A ritzy Los Angeles enclave is seeing their wealth wiped out as bungling Democratic state leaders have failed to act while a massive landslide accelerates — leaving their homes teetering on the edge of a cliff.
Residents of the posh coastal city of Rancho Palos Verdes tore into Gov. Gavin Newsom for sinking critical legislation that would help protect properties in the idyllic community 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
Peter Pettler, 83, told The California Post that he’s seen the value of his sprawling 2,700-square-foot ranch-style home plummet in value from $2.5 million to just $515,000.
He was once even offered a pathetic $5,000 for his four-bedroom, four-bathroom manor.
“No one would buy this home now,” Pettler, who has called the neighborhood home for 37 years, said. “They couldn’t get a loan or insurance.”
He said an opportunistic couple once tried to purchase his home in Seaview at a 99.8% discount, offering just $5,000, a couple of years ago.
The homeowner blamed Newsom for vetoing Assembly Bill 986, which would have provided funding to address the ongoing disaster.
Introduced in February 2025, the bill was authored by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (District 66). It proposed expanding the California Emergency Services Act to include landslides as conditions for declaring a state of emergency.
After a winter of heavy drenching, the Abalone Cove and Portuguese Bend landslides have picked up.
The bill would have sped up the government response to the landslides, but was vetoed by Newsom on October 1 last year.
“This is a major disaster,” said Pettler. “He should have passed the bill. I wish he’d done something to help.”
Fellow Democrat, Rep. Ted Lieu, who represents the area in CA’s 36th district, is also under fire, with residents fuming that he has “done absolutely nothing” to save their homes.
Meanwhile, multiple homes in the area have had electricity and gas disconnected, and water service has been sporadic, with water pipes having to be moved above ground.
Residents, including Pettler, have installed solar panels and endured costly repairs due to the crumbling hillsides.
Underground wells in the area, installed decades ago, were designed to remove water from the landslide zone but have not been properly maintained by local authorities over the years.
The multi-million dollar mansions teetering on the cliff are at risk of falling into the Pacific Ocean.
George and Jennifer Elias are renting an $11 million, 8,900-square-foot property with six bedrooms and 8.5 bathrooms on Marguerite Drive, off Palos Verdes Drive West.
Jennifer’s dad, Bob Leech, 89, who is staying with his family, described how a huge chunk of cliff fell into the rocks below on Sept 28 last year.
“We came down in the morning and saw it had gone,” Leech told The Post.
“There were two patios that totally disappeared.”
He said a total of 60 feet of the backyard has disappeared over the months.
“It’s a magnificent house in a beautiful area but it’s now unsellable,” Leech said.
The stunning cliff-side mansion with breathtaking views was originally listed for rent at $70,000 a month but, according to Leach, his son-in-law was able to get a “great deal.”
The situation is just as dire at the massive 7-bedroom, 7.5-bathroom, 10,000-square-foot mansion next door, where the owner’s son — who declined to be named — said that a third of an acre of clifftop had dramatically crumbled in September.
Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Eric Barba, who purchased a stunning home in 2021 in a gated community in the shadow of the “Portuguese Bend Landslide,” decried the situation as a “nightmare.”
The area is named after Portuguese whalers who once had a station nearby.
Barba’s property on Narcissa Drive, with chickens in the yard, is now without natural gas, and he has installed solar panels for electricity.
The 72-year-old — who won at the 81st Academy Awards for the film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in the Best Visual Effects category — blames authorities for not doing more to help residents.
He said a FEMA plan to provide funds for the city to purchase damaged properties at 75% of their value is mired in red tape.
“They would scrape the property and the land would return back to the city,” he said.
“At least you could walk away with some money. People would take it in a heartbeat, but as of now, no one’s been given anything.
“The longer this takes it just bleeds people dry and destroys their credit.”
The homeowner, like many others, is installing expensive steel girders under his foundations.
He said the city had also previously failed to install a concrete wash to divert water from the hills above the tony neighborhood.
“It’s such a beautiful place to live that no one wants to leave,” Barba said.
The California Post reached out to Newsom’s office, Palos Verdes City Council, and Congressman Ted Lieu’s office for further comment.
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