A Tuesday night meeting on landslide danger drew more than 100 homeowners, many of whom were concerned that their nearby homes on Colorado Springs’ southwest side would plummet in value.

For at least 46 homeowners in Colorado Springs, that’s a very real fear, since El Paso County Assessor Steve Schleiker dropped the value of many landslide-affected homes by 50 percent. But during Tuesday’s meeting, the first of two hosted by the city of Colorado Springs, Schleiker stressed that some neighbors shouldn’t fear that landslide stigma would affect their home values.

To help homeowners struggling with damage from landslides, the city of Colorado Springs intends to apply for a federal Hazard Mitigation Grant, which could cover the cost to buyout and demolish some homes.

The buyout program is voluntary, and applications are due to the city by March 4.

The city has notified the state, which is handling the buyout process, that it will need at least $14 million, although not all homeowners who apply will receive grant money. The money will be a match grant, with 75 percent provided by the federal government and 25 percent from local sources.

Two neighborhoods in southwest Colorado Springs, Skyway and Broadmoor Bluffs, have been most affected by landslides, a gradual creep of earth triggered by record-breaking rainfall in May.

But the number of homes affected relative to those unaffected is small, Schleiker said. There are more than 2,400 homes in the Broadmoor Bluffs area and more than 1,700 in Skyway – and only a relative handful have damage from landslides.

The assurance that their home values would not be affected by damage in a distant neighborhood was a relief to many. When Schleiker assured one woman that he had not assessed values in her neighborhood near Broadmoor Bluffs Drive, she hugged him.

Other homeowners sought out Schleiker during the Broadmoor-area meeting to see if a member of his staff could inspect their property for evidence of a landslide, but that’s not his purview, he told them.

City officials urged homeowners to hire professional engineers to assess their property’s risk.

Five years ago, Rick Sisco and his wife bought their home on Constellation Dr. in the Skyway area. Since last Summer, the home for the Siscos is being threatened by the eroding hillside and a fifteen foot cliff has formed in his front yard. Rick Sisco looks over the view that sold them on the house on Thursday, January 28, 2016. Photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE