SAN DIEGO — Homes in La Jolla are sliding off of their foundation after a sinkhole opened up on Gilman Drive, following a completely separate storm.
Legal action is now mounting against the City of San Diego. There are 17 claims currently filed.
They say a storm drain pipe broke in March 2023. Tropical Storm Hillary then hit in August, causing more damage. Repairs are still underway and it's set to be complete by spring. But it's now delayed because of more wet weather.
"The whole building was shaking. It was horrible," Kyle Voors said, who was displaced from his home in October.
The sinkhole is 80 feet wide, by 40 feet deep. It opened up feet away from the La Jolla Terrace Condo Complex.
"It was a massive hole, super dangerous," Voors added, who is an Officer in the Navy. He said his home shifted several inches over the course of six months.
"Water kept eroding from underneath the building," Voors said. "Every day they would come in with wheelbarrows and back fill, saying nothing was wrong, when there were cracks in the wall, cracks in the floor, doors didn't lock."
"They had the ability to fix this 100 times over," he added. "They knew and they chose to do nothing."
Voors says the Freedom of Information Act requests he's filed show the city's own engineering department knew the complex was compromised in March, but the building wasn't red tagged until October. When asked what took so long, a city spokesperson said requiring people leave their home is not taken lightly.
"I kept asking more questions and sending more letters and calling more people - it was embarrassing, the level that it went," Voors said.
The City says the ground has been stabilized, the storm drain pipe is once again operational and that 5,000 more feet will be evaluated for possible repairs.
They are also footing the hotel bill until residents can safely get back in. Kyle says they've also offered to pay for his damaged belongings, but at a depreciated value.
"A fair amount of stuff smells moldy, from being open for four months," he said.
Voors has also filed a complaint against two city engineers at the licensing board level. They are looking into any wrongdoing.
"It's slightly ironic with the amount of taxes you pay here and the cost of living," he said. "What I'm paying is definitely not reflected in the quality of work."
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