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NORTH SALT LAKE -- Demolition crews today are preparing to knock down a house damaged by a slow-moving landslide in the Springhill area.
City manager Barry Edwards said a recent report from the Utah Geological Survey indicated there had been "significant movement of the ground" in the past 30 days, creating additional damage to homes in the North Salt Lake neighborhood.
"There's movement underneath the house," Edwards said. "It's pushing the house down the hill."
Front pillars recently have fallen from the bank-owned home near 150 South and 400 East. In addition, the floor has buckled, and windows have broken.
"It's getting in a position where the house itself poses somewhat of a safety hazard," he said.
The bank obtained a demolition permit from the city, and crews were waiting for the gas to be shut off to the home before beginning demolition work.
Edwards said there are other houses in the area that are in similar condition and also should be torn down. However, owners of those homes haven't yet said that's what they want to do.
"We haven't pressed (the issue) because the people who lived in those houses have already been financially stressed," he said. "We don't want to add any financial burden on them right now."
According to the Utah Geological Survey's website, the state agency has been monitoring conditions in the Springhill neighborhood since 1998. Residents first began noticing cracks related to minor movement in their homes about a year earlier.
A home that straddled the northern boundary of the landslide became the first to be condemned in 1998. A wet 2005 accelerated the landslide and damage, leading more homes to be condemned.
The Springhill landslide is roughly 720 feet long and about 290 feet wide, according to the UGS.
E-mail: jpage@desnews.com
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