Developer Williams Homes has begun work to repair a failing slope in a Canyon Country neighborhood that damaged homes in a landslide last year.

In December, the Trestles Community Association announced to homeowners of the affected households that the Santa Clarita Valley-based developer had obtained a permit from the city of Santa Clarita, greenlighting the repairs.

The properties involved, part of the Trestles and American Beauty housing developments, share the slope between Teri Drive and Trestles Drive. In February 2019, a weekend storm caused a landslide and caused some of the land under the homes to physically reshape and break apart.

The slope was first noticed by residents living above the Trestles development after cracks in their backyard morphed into an 8-foot-deep hole that consumed three backyards.

Over the course of December, workers prepared the slope for the repairs, which entailed: the installation of temporary fencing; clearing and grubbing the area; surveying the site; and staking the slope and the affected yards.

Due to rainy weather conditions this winter, erosion control and protection measures previously were implemented in the exposed work areas.

Last week, drilling and beam installation began for temporary shoring, a process of supporting a structure for a short time to prevent it from collapsing.

As of this week, Calex Engineering, the company conducting the repair work, “encounter(ed) an issue with the pile depths in a section of the temp(orary) shoring location. This is currently being examined with Calex, structural engineers and geologists,” the association said in a statement released Thursday.

Drilling is expected to continue once “modifications can be engineered,” it added.

Officials with Williams Homes were unavailable to speak on the matter Thursday, but the association announced Williams Homes would cover the costs for repairs.

In March of last year, Lance Williams, president and CEO of Williams Homes, announced he would collaborate with engineers and geologists to start repairs, as well as buy back some of the Trestles homes affected by the landslide.

“Our team is further coordinating with a skilled team of soils engineers and geologists working on the site to identify the cause of the failure, develop a work plan to repair the slope, and ultimately complete repairs in a timely fashion so that the affected homes are returned to normal occupancy, and the affected families can safely return to their homes,” Williams said in May. “We have reached out to the homeowners who have limited access to their homes to provide assistance. We are listening and responding.”