NORTH BEND — Like the falling leaves of autumn, the house on top of a slipping hill will be gone by the start of winter — if not sooner.

North Bend city councilors made a final decision Tuesday night on the fate of the house, located at 2505 Sheridan Ave., agreeing to remove the house and put a lien against the property.

The decision came after a public hearing featuring comments from the house’s owner, Yesi Guirado, a neighbor, and a representative of SHN Consulting Engineers & Geologists Inc. Councilor Janet Rubin, who works in the title company industry, claimed a conflict of interest and recused herself from the discussion.

David Barnes, who lives with his wife, Cheryl, in a property adjacent to the house, criticized the council for its handling of the situation.

“So far, each step you have taken from the time you approved rezoning for the property that Sapphires Mongolian Grill now occupies, has been disastrous to all involved. You have issued all the permits and approved all of the plans and look where we are,” Barnes said.

He suggested the city get a second opinion and open any plan to public scrutiny before removing the structure.

“We also do not want to live in fear that we could possibly lose our home as a result of this council approving and implementing an insufficient plan that is too quickly adopted and settled on,” he said.

City Administrator Jan Willis said she hopes to send out requests for demolition bids by the end of the week. Leveling the house is expected to cost roughly $20,000 and the work could be completed in five days. The demolition would be done by a qualified contractor and overseen by an on-site project manager from the Galli Group, a geotechnical consulting firm in Grants Pass, she said.

The city designated the house, which is above U.S. Highway 101 as a dangerous building in June 2007. City staff was concerned because the land under the house slipped intermittently and they feared the building could be jarred from its perch on top of its hill. Since then, the city gave Guirado a number of chances to make repairs or destroy the house. He has not complied.

Guirado said he recently had the property assessed and didn’t feel it was a good idea to tear down the house. Guirado’s attorney, Jerry Lesan, sent the council a letter that included a report from Landslide Technology, stating the house should remain as is. Citing an earlier Galli Group report commissioned by the city, Lesan pointed out that the group believed the house posed no greater threat than if it were removed.

“There is no evidence that the structure or the condition of it is contributing to the instability of the slope. The central question is whether or not the presence of the structure in and of itself endangers person or property,” Lesan wrote. “The Landslide Technology consultant’s report recommends that there is no benefit in removing the house at this time ...”

However, City Attorney Mike Stebbins said the house is dangerous and constitutes a danger because nobody can occupy  or be near or under the building.

Willis said the letter and report from Lesan didn’t mention any intention on Guirado’s part to comply with the order.

The Galli Group report put forth demolition recommendations. The report states that because the house was built on 10 to 12-feet of fill, combined with the continued soil creep, it is becoming a very unstable situation.

“Therefore, it seems that the best solution for public safety is to remove the house, its foundations and most of the old fill beneath the structure,” the report states.

Stebbins gave the council four options on how to proceed — grant another extension to make the house safe or destroy it; order city staff to make it safe by repair with a lien against the property; order staff to demolish it with a lien; or bring it up in Coos County Circuit Court to order Guirado to comply. He said the last option could mean up to nine months of litigation.

The council directed staff to move forward with the demolition.

Following the decision, Cheryl Barnes said she was uncomfortable with the decision as no timeline was provided.

“I have very nervous feelings about it. ... And the rain is constantly working on the slope,” she said.

Guirado refused to comment.