From 1997 to 2005, Stoney-Miller Consultants provided Geological and Geotechnical Engineering services for Villages 1 to 4 of the master-planned community of Talega.  Comprising over 1,000 acres of hillside terrain in eastern San Clemente and Orange County, the earthwork associated with the project totaled about 50 million cubic yards to produce sites for 1000's of new dwellings, a golf course, business park and commercial center, with associated roads, bridges and infrastructure. 

Technical elements to the development of the community included detailed landslide identification and remediation, as well as creative methods to allow rapid tract release from deep fill settlement.  SMC pioneered the use of wick drains in both fill and native soils to enhance compression of deep surcharge, and meet Talega, LLC sales goals and product timing.

In June of 2005, a landslide occurred on a residential hillside in Laguna Beach, destroying a dozen homes and damaging seven others. Geofirm was called to the scene as the landslide was still moving, and the wheels were set in motion to mitigate further movement and damage and repair the hillside for the City of Laguna Beach and the residents.  In approximately two years, and with nearly 300 tiebacks, over 100 caissons and nearly 50,000 cubic yards of cement treated soil, the hillside was repaired. Today many of the homesites have been rebuilt, and the destroyed infrastructure restored.

During the repair, Geofirm worked in cooperation with the City of Laguna Beach and FEMA, CalOES, USGS, CDMG and CCC.

This repair won "Project of the Year" awards from both ASCE and CalGeo.

Stoney-Miller Consultants and Geofirm has been privileged to work with many of the finest Architects, Designers, and Contractors in California.  As works of art, these homes showcase the ultimate possibilities in residential living, use of materials, and state-of-the-craft construction methods.  For coastal properties our personnel provide expertise in the application of the State's Coastal Act, and have an excellent working reputation with the Coastal Commission.  This experience, and our approach to foundation performance and site stability, minimizes project delays and supports the design implementation. 

We have supported the design and construction of the finest homes in California.  Let us help with your home. 

Following the record rains of 2004, the Laguna Summit Apartments began to experience building distress.  In 2007 Geofirm was asked to evaluate, and determined a previously buttressed landslide had reactivated.  Evacuations were required until a repair could be completed.  Litigation and mediation ensued between the Owners, the Carriers, and Fannie Mae.

By 2013 agreements were reached and permits obtained to restore stability with a system of buried grade beams and tiebacks, shear pin caissons, and an underground micro-tunnel drainage gallery.  All the structures on the property were stabilized and reinforced in accordance with the current CBC.  This work was completed in late 2014.

Stoney-Miller Consultants, Inc. has prepared geologic hazard evaluations for ranch land property and homeowners along the coast of California.  North of Los Angeles, our work extends from Malibu, Ventura and the 1995 La Conchita Landslide to Hollister Ranch in Santa Barbara.  This work is an effort to broaden the understanding of buyers of property, and support the defense of residents impacted by earth hazards.

For more information, click on the "Hazard Maps" page in our website.  This link is continuously updated with the available State and Federal information on mapped landsliding, flood zones, liquefaction zones, wildfires, and more.

Enter your address to see what you might be facing.

In January 2011, a 0.5 acre landslide occurred on a coastal bluff in the City of Malibu, California.  One residence was destroyed and seven more were endangered, along with other property losses.  Emergency efforts succeeded in slowing the movement.  However, geotechnical investigation determined an adjoining acre of terrain was also failing.

Claims were filed by the property owners in and adjoining the area involving eleven properties with multiple insurance carriers and over twenty law firms.  

Experts performed investigations and concluded that all parties contributed to the failures and shared fault.   A consensus repair for the entire area was developed consisting of buttress earthwork along with grade beams and tiebacks.  Geofirm prepared final reports for City permitting approval.  Work on the global stabilization began in mid-2016 and is anticipated to be completed by May of 2017.

SMC performed a geotechnical investigation for a multi-story commercial building, using both Cone Penetration Testing and conventional drilling and sampling.   State-of-the-art liquefaction analysis was performed to evaluate the effects of lateral spreading and seismic settlement from liquefaction.  This facilitated the design of a foundation system optimal for the complex soil and seismic conditions beneath the site.

The One Coast project consists of an exclusive nine building condominium property notched into the hillside overlooking the ocean above the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway.  The buildings will vary from three to four stories and are locally founded on cement-treated compacted fill associated with the Revello-Castellammare Landslide repair.  Challenging elements to the design included retaining and foundation wall design in consideration of the very high static and earthquake loading imposed by the hillside.

For more information on the future development, see the project on the etco website at: http://liveonecoast.com/