Property owners along Walker Street in Mount Auburn have submitted to Cincinnati city council a petition asking the City to help correct a major landslide problem that they say is damaging their property values.

The petition asks the City to build approximately 566 feet of retaining wall , along with the necessary sewer connections, and to pay no less than 2 percent of the estimated $588,000 project cost.

The City would then issue bonds and assess each property owner for the remainder based on property frontage, payable over a period of 30 years.

Damage to yards, decks, and sewer lines at the Walker Street properties is the result of a burst water main at 1843 and 1845 Walker Street in 2005, a problem exacerbated by a --> --> --> project on nearby Alma Street.

Time has only caused the damage to spread, and many of the properties along Walker Street have pending building code orders against them.

At least two properties have gone into foreclosure due to the high repair costs, and, to bolster the property owners' argument, the petition frames the issue as a City investment that can prevent even more homes from being lost.

"Because of the risk of hill slide, many of the properties on Walker Street have lost value and may not be sellable," the petition says. "It is in the interest of the City to protect its investment and tax base in Walker Street through the construction of a retaining wall."

The petition received signatures from owners of more than the required 60 percent of property frontage, with only the owners of 1809-1813, 1841, and 1857 Walker Street failing to sign.

Council's Vibrant Neighborhoods Committee will consider the petition at its meeting today.

Photo credit: , courtesy of Flickr.

Previous reading on BC:
Walker Street property owners still awaiting action on retaining wall (6/16/09)
Walker Street residents craft petition (5/5/09)
Walker Street residents assembling petition for retaining wall assessment (4/23/09)
Walker Street retaining wall closer to Council vote (4/8/09)
Resident: 'Please help us save Walker Street' (2/24/09)