The Cedar Hills landslide appears to be on the move again.

"It looks like it is moving slightly," said Gary Christenson of the Utah Geological Survey geologic hazards program.

As spring approaches, the likelihood is that movement will increase, he said.

On April 28, 2005, a landslide forced four Cedar Hills families to permanently abandon their townhomes. The toe of the 375-feet long, 150-feet wide slide piled up against the townhomes, where it remains today. The slide eventually damaged the building's foundation.

"There certainly is a chance that it will move again as the snow melts and the water table rises," he said. "It is very likely. The question is how much."

The townhomes are keeping the slide from moving further into the neighborhood, he said.

"Certainly the townhouses, by remaining there, is helping to buttress the landslide," he said.

If the landslide began moving quickly this spring, it would be the property owner's responsibility to alert city officials and emergency managers, he said.

"We come down and look at it once a month," Christenson said, noting crews measure ground water in wells drilled for the purpose at the site, and also measure the size of cracks.

A representative of Highland Homes, which built the townhomes, did not return calls for comment.

Because the land is private property, Cedar Hills is not involved in efforts to stabilize the slope and is not paying for the effort, said City Manager Konrad Hildebrandt.

"We've been working to facilitate that as much as we can, because obviously we have a lot of vested interest in our residents' safety and health," he said. "We've worked with the developer and geotech company and all those people who have worked to resolve this issue.

"I don't know the future of the site. Obviously the city won't let any residential construction happen there."

Stabilizing the slide likely means leaving the concrete foundation of the townhomes there permanently to block it, he said.

"I would venture to guess the foundation will always remain there," he said.

Clyde Naylor, Utah County surveyor/engineer, said though county survey crews had monitored the slide for a time during the height of its movement last spring, the county is no longer involved and has no plans to further monitor the site unless requested by the city.

Caleb Warnock can be reached at 443-3263 or cwarnock@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.