NORTH BEND — The city plans to wait an additional 30 days before making a decision on what to do with a dangerous house perched on a slipping slope above U.S. Highway 101 and an Asian eatery.

Discussed during the North Bend City Council meeting Tuesday, the home, owned by Yesi Guirado of Englewood, is in no danger of falling in the near future, councilors said. And despite failures to do so in the past, Guirado now has complied with city orders. The 30-day extension ends at the council’s meeting on Feb. 26.

At a council meeting Jan. 8, Guirado was ordered to cordon off the house, located at 2505 Sheridan Ave., to prevent access by unauthorized people; and to direct all drainage from the house off the slide zone to prevent water from worsening the slide. The measures were suggested by Bill Galli, the principal engineer of the Galli Group in Grants Pass, who was hired by the city to give an independent opinion about the stability of the slope and home.

According to a fact-finding document from the city, the owner was required to take these remedial measures to improve slope stability and ensure public safety at the site.

During a public hearing Tuesday, City Engineer Matt Whitty said he met with Guirado at the site that day and found he had begun immediate work on connecting two of the home’s drainage pipes to a flexible pipe that extends past the slide mass toward a catch basin below the house and next to Sapphires Mongolian Grill. The third is directed into a natural drainage north of the slide, Whitty said. Guirado also put up fencing on the north side of the house and is attempting to deal with the south side. He said the owner also installed no trespassing signs on the property.

Whitty said there is evidence of the hill’s further slippage, which has occurred intermittently since 2005.

“By my observation, the slide mass has moved considerably in the past few weeks,” Whitty said.

Mayor Rick Wetherell asked if the work meant that Guirado fully complied with city orders. Whitty replied that for the most part, yes, Guirado had complied but he needed to extend the drainage pipe to come closer to the catch basin.

Eugene Hill, the owner of Sapphires, said he wanted some closure, especially because he believes the possibility of the house falling had severely harmed his business since the issue first came before the City Council last February. At the time, city staff feared that the house could slide off the slope. Hill contends that this notion scared off his patrons.

“...This has been a year of not a lot of results for me,” Hill said, referring to past repeated attempts to convince the council to remedy the situation. “This isn’t over for you guys, either, because my best scenario is a few years out.”

Hill said he would not come back to a council meeting to discuss the issue again unless invited.

“I’ve read Machiavelli. This is politics, I get it,” Hill said.

Guirado, who attended the council meeting without his engineer Ralph Dunham of Stuntzner Engineering & Forestry LLC in Coos Bay, who has represented him in the past, said he could extend the drainage line, but was concerned that silt could clog it. He added he had no problems barricading his land but didn’t see the benefit in fencing it mid-way up the hill, where the property line begins, because the land is so soft and difficult to navigate.

After closing the public hearing, Wetherell emphasized that while the hill is in the city, it is not the city’s land, and characterized the entire situation as very complicated. He said the city was taking direction from the Galli report and believed the house was not in immediate danger of slipping.

“At this point, it would be my suggestion that we go with our report. ... His indication was that there is no imminent danger and that we cannot take further action until we reach the dry season,” Wetherell said, adding the house could not be removed until that point, nor could Guirado implement his plan to stabilize the slope with grouted soil nails.

Guirado’s plan, submitted to the city on Dec. 27, calls for a row of the nails to be placed into the hillside, which will be attached to a steel mesh to secure the property. It was prepared by PBS Engineering and Environmental, he said. PBS has several offices in Oregon, including one in Bandon.

Councilor Larry Garboden moved to postpone any decisions for 30 days, as long as Guirado continues to meet Galli’s recommendations and the city doesn’t see any imminent danger to Sapphires. Guirado also was asked to provide documentation stating how much the fix would cost and the time involved.

“We can’t move the house until August, anyway, so we have nothing,” added Councilor Janet Rubin.

The motion carried unanimously.