WAITING, ONE YEAR LATER; WEST HILLS BLOCK PARTY SHOWS SUPPORT FOR MUDSLIDE VICTIMS.

Byline: Lisa Weiss Daily News Staff Writer

Neighbors held a block party Saturday, not to celebrate a holiday but to commemorate the anniversary of the day their community fell victim to a mudslide.

``I didn't think I wanted to be here,'' said Richard Magdaleno, whose home was one of five hit by the Feb. 13, 1998, slide. ``Seeing my house brings back a lot of bad feelings.''

Magdaleno is making mortgage payments on the house with a view of the Santa Monica Mountains while renting a small apartment in Northridge. The condition of the house has changed little since last year.

``But it's a great show of support,'' Magdaleno said of the block party. ``It makes me feel real good.''

Neighbors chatted and piled their plates with food from local eateries in what was billed as A Taste of West Hills.

They signed letters urging the City Council to vote to supplement a $3.2 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to buy the five damaged homes on Napa and Malden streets, and 11 others in Studio City, Malibu and other areas that also were damaged by mudslides during the heavy El Nino rains last year.

The FEMA grant will cover 75 percent of the cost of buying the properties, razing the houses and leaving the land undeveloped or turning it into a park. The city will decide whether to put up the rest of the money.

Since the damage was not caused by a flood or earthquake but by water saturating the soil and making it weak, homeowners insurance did not cover the damage.

``All the insurance companies turned their backs. There are no instructions for something like this,'' said homeowner Christy Dornan. ``A year is a very long time to be out of your house. It's going to cost millions to make these repairs. Most of these people are retired. They don't have the money to do that.''

Local restaurant owner Sid Lopez came out to support his longtime customers. ``It's not like they're young guys starting a family. This is it. Imagine - your house is paid for and now it's gone.''

Magdaleno said he worked hard to buy his own home and now must reacquaint himself with the inconveniences of apartment living: noisy neighbors, being at the mercy of the landlord for repairs, using a coin-operated laundry and searching for a parking space.

``I think it's disgusting that the city hasn't done anything for them,'' said Deanna Bourque, a friend of slide victim Minnie Rodrigues. ``They shouldn't have to wait. We send money to help disaster victims in other countries. We should help our own. I know it's catastrophic over there, but this is catastrophic.''

Roxana Benseman, who organized the event, renewed her real estate license when she heard of her neighbors' plight last year. ``It was like God was telling me to go back into the business. This affects all of our property values. It's a blight.''

Benseman's house was not damaged, but she lives across the street from Rodrigues, whose car is still trapped in the garage. ``This is my first home,'' Benseman said. ``Minnie and I have been through flood, fire, earthquake and El Nino.''

Benseman said residents have not been told when the vote will take place. ``They keep saying, in two weeks. It makes the case for secession. Nobody on that council who doesn't live in the Valley knows what it's like here. L.A. is too big. They can't know what's going on.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos, Map

PHOTO (1) Sandy Wood and her daughter, Adyn, survey the ruins of her mother's garage Saturday, a year after the building came crashing down in a mudslide.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News

(2) Los Angeles city geologist David Hsu checks out El Nino mudslide damage to a West Hills back yard in this Feb. 13, 1998, photo.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News

(3) This Feb. 13, 1998, photo shows how mudslides cut a destructive path through the West Hills area.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News

MAP: West Hills - Site of mudslides