The Hillside on Deep Valley Drive Has Been Empty Since 1997. Here's What Finally Changed the Math.

In June 2025, the Rolling Hills Estates City Council approved up to $485,512 for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report on the Brickwalk Residences, a housing project proposed for the hillside above Deep Valley Drive. On November 18, 2025, the council replaced that contract with one capped at $39,506 for a narrower Addendum to the city's General Plan Update Programmatic EIR. No member of the public testified on that item.

The drop in cost follows from the site's history. The slope failed in 1997, and every plan since has hit the same problem: the repair has to be paid for by whatever gets built on top of it. State law now lets far more get built there, and it has also shortened the public process for deciding whether that should happen. For anyone weighing a move to Rolling Hills Estates, this is the largest pending change to the city's commercial district. The next decision point is expected in late 2026 or early 2027.

"Trash Bag Hill"

The site covers about 10.42 acres at the corner of Deep Valley Drive and Indian Peak Road, near Crenshaw Boulevard on the city's border with Rancho Palos Verdes. In a 2013 report, the Daily Breeze said residents called it "trash bag hill." When the land gave way in 1997 it destroyed the offices of several businesses, including the Palos Verdes Peninsula News. Nothing had been built there since, and sheets of black plastic and sandbags covered the slope to keep rain out of the ground.

The cause was old construction. A geotechnical engineer from Petra Geotechnical told the council that contractors in the 1950s and late 1960s placed fill on loose soil on a steep slope, and the wet winter of 1997 sent water under that fill. A city consultant described a slide plane of loose soil 80 to 90 feet down. That plane runs from Crenshaw Boulevard to the project boundary, under a parking lot at Crenshaw and Indian Peak that was still moving in 2013. The fix those consultants described involved digging the wet soil out down to bedrock, building a retaining wall tied back into that bedrock, and refilling with compacted soil.

Both the city's engineers and the project's engineers agreed on one point. The hillside would have to be stabilized at some point whether or not anything was built there. So the question has never been whether someone pays for the repair. It has been what gets built to cover the cost.

Why 148 Homes Did Not Pencil Out

The 2013 plan, from Brickwalk LLC, called for 148 condominiums and townhomes plus 14,200 square feet of commercial space. The repair alone was estimated at about $20 million of a roughly $106 million total. The townhome portion was projected to cost about $208,000 per unit to build. A commercial real estate advisor estimated that the condos would sell for $700,000 to $900,000 and the townhomes for $950,000 to $1.3 million.

Then-Councilman Steve Zuckerman said he did not see "a lot of daylight between these per-unit costs and construction costs," and noted that the figures left out financing and permit fees. He was also concerned about what would happen after the standard 10-year "wrap" insurance policy ran out:

"The failure in these types of projects is not that the homes slide down the hillside, but that the streets start to crack, doors don't close, you start to get cracks in the drywall, windows start to crack, interior stucco. The place doesn't fall down the hill, but you've got a mess."

He added that homeowner's insurance does not cover that kind of damage, and that he could not support the project without adequate coverage against land movement. The proposal was for-sale housing, so the buyers would have carried that risk once the warranty period ended.

What Changed Between Then and Now

The current owner, Rolling Hills Capital, LLC, filed an SB 330 preliminary application on February 7, 2024, and a full development application on August 5, 2024. The new plan differs from the 2013 one in almost every way that affects the finances.

Even the smaller count is about two and three-quarter times the 2013 plan. No current repair estimate is public. As plain arithmetic, though, the 2013 figure of $20 million works out to about $135,000 per home across 148 units and roughly $49,000 per home across 407. Rental housing also changes who carries the long-term risk Zuckerman described. A single owner holds the building instead of hundreds of individual buyers.

The Density Bonus Law is what makes the higher count possible. Rancho Palos Verdes staff write that the 407-unit version includes 29 very low-income units, which qualifies it for a 30% density bonus. They also say the developer is seeking a waiver of the site's 44-foot height limit. The Rolling Hills Estates project page describes 44 very low-income units and says that share "qualifies it for mandatory benefits" under the law. "Mandatory" is the key word here. Under the state framework, the city has limited power to refuse the added density and waivers once a project qualifies.

