Builder Allowed to Study Slide Area

The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council on Tuesday gave developer Barry Hon permission to do an environmental impact report on property in the Portuguese Bend landslide area where he would like to build a residential and golf course complex.

The development would be on property where construction has been forbidden because of earth movement, and Hon has asked the city to exclude his property from the moratorium area.

City officials have determined that an environmental impact report is necessary before the city can approve or deny Hon’s request. The cost of the report will be borne by Hon’s company, Palos Verdes Land Holdings Co. Inc.

Several residents who oppose the project told the council that allowing the study would give the project credibility. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,” resident Kay Barra said. “This is the first step.”

But city officials were advised by City Atty. Carol Lynch that if the city refused to authorize the study, Hon could successfully sue to compel the city to allow him to proceed. “They have the right to take the first step,” Lynch said.

“If Mr. Hon wants to spend $1 million on geology, then all we do is learn more,” Mayor Pro Tem Jacki Bacharach said. “To find out more about geology will only help us.”

Bacharach and other city officials said the environmental report would not entitle Hon to anything further from the city.