NORTH SALT LAKE -- The Utah Geological Survey said it has reports dating back as far as the 1980s, identifying the potential for landslides in the same area where a catastrophic slide destroyed one home and forced the evacuation of 27 others.
"There's a lot of clay, volcanic rock, there are landslides throughout this whole mountain area right here," Jessica Castleton with the Utah Geological Survey said in an interview Tuesday with FOX 13.
While Castleton cited four separate reports (two from the state, two from private consultants) that warned of landslide potential, she said Utah does not have any authority to prohibit development in the area.
"That's up to the engineers and the cities as they're doing their more detailed investigations of the area," she said.
North Salt Lake officials confirmed they had identified problems in the area, beginning with a crack in the soil last fall.
"At the time, they decided the best thing would be to remove some of the soil on the steep slope so it wouldn't be as steep and to help alleviate that pressure," said Paul Ottoson, the North Salt Lake City Engineer.
The cracking re-occurred earlier in the summer, he told reporters at a news conference Tuesday.
"We got very concerned about it," Ottoson said. "The developer started getting some bids to start removing some of the material up on top. That had started and unfortunately, because of the rains we had recently, we had a very serious event."
Tuesday's landslide is the third such event in recent years in the area. Slides occurred on Lofty Lane and in the Springhill neighborhood. In Springhill, the city ended up buying 11 homes to tear down because of the slides.
But North Salt Lake Mayor Len Arave said you cannot compare the slides to what happened Tuesday.
"Although we've had three problems in close proximity, the causes are significantly different. It's not the same," he said. "Yes, we're on a hillside and there are geological issues that need to be dealt with when we build homes here. We'll look at them, examine them and learn from them."
