Background.  The Greater Portuguese Bend Landslide Complex (PB Landslide Area) is the oldest and one of the largest landslide areas in the United States. Located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the Southern California coast in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, the entire PB Landslide Area is approximately 240 acres. Above the basal surface, the PB Landslide Area is broken into several blocks that collectively involve tens of millions of cubic yards of relatively dense, but locally fractured soil. These blocks move separately at different rates.

The landslide conditions include land movement rates that accelerated from just 2 to 3 inches per month to rates up to 13 inches per week. The significant and unprecedented change in movement behavior has been severely impacted by the atmospheric river events of late 2022 and throughout 2023. PB Landslide Area movement intensified in correlation to the inundation of groundwater that occurred during these events. Landslide movement within the PB Landslide Area continues to manifest at the ground surface in the form of scarps, fissures, grabens/sinkholes, tensional cracking, shear zones and thrust features. 

In this PB Landslide Area, several homes have experienced damage or structural stress such as foundation cracks, buckling roofs, compromised doors and windows creating inadequate egress, utility failures, and other impacts as a result of the land movement, creating unsafe living conditions. Many of these homes have been deemed uninhabitable. If no action is taken, additional homes will be deemed uninhabitable, lives will be at risk, and infrastructure will be at risk. 

This Voluntary Property Buyout Program has been developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) and the California Office of Emergency Services (“Cal OES”) in partnership with the City to enable property owners adversely impacted by the PB Landslide Area to relocate from the risk of imminent failure of land movement. Funding for this Program comes from FEMA through its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (“HMGP”). A copy of the PB Landslide Area is depicted on Attachment A of the RFP. 

Acquired homes will be demolished, removed, and the sites will be restored and maintained as open space in perpetuity by the City. Prior to acquisition and demolition, each property and structure shall be evaluated for environmental concerns and hazardous materials, including asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paint. The findings will be used to confirm the property is eligible for acquisition and to inform abatement, demolition, waste handling, disposal procedures, and consultant safety requirements. As well, during the demolition biological and archaeological monitoring is required.  

Purpose of this RFP.  The City of Rancho Palos Verdes is seeking a qualified environmental consulting firm to provide Phase 1 environmental site assessment (ESA) and hazardous materials investigation services, and biological and archaeological monitoring services, for up to 40 residential properties as part of the Greater Portuguese Bend Landslide Voluntary Property Buyout Program. If selected, the firm will enter into a Professional Services Agreement with the City. Attachment B is a blank Professional Services Agreement form, including insurance requirements, for review. The consultant will work with City Staff to conduct the environmental assessments and inspections as required by FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The objective of this project is to permanently remove at-risk residential structures acquired through the Greater Portuguese Bend Landslide Voluntary Property Buyout Program and restore the resulting parcels to stable open-space conditions in accordance with FEMA property acquisition requirements, HMGP regulations, Cal OES requirements, and applicable federal, state, and local laws.