City Statement on Wayfarers Chapel

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes is saddened by the announcement of the temporary closure of Wayfarers Chapel, a national landmark and iconic cultural treasure of the City and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Over the past several months, the City has been in communication with Wayfarers Chapel regarding impacts of accelerated movement in the landslide complex and efforts to remediate them. Last week, chapel officials requested an inspection by the City’s Building Official. While damage and signs of movement were observed, no structures were yellow- or red-tagged. The City was informed on February 14 that the Wayfarers Chapel Board of Directors made the voluntary decision to close the chapel and grounds to the public while repairs can be made. The City stands ready to support Wayfarers Chapel in any way possible to safely reopen this sacred space to the community.

February 20, 2024 City Council Meeting

In February 2023, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes released a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) studying potential environmental impacts of the proposed Portuguese Bend Landslide Remediation Project, a major public works project designed to significantly slow the landslide and prevent further damage to roads, utilities, and homes.

One unusually wet year later, we are seeing that damage happen in real time. Movement in the Portuguese Bend, Abalone Cove, and Klondike Canyon landslides (referred to as “the landslide complex”) has accelerated by a factor of three to four times in just the past few months compared to the entire previous year. The movement is expanding beyond the boundaries of the historically mapped landslides.

While the City continues to work on short-term measures, the long-term Portuguese Bend Landslide Remediation Project remains in the EIR process and has not yet been approved for construction. In August 2023, in response to public feedback on the Draft EIR, the City Council decided to explore making changes to the project to reduce environmental impacts to native habitat. This added time to the EIR process, delaying the anticipated release of the final EIR to September 2024. After the final EIR is released, the City Council will need to certify it and approve final design and construction documents before the project can go through permitting and construction, which is expected to start in 2025.

Recognizing the growing urgency of the need to reduce the land movement as soon as possible, at its February 6, 2024 meeting, the City Council requested a report from City staff on what can be done to expedite the EIR and engineering process. 

That report will be presented at the February 20 City Council meeting. That evening, the Council will consider a recommendation from City staff to proceed with completing final engineering and the Final EIR based on the original project design. With this approach, City staff expects to move up the Final EIR release to May 2024. This alternative approach could still allow the City to make changes to the project based on a concurrent analysis of options to reduce environmental impacts, particularly the flow reduction area. However, instead of approving the project based on known modifications, the project would be approved based on a “worst-case scenario” from an environmental impact perspective, with the hope that the impacts could be reduced before construction is completed. The analysis to reduce environmental impacts could continue throughout the permitting and bidding process, and possibly through the start of construction.

In addition to potentially expediting the EIR timeline, the Council will consider sending a letter to Governor Newsom requesting he declare a state of emergency, which could potentially suspend or waive some state requirements for the project so it can move forward as soon as possible. Additionally, the Council will consider asking the Governor to request the President declare a federal disaster, which may make available federal assistance and funding. A staff report (PDF) with more information about this agenda item is available on the City website.

Meeting Info

The meeting will take place on February 20 at 7 p.m. in McTaggart Hall at Hesse Park and via Zoom. Watch live at rpvca.gov or on Cox 33/FiOS 38.
  
Share your thoughts on this topic with the City Council by emailing them to cc@rpvca.gov. To participate in public comment during the meeting, fill out a speaker slip if you are attending in person, or complete a form online at rpvca.gov/participate to participate virtually or leave a pre-recorded voice message.

Media Inquiries

If you have a media inquiry related to land movement in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, please contact the City's communications partner, Tripepi Smith, with your questions, at RPVMedia@TripepiSmith.com. They will also add you to our media list so you receive our listserv updates, press releases and media advisories.

If you are a person with a disability and need an accommodation to participate in programs, services, activities and meetings, contact the City's ADA Coordinator/Risk Manager at 424-327-3982, adarequests@rpvca.gov, 30940 Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275, at least 48 hours in advance to request an auxiliary aid or accommodation.