Options to address landslides under homes limited

Restoring an area affected by a landslide can cost millions of dollars and isn’t affordable or practical in most cases, a city engineer said Wednesday.

Tim Mitros, stormwater manager for Colorado Springs, referred to the situation on Constellation Drive where the front yard of a hilltop home slid 7 feet lower.

The slide has damaged the home and threatens homes downhill on Zodiac Drive. Mitros said constant rain has soaked the ground under the home and is sliding on underlying bedrock.

Mitros said in addition to calling in state geology experts to evaluate the situation, Colorado Springs Utilities and the Regional Building Department will determine if the home is safe enough for the homeowner to remain.

The homeowner declined comment but a neighbor spoke on his behalf.

“He went up and down three streets, knocking on doors,” neighbor Susie Gvazdauskas said. “He said it happened to my house, be aware that the wetness of this year is an issue, stay alert.”

Mitros said the home was built before 1996, when the city adopted a “geologic hazard” ordinance.

“It requires developers to take a look at hazards such as landslides, old mines, steep slopes and groundwater,” he said.

In May, a landslide at the A-1 Mobile Village near 8th and Cimarron streets forced four recreational vehicles and two mobile homes to be moved. The final solution, a manager said, was to wait a few weeks for the slide to stop.

“Most of the people who left are coming back,” the manager said. “We’ll level things out with a bulldozer, rebuild the walls and people can move back in.”

Mitros said in 1999, a similar slide led the federal government to buy out several homeowners on Regency Drive in the Broadmoor Hills neighborhood.

“The government is in town evaluating flood damage claims,” Mitros said. “We’ll talk with them about this situation even though it’s not included in the disaster declaration.”

A homeowner on Zodiac Drive is taking action, hiring a contractor to install two concrete supports to protect the home from the landslide above.

“Some of the residents are seeing some movement in their foundations,” Mitros said.

Gvazdauskas said the owner of the Constellation home bought it seven years ago and plans to spend his retirement there.