Soil still shifing along the Hills of Rivermist

Update on Pulte-Centex development landslide in TX. Residents urge city to hold builder accountable for defectively constructed retaining wall built without permit.

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Mar. 5th

Pulte-Centex homes says the soil is still moving in the Hills of Rivermist.

New reports of cracks in walls had the homebuilder back on the site with engineers, doing soil testing. The company confirms it hasn't stopped the ground from shifting along some portions of the failed retaining wall.

“Pulte came in with their geotechnical engineer. What they did is they put instruments all along the wall to detect if it is moving, if the soil is moving. What they found is there continues to be movement where the wall failed. Where the wall did not fail, they are not seeing any movement,” said Roderick Sanchez, San Antonio’s Planning and Development Director.

There are plenty of signs that Pulte is addressing the issue. Crews cover the top of the hill, walking on top of huge plastic-covered backyards that have slipped away. The plastic is designed to prevent further soil erosion from rain. But like everything else, residents say it’s temporary. Pulte says they'll have a comprehensive fix for the Rivermist problems to present to the cityafter spring break.

http://www.kens5.com/news/Soil-still-shifing-along-the-Hills-of-Rivermis...
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Mar. 4th

Rivermist residents urge city council to hold homebuilder accountable

SAN ANTONIO – Residents of the northwest neighborhood of Rivermist are again asking city leaders for help. They want the city to encourage their homebuilder, Centex/Pulte, to buy back their homes. They say the wall collapse problem is getting worse. Neighbors say the retaining wall that collapsed in late January is breaking down even more, just down the street.

Chuck Cervantes, who lives across the street from homes that have been evacuated because of the collapse and ongoing safety concerns, says Centex/Pulte has hired a company to test soil samples from under the Rivermist homes. Cervantes thinks that soil was never equipped to support a construction project of this size.

He also pointed out cracks in another portion of the wall that neighbors believe were not there before. News 4 WOAI got our camera as close as we could to show you what Rivermist residents fear could be the spot of another collapse. From our video, you can see gaping holes in the mortar of the retaining wall and cracks around rocks. Cervantes is worried a heavy downpour could trigger another disaster on his street.

"I sure do get nervous when I hear rain nowadays," Cervantes said.

News 4 WOAI called the city to find out if these cracks are new and if they are putting neighbors in danger. Director of Planning and Development Rod Sanchez assured us he would send an inspector to check out the location Thursday. We followed up with phone calls to find out what the inspectors found. We were told by Assistant Director of Planning and Development Barry Archer that those cracks are not new and they do not necessarily pose a collapse danger.

Cervantes says until a solution is reached, he and his fellow Rivermist residents will keep going before city council urging them to hold this homebuilder accountable.

"The city needs to be concerned that we need builders that are going to stand by their product, that are going to treat people fairly and not hide behind legal situations they’ve created in their favor," Cervantes told News 4 WOAI.

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Rivermist-residents-urge-city-counc...

(See earlier HADD news starting about late Jan-early Feb for background on this story, or Google Rivermist landslide.)