The City of Rancho Palos Verdes has formally appealed FEMA's decision to deny a multimillion-dollar disaster recovery fund to help the city cover costs associated with the damage caused by extreme land movement.
The city requested $37.9 million in disaster recovery money for the landslide caused by winter storms in 2024, but FEMA rejected the request in January 2025, calling it a 'pre-existing' issue.
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"We believe it was a mischaracterization of the disaster in Rancho Palace Verdes," RPV Mayor David Bradley, told KNX News' Nataly Tavidian.
"A second slip plane was caused by the excessive rains from last year, which drastically accelerated the landslide movement, and therefore should be part of the weather disaster declaration we had in Southern California," Mayor Bradley said.
In its appeal, the city argues that the storm activated not only the existing Portuguese Bend Landslide Complex but also the Altamira Landslide Complex, a different and more significant landslide.
The city is asking for the $37.9 million as reimbursement for projects it paid for after the storms.
FEMA District 9 Administrator Robert Fenton will review the appeal.
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