In 2019 and 2023, two landslides occurred at the Righetti Hill Open Space, which is owned by the City of San Luis Obispo, threatening a portion of the Righetti Ranch housing development that sits right below it. Now, there's a fight over who bears the burden of the cost to fix that damage.
“You could see the fact that a good portion of the hill had actually given way," Righetti Ranch resident Vince Marino said of the January 2023 landslide.
Resident Cathy Bezek recalls the scene from her home's back porch, which is located right below the area where the slide occurred.
“I remember looking up on the hill and it looked like there had been some movement,” she said.
Another neighbor provided this picture showing the damage following severe rainstorms.
According to Bezek, the builder, Ambient Communities, addressed the mitigation efforts immediately.
“Quickly, they got equipment in and then they went up there and removed all the mud that was threatening," she said.
Later, Bezek said the city came in to conduct additional mitigation efforts.
“To the City Council's credit, they took action and got involved," Bezek added.
But on April 2 of this year, the City of San Luis Obispo filed a lawsuit against the development, Righetti Ranch NC, LLC. Less than 12 hours later, the development submitted and filed a complaint against the City of SLO demanding a jury trial.
The city alleges that the development of Righetti Ranch into the bottom side of the open space is the reason for the two landslides, and according to City Attorney Christine Dietrick in an email to KSBY, “the developer failed in its development obligations and then refused to reimburse the taxpayers of SLO for the public’s costs of repairing the damage it caused.”
The lawsuit claims that the city has spent $871,000 in “direct engineering design and construction costs for the remediation project.”
However according to the complaint filed by attorney Paul Beard on behalf of the development, under the Orcutt Area Specific Plan from 2010 and the General Plan, the city violated its obligations as a landowner to maintain and repair its lots, such that the city caused the 2019 and 2023 landslides, making the city liable to Righetti for all damages incurred.
Beard went on to tell KSBY in an email that the “failure caused landslides threatening Righetti’s subdivision and causing significant damage to Righetti.”
According to the complaint, the damages requested by Righetti Ranch include $353,196 in remediation efforts by the development.
For residents like Bezek, even though both sides are at odds, they are grateful to be safe.
“The point is that they all did the right thing at the right time, and I'm super grateful," she concluded.
According to Bezek, the landslide never made it onto her property and was taken care of immediately. Meanwhile, Marino told KSBY he's seen the mitigation efforts, such as new drainage systems and netting, significantly help with erosion control on that side of Righetti Hill Open Space, and he has not seen any issues since then.
