NORTH BEND — The North Bend City Council hopes it might be able to break an impasse by forcing the issue of stabilizing a hillside that has been slipping.

At its meeting Tuesday, the council requested legal counsel draft an order instituting a deadline for the owners of Sapphires Mongolian Grill and an uphill residence. If the house at 2505 Sheridan Ave. is not fortified or removed by that date, the city will require its removal.

Councilor Larry Garboden was most keenly interested in pursuing such a course.

“How many times do we have to revisit this same thing?” he said. “Give them a drop dead date and stick to it.”

Garboden suggested setting a deadline in July, but City Attorney Mike Stebbins said he would like time to review the matter. He said the council should give the house’s owner, Yesi Guirado, guidelines to satisfy the city’s request. Provisions would also need to be included to ensure other properties would not be damaged by the house’s removal, he said.

Regardless of when the date might be, Mayor Rick Wetherell said setting a deadline was a good idea.

“Having a date might motivate (the neighbors) to do something,” he said.

Guirado was at the Tuesday meeting. He told the council it would cost about $90,000 for him to stabilize his lot.

But he can’t secure his property until Sapphires owner, Eugene Hill, stabilizes his part of the hill, Guirado said.

“Something must be done down below before I sink a lot of money into this,” he said. “I’m kind of stuck in the middle right now until we figure something out down below.”

Hill was not at Tuesday’s meeting and Guirado said they have not been in communication recently.

After concluding public comments, the council continued its discussion of the issue to the March 11 meeting.

-Staff Writer Alexander Rich