Temporary Plan OKd to Halt Creek Erosion

After years of erosion, Coyote Creek finally will be repaired.

The City Council this week approved a plan to temporarily stop the erosion on four sections of the creek using sandbags until a permanent solution is designed.

City officials decided to spend an estimated $1.65 million on the permanent plan--surrounding the channel with concrete.

Several homeowners whose houses back up to the creek complained that the waterway is taking over their backyards and causing foundation instability. They asked the council to cover up the creek.

The council said covering the creek would cost at least $350,000 more and would mean that other pressing city drainage projects would have to be delayed. “Frankly, we don’t have the money,” Councilman Juan M. Garcia said.

The city was set to fix the Coyote Creek erosion problem four years ago, but the project was put on hold because of the county bankruptcy, officials said.