Crumbling Cliff Prompts Demolition Order For Another Pacifica Apartment Building

PACIFICA (KPIX 5) -- More apartments are going to be reduced to rubble in Pacifica.

Last week it was 330 Esplanade Avenue, and now it is 320.

A crumbling cliff below the buildings has made living there dangerous, and after years of teetering on the edge, the building will meet its fate.

"I'm glad we're poised to be able to take down the building," Pacifica City Manager Lorie Tinfow said.

Tomorrow, the construction fence goes up, and by Tuesday the demolition begins on the 20-unit apartment building.

Pacifica city officials red-tagged it during the last El Nino in 2010.

The building next door is yellow-tagged after this year's storms ate away at the cliff below.  Residents have been forced to move. The city hasn't yet decided whether it will stay or be torn down.

And last month this nearby apartment got demolished after winter rains brought the building dangerously close to falling into the Pacific.

"It's not safe anymore. And if you wait, and there is some catastrophic storm, quake or something other event, that building could end up on the beach below. And if so the cost to clean up would be a lot higher," Tinfow said.

The demolition cost is about $200,000.

The city hopes to get reimbursed in the future through the property owner's bankruptcy proceedings.

But for now, the goal is tearing the building down in the next five days.

"My number one concern is safety. Safety of everybody," Pacifica Public Works Director Van O'Campo said.

Once the building is demolished, the city says its problems aren't over yet. They're also concerned about Esplanade Avenue.

"Frankly, what's on our mind next is protecting the street. Esplanade Avenue will be the next asset that's at risk," Tinfow said.

The city says it's looking for money from all levels of government to shore up the cliff and put an end to the erosion.