Cindy Bass Makes Retaining Walls a Priority

A isn't the only one this week that Cindy Bass thinks is important.

The councilwoman has put forward a bill that would require an addendum to deeds for properties where there is a retaining wall on site.

The reason Bass said she wants to do that is because homeowners don't often know when there's a retaining wall on their property.

"It's really just an idea to make sure that people are informed consumers," Bass said at a Mt. Airy-Bryan-Nippon-Cresheim Town Watch meeting Thursday.

What happens sometimes, according to Bass, is this: A retaining wall will crumble during a rainstorm, and people will wait for the city to come and fix it.

The only problem is that isn't often not the city's responsibility because it's actually a part of the homeowner's property.

So Bass wants it to be clear to the homeowner that the retaining wall is often something they own.

Town Watch Coordinator Steve Stroiman said a wall, in the past, collapsed at the intersection of Cresheim Road and Durham Street. The neighbors didn't know who it belonged to.

Bass said the law is also in part intended to encourage people to buy special insurance for their retaining walls.