- age. He felt there should not be approval of any more buildings in that area until it is determined what effect it would have on the Amazon drainage. He felt the shrinking and swelling of the land as a result of moisture content was a very serious problem. He noted he himself had to water his foundation in the summertime to keep it from cracking. Regarding the question raised by Mr. Delay of general standards being used, he felt probably California was governed by the same standards that were used in Oregon. Further, he felt this should be looked into as he assumed that the same thing happened there: Houses were built based on technical knowledge, but the soil moved and the houses thus slipped down the hill. He rei terated he felt the dewatering would subject the sites to stress and would affect the bUildings. He noted the area is buildable, but wondered how the buildings could be kept there. The technology used to put buildings on hillsides was questionable. He suggested that some other kind of foundation than concrete be used to avoid cracking and movement. Greg House took exception to the shrinking and swelling with the presence or absence of water. He said that was the specific nature of one lawsuit for a house on his block. He said the City had e 6/12/78--5 1f2.3 - ,-~..., ---.....-.-..-- -~-~_._-_._- - -