Palos Verdes Peninsula cities have gained approval for its first multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan, which guides preparation for and responses to potential natural disasters — including potential landslides.
Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates, Rolling Hills, and Palos Verdes Estates, as well as two landslide abatement districts, received approval for their joint plan from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in June. The plan’s approval, which the four cities announced on Thursday, Aug. 27, ensures the towns remain eligible for state and federal funding to reduce long-term risks posed by natural hazards, a joint press release said.
“The plan addresses threats from potential natural hazards the Peninsula is vulnerable to,” the Peninsula cities said in the joint press release, “and identifies possible strategies to reduce their impacts.”
The Peninsula cities spent more than a year working on the plan, which is broken into two volumes — and more than 650 pages combined.
The planning process for the mitigation was spearheaded by Rolling Hills Estates and consultant Black & Veatch, the press release said. Besides all four Peninsula cities, the planning process, which formally kicked off in May 2025, also included the Abalone Cove Landslide Abatement District and Klondike Canyon Landslide Abatement District. Those districts also “perform landslide mitigation work within their boundaries in the city of Rancho Palos Verdes,” the press release said.
The comprehensive mitigation plan includes assessing the risk the Peninsula faces from various natural disasters, with earthquakes, heat waves, landslides, strong wind events and wildfires listed as “high risk,” while drought and flooding were defined as “medium risk.” The plan also discusses other potential challenges, such as ground-water seepage and “human-caused hazards” — such as acts of terrorism or an active shooter.
After defining and categorizing the various risks the Peninsula faces, the plan goes into mitigation. There are four mitigation goals, according to the plan:
- Reducing the risk to life, property, community lifelines, the environment and infrastructure from natural hazards and climate change.
- Expanding and improving public awareness of the various hazards and associated risks, and mitigation strategies.
- Strengthening partnerships and communication among government agencies, businesses and other local organizations.
- Integrating mitigation principles into regulations, policies, programs and guidance to support equitable outcomes to benefit the whole community.
- Conserving, enhancing, rehabilitating and protecting natural and cultural resources from hazards.
“Hazard mitigation,” the plan says, “involves implementing cost-effective and sustainable measures to minimize the risk to human life, property, and infrastructure from potential hazards.”
Mitigation planning, it adds, provides “a framework to lessen the impacts of natural disasters and create a more resilient community.”
The Peninsula knows all about natural disasters.
Rancho Palos Verdes, for example, has been hit especially hard by land movement in recent years after heavy rains during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 winter seasons destabilized the ground. The land movement has destroyed homes, turned Palos Verdes Drive South — the city’s main thoroughfare — into potential driving hazard, and has forced the landmark Wayfarers Chapel to be dismantled and put in storage to prevent further damage.
“Natural hazards know no jurisdictional boundaries,” Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor Paul Seo said in a statement. “This unprecedented effort reflects our agencies’ commitment to working together to plan for shared natural hazards so we can protect our communities for years to come.”
RPV has seen the land movement slow in recent months, thanks, at least in part, to various city efforts, such as installing dewatering wells; those wells pump water out of the ground. The landslide complex, in fact, is moving 60% slower than it did in 2025, according to a city update earlier this month. But the land is still moving 1.1 inches on average per week.
And after two consecutive, relatively dry winters, RPV and the rest of the region are bracing for a Super El Niño — which could potentially bring historic amounts of rainfall.
“We are looking at our plan and seeing what needs to be enhanced,” City Manager Ara Mihranian said in an interview earlier this month, “and it’s not just focusing on the landslide area.”
Rolling Hills Estates, meanwhile, was also impacted by land movement in July 2023, when 12 homes were damaged and eight were destroyed on Peartree Lane.
“We are one Peninsula, and because major hazards do not stop at city limits, collaboration is critical,” RHE Mayor Frank Zerunyan said in a statement, adding that his city was pleased to lead the mitigation planning effort and to secure the grants that covered most of the process’ cost. “By working together, the four cities are better positioned to identify risks, coordinate our efforts, and protect our communities from the impacts of future natural disasters.”
Land movement, though, is not the only natural disaster issue on the Peninsula. Wildfires have been an ongoing concern for years, with each city having its own mitigation plans, including goat grazing to clearing weeds.
“(The) Peninsula’s cities share many of the same natural hazards,” Rolling Hills Mayor Bea Dieringer said in a statement, “and our residents are best served when we prepare for them together.
“This plan strengthens regional coordination,” Dieringer added, “while ensuring that each city has strategies tailored to the needs of its own community.”
Receiving federal approval, however, was a complex process: It involved seven phases, from initial organizing and determining the potential hazards to determining the resources and capabilities of each agency, as well as extensive public outreach, according to the dedicated website for the plan.
FEMA approved the mitigation plan on June 12.
The Peninsula cities and the abatement districts have also formed a committee to continue working on the multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan, its website says. The Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee will meet monthly, with the next one scheduled for Sept. 10.
Ultimately, said Palos Verdes Estates Mayor Michael Kemps, the plan is all about working together to prepare — before an emergency ever occurs.
“This collaborative effort strengthens preparedness across the entire Peninsula,” Kemps said in a statement, “and gives each of our communities a clear framework for reducing risks and protecting residents from the natural hazards we share.”
To read the entire plan, visit pvpready.gov.