31 (015)
Susana Barrios
From:Rick Moyer <dr.rickmoyer@gmail.com>
Sent:Sunday, October
To:Public Comment; Nicholas J. Taylor; Kristin Pelletier
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] Deer Canyon Project
Attachments:Deer Canyon Project 10.20.2024.docx; Landforming excerpt.pdf; City Council
3.25.1975.pdf
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Please see the letter dated 10.20.2024 and two additional attachments for Mayor Aitken and the
Anaheim City Council. Thank you, Rick.
--
Dr. Rick Moyer
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Anaheim, CA 92807
October 20, 2024
RE: Deer Canyon Project
Dear Mayor Aitken and members of the Anaheim City Council:
Housing density has been an issue in Anaheim Hills since the early 1970’s when the land that would
become Anaheim Hills was annexed from Texaco. In the book Landforming, co-written by local resident
Horst Schor, an entire chapter is devoted to the development of Anaheim Hills (attached). The authors
remind us that the original Master Plan for Anaheim Hills included multiple apartment buildings and
high-density condominiums. However, after an evaluation by Anaheim City engineers it was determined
this plan was not feasible. The reasons for this determination included, but were not limited to,
problems with the local geology and topography;
1. The terrain in Anaheim Hills was too steep.
2. Multiple fault lines were detected.
3. Ancient landslides were detected.
4. Deep alluvial deposits made it cost prohibitive to move the earth needed to have stable building
pads.
The Anaheim City Council determined that low density housing was the only viable solution and to
achieve this it was necessary to create a lot of “open space” and to transfer slope maintenance to
mandatory community associations (HOAs). To achieve the desired aesthetics and necessary slope
gradients, a then experimental form of grading called “Landform Grading and Re-Vegetation” (or
“Landforming”) was utilized and welcomed by the participants. Upon the recommendations of a Joint
Task Force which included members of the Anaheim City Council, the grading ordinance was revised to
address hillside areas. The final product was Title 17, released in its amended form on April 1, 1975, and
entered in the Municipal Code. Mr. Horst played a vital role in all the proceedings and his account may
be verified in the meeting minutes of the Anaheim City Council. As an example, I have attached a
portion of the City Council meeting minutes from March 25, 1975 which addressed the Canyon Area
General Planning Task Force and amendments to Title 17.
The Deer Canyon Project now seeks to add high density housing to Anaheim Hills, despite the earlier
conclusions of the Anaheim City Council. As I reviewed the Soils report for the Deer Canyon Project I was
reminded of the same geological and topographical problems brought up in the 1970’s – steep terrain,
ancient landslides, faults, and alluvial soils. I should point out that the geology/topography of this area
has not changed since the Anaheim City Council determined that low density housing was the best
choice for Anaheim Hills. One sentence from the Project’s Soils report really concerns me;
“Review of the CGS (California Geological Survey) Landslide Inventory reports indicate the western
and northern facing slopes within the Project Site have a high landslide susceptibility and are
considered UNSTABLE”.
Our home of 30 years is located a few miles uphill from the project, near Serrano and Hidden Canyon.
We are located in the Santiago Geologic Hazard Abatement District which was created by the City of
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Anaheim in 1999 following the 1992/1993 Santiago landslide. The Soils report for the Deer Canyon
Project suggests that the Santiago landslide was caused by heavy rain in 1993. This is not the case.
Ground movement in the Santiago landslide was first discovered in July, 1992. Groundwater levels were
very high and the rains of January, 1993 caused the ongoing ground movement to accelerate. Early on,
the City hired the geotechnical firm of Eberhart and Stone to investigate the landslide. They discovered
the presence of a massive deep ancient translational landslide with a slip plane at about 180 ft. below
the ground surface. The Santiago landslide was a reactivation of this ancient landslide. Unfortunately,
the City’s geotechnical vendor (Converse) failed to identify this ancient landslide in its pre-development
evaluation. Dan Eberhart cited “inadequate borehole investigation”. Anaheim eventually sued Converse
for negligence but only recovered about a million dollars for well over $30 million of damages. The
Santiago landslide is considered an active landslide, controlled only by a massive dewatering system.
The landslide still plagues our community and has yet to be funded past next year.
The Geotechnical study for the Deer Canyon Project may be found at:
https://www.anaheim.net/DocumentCenter/View/55863/Appendix-I_Geotech-Report?bidId=
After reading the study, three questions immediately came to mind:
1. Are the borehole investigations adequate? They seem shallow to me given what we know about
the depth of the Santiago landslide, but I am not an expert.
2. Will adequate measures, such as the $25 million tieback system recently proposed for a portion
of the Santiago landslide, be taken to stabilize the “unstable” slopes in Deer Canyon?
3. Who will ensure that all geotechnical recommendations will be followed?
Condition of Approval
The Deer Canyon project resurrects the issue of housing density in Anaheim Hills. On the one hand, the
City Council voted to limit housing to “low density” back in the 1970’s, based on extensive evaluation by
City engineers citing geological and topographical issues which are unchanged. On the other hand, the
developer’s geotechnical consultant is now giving the green light to proceed with “high-density”
housing, likely unaware of the City Council’s history and previous decisions. In the event you decide to
approve the project despite the myriad of other objections, please consider as a condition of approval,
the mutual engagement of an independent third party geotechnical consultant* to ensure that
adequate borehole investigation is done and appropriate measures will be taken to protect the public
from further landslides and potential loss of life. As in the past, another large local landslide will
devastate property values throughout Anaheim Hills. We must learn from previous mistakes and protect
our community.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Moyer, M.D.
*Personally I recommend the geotechnical firm Tetra-Tech, as they have experience with our local
geology and have done work in Anaheim Hills for the City of Anaheim. As a disclaimer I have no personal
or financial ties to Tetra-Tech. They are thorough and do excellent work.
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