The city also has a reason to see the project built. At the June 2025 meeting, Community Development and Public Works Director Naughton explained that the units will count toward the city's Regional Housing Needs Assessment, but only once building permits are issued. Approval alone earns the city nothing toward its state housing target. Rolling Hills Estates gets credit only if the project reaches construction.

The Week the Review Shrank

The cut from a full EIR to an addendum happened over five months:

1. June 24, 2025. The council approves the $485,512 Supplemental EIR and a $78,775 geotechnical peer review by Cotton Shires & Associates. Mayor Stegura says there will be "many opportunities for public comment over the next year and a half" and notes that the applicant pays for the environmental reports.
2. July 1, 2025. Governor Newsom signed budget trailer bills AB 130 and SB 131 less than a week after the June vote, and they took effect immediately on July 1. They exempt qualifying urban infill housing from CEQA and apply retroactively to pending applications, including this one.
3. Later in 2025. The city concludes that the project appears to qualify for the exemption. Because one criterion involving biological resources may be ambiguous, the applicant agrees to a narrow review of habitat for certain protected species under the "near miss" provisions of SB 131.
4. November 18, 2025. The council approves the revised contracts: $39,506 for the Addendum, $71,910 for a Fehr & Peers transportation study, and $73,600 for Cotton, Shires geotechnical review. Two of the five council members are absent.

Rancho Palos Verdes staff state the result directly. The Addendum "will not involve the same robust level of public outreach as the SEIR would have." Their city asked for the intersections of Indian Peak Road and Crestridge Road with Crenshaw Boulevard to be added to the traffic study, since those roads fall under Rancho Palos Verdes jurisdiction. The geotechnical review that worried the council in 2013 is still in the process, and its budget went down only slightly. The broader public review around it is what got smaller.

Where Things Stand in October 2026

As of July 2026, Rancho Palos Verdes staff understood that the Addendum was unlikely to reach the Rolling Hills Estates Planning Commission before late 2026 or early 2027. Nothing on the public calendar has changed that. Brickwalk does not appear on the City Council agendas for July 28, August 25, September 8, or September 22. It is also absent from the Planning Commission agendas for August 3, September 21, and the upcoming October 5 meeting.

The size of the project is still unsettled in the public record. The city's project page lists 454 units, seven-story buildings along Deep Valley Drive, a five-story building on Indian Peak Road, and 881 parking spaces. Its dated timeline, however, ends in June 2025. The Rancho Palos Verdes report updated July 7, 2026, still describes 407 units in three eight-story buildings and one six-story building, with 503 parking spaces. The Addendum will be the first document that settles which version is actually under review.

Several businesses list addresses within the project's Deep Valley Drive range. They include Giorgio's Restaurant at 777, Palos Verdes Wine Club at 767, 710 Hair at 710, and HYPERIUM Conservatory at 655, Suite 120. The public record calls for demolishing existing buildings. It does not say which specific buildings fall inside the construction footprint.

A smaller project shows how slowly approved housing moves here. The Residences at Peninsula Center, 90 units at 27525 Norris Center Drive, received city entitlements on December 10, 2024. According to PVP Watch, Vestar had not applied for building permits as of July 7, 2026. Approval and construction are separate events. Because of the housing-target rule, the city counts only the second one.

FAQ

Will there be a public hearing on the Brickwalk Residences? The Addendum is expected to go to the Planning Commission, which posts its agendas publicly. At the June 2025 meeting, Councilmember Schmitz pointed residents to the city's interested-parties list and email notifications as ways to follow the project.

Is the hillside still moving? In 2013, engineers described the slope as unstable and still showing movement. No current findings from the Cotton, Shires peer review have been released.

Why is Rancho Palos Verdes involved? Indian Peak Road and Crenshaw Boulevard lie in Rancho Palos Verdes, so access improvements at the Indian Peak site need that city's coordination.

If you are thinking about a purchase near Deep Valley Drive or Silver Spur Road while this review is still open, we track the Planning Commission agendas and the project's public record. We can go through the documents with you before you make an offer. Jane Angel is available to talk through timing and what each outcome could mean for the homes nearby. Book an Appointment.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.