After the storm: Santa Cruz County presses for Small Business Administration relief for private-property owners

March 15--FELTON -- The scalloped hill hasn't changed much since a major landslide crushed portions of Moss Caballero's home on Brookside Drive in Felton.

The slide swept his large deck and shed into a creek under the four-bedroom mountain home Feb. 7. Santa Cruz County and Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency have deemed the house unsafe for habitation.

Now, Caballero is trying to find help to demolish his home and rebuild. Or, if he can raise the money, he would like to continue with the cleanup to sell his property and move on. The slide ruptured the home's foundation and destroyed the septic tank.

"I'm still trying to sell things off," Caballero said as he walked his property amid stands of redwoods and Douglas firs Tuesday afternoon. Cement piers from his deck still lay in the creekbed."I don't have a lot of my things now. My tools got washed away. I have to go really simple until I get things sorted out."

Caballero isn't alone. Santa Cruz County's damaged roads will cost more than $70 million to repair after storms in January and February flooded properties and triggered about 100 landslides in the county. That damage does not account for losses to private properties.

"In a lot of cases, there's no assistance for private homeowners," county spokesman Jason Hoppin said. "Insurance is the main tool to recoup their losses. In some cases, insurance doesn't cover the damage."

As a result, the county contacted the U.S. Small Business Administration to qualify for low-interest loans for property owners who suffered storm damage. To qualify, the county must present 25 properties with damage of at least 40 percent of each property's value. That threshold must be met separately in January and February.

In February, the county launched a survey of residents who experienced significant storm damage. That survey is open, Hoppin said. About 250 people responded. Hoppin said the county is aware of most of the major damage, such as a home destroyed in a landslide or flood.

Before the landslide, which happened about mid-day Feb. 7 while Caballero and a roommate were home, his property was worth roughly $550,000, he said. Now, the home is on the market for $250,000. He said the damage was "definitely" more than 40 percent of the property's value. He said the damage likely rose to $200,000.

He said an SBA loan would help to engineer a stabilizing structure at his property to make it suitable to rebuild.

"I'm just kind of waiting," said Caballero, who sells fiber optics online and is a caretaker.

Hoppin said SBA only would provide disaster-relief loans for properties with uninsured damage. Tuesday, SBA inspectors were visiting properties throughout Santa Cruz County to gauge the county's storm toll.

"This storm was unlike anything we had before," Hoppin said. "I don't think people understand the scope of the damage because it unfolded over time."

The major landslide was preceded by a small slide near the edge of Caballero's property. The life-changing event displaced him and forced him to find resources to get by each day.

"I'm just glad to be alive and am thankful no one got hurt," Caballero said. "That's why I'm not upset. You can always replace things."

A gofundme.com account was launched Feb. 13 to help Caballero. That fundraiser amassed $790 and Caballero used that money to clean property from the creek and his dump fees.

"That was really helpful," he said. "When you lose your house, and you lose part of your income as well, it makes it really hard to scrape up money."

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