Most of the land still free for new houses either has an incline, unstable ground or both. So the only way to build is above, below, behind or in front of a retaining wall. And building they are.

Modern St. George has been sculpted by snaking trails of boulders. Homes perch on bluffs, atop sandstone walls. Driveways in some of the ritziest retirement communities tunnel between piles of rocks that tower overhead. Red rocks shore up car dealerships and condos alike.

And inevitably, some of the rocks fall down, dislodged by heavy desert rainstorms, accumulated sprinkler runoff or bad design.

Recognizing a growing problem, city leaders in July 2005 adopted an ordinance outlining design and structural guidelines for developers. But the law was not formally placed into city codes until this September, around the time city leaders were notified two residents planned to sue. Meantime, more walls crumbled.

"It's a basic question of trust in government," said Ray Nolin, who along with his neighbor, Gordon Rushforth, sued the city and developers after watching the wall in their backyards disintegrate in the wake of the unseasonably wet winter two years ago.

City Attorney Shawn Guzman acknowledges St. George development was a free-for-all before the ordinance. Now, he insists the city is doing what it can to protect homebuyers, hold developers accountable and limit taxpayers' liability. The ordinance was being enforced all the time, he says.

"We're still looking out for the health, safety and welfare of our citizens," said Guzman.

Nevertheless, Nolin and Rushforth's lawsuit raises questions about St. George's willy-nilly growth, the influence of developers in City Hall and the role of government in protecting the public.

Nolin, a 70-year-old retired vice president for BellSouth, was lured from Florida more than three years ago by St. George's relatively balmy winter temperatures, small population and manageable traffic. Nolin and his wife spend part of the year in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Rushforth, a 70-year-old retired engineer from California, lives in southern Utah full time.

On Jan. 10, 2005, the 10-by-20-foot wall between their yards collapsed. The developer immediately fixed the landslide. But it got Nolin thinking about all the other walls in the city. If one wall could disintegrate, what about others? Then, he started noticing numerous rockfalls around town.

He hoped six months later that city leaders had taken care of the problem with the new ordinance.

In a hearing June 2, City Council members reviewed the ordinance written by a committee of engineers and developers. Any wall taller than 4 feet would require a city permit. No series of walls could be more than 16 feet tall. And the rules established guidelines for drainage and building materials.

At the time, then-City Engineer Jay Sandberg acknowledged the problem. St. George can barely keep up with growth. The city, with a population of about 119,000, is the nation's fastest-growing metropolitan area over the past five years, growing 32 percent between 2000 and 2005.

"There's very little inspection and monitoring that's going on with a lot of the walls that are built," Sandberg said. Many of the walls do not appear on development plans or construction drawings. Sandberg figured at least 10 walls had failed in the year prior.

"The first thing people inquire is: 'How did the city allow this to happen?' '' added Guzman.

Developers at the same meeting argued the rules were unfair.

Lowry Snow, an attorney representing the Stonecliff development, where million-dollar homes overlook the valley below, argued the city's "one-size-fits-all" ordinance did not take into account different topography, geology and building materials.

"This is going to create a real imposition and hardship," Snow said.

But homeowners pleaded with the City Council to think of the little people.

"It's not the job of the city to try to develop an ordinance to help a developer develop a piece of land," Tom Henry said. Henry bought a lot in the Castle Rock subdivision and then was surprised by a series of wall collapses. "I bought believing everything had been done properly," Henry said. The homeowners eventually reached a settlement with the developer.

Rushforth said he worries he will be rebuilding his backyard wall again and again. "I want to live here for the rest of my life. But I don't want to pay for a wall to be constructed over and over again," he said.

In the end, the City Council approved the rules on July 21 as an "emergency" ordinance requiring the immediate signature of the mayor and enforcement. But the rules did not appear on the city Web site and were not codified. Meanwhile, the piles of rocks proliferated. And more walls failed.

Two months ago, a streetlight in front of the Blackridge Subaru Mitsubishi car dealership lay on its side on a pile of fallen rocks. At Shadow Mountain, runoff from the homes above puddled around homes below. Behind homes in Castle Rock, crews have sprayed gunite, a sort of stucco-like concrete, over crumbling rock walls to hold the soil back. Along a street in the neighborhood, home after home has a "for sale" sign in the front yard. Some real estate agents speculate that owners of the homes, which range from $500,000 to $1 million, want to get out before the walls fail.

Nolin and Rushforth's lawsuit alleges that S&S Construction, the local development company that built their homes, ignored an engineer's design recommendations for the wall. At the same time, St. George building inspectors approved Nolin's home for occupancy without inspecting the wall's design or drainage. Six months later, the wall collapsed.

Although the wall was repaired, both homeowners say they have been irreparably harmed. Any structural failure at their homes is supposed to be disclosed to potential buyers.

This summer, Nolin and Rushforth notified the city they were preparing to sue. City Recorder Gay Cragun finally posted the rock wall ordinance in September. The ordinance, Cragun says, took effect Sept. 30 - more than a year after City Council members signed off on it.

Whether deliberate or a mistake, Nolin believes the one-year delay in implementing the ordinance has the effect of grandfathering every wall built between July 2005 and September of this year.

"You wonder about the democratic process when government pretends to pass legislation and refuses to implement it when it involves the safety of their own residents," he added. "They've decided the role of government is to provide silence and secrecy."

Guzman insists that's not the case. Although the law was not codified, he says it has been available at City Hall for the past year and has been enforced. And, Guzman says, the lawsuit is a civil dispute between homeowners and their developer; the city is protected from liability.

Despite those denials of any responsibility, Guzman says city leaders are looking out for the public.

"We still hope that developers will think long and hard before they start building some of these rock walls," he said. "The homes are going to be there for quite a long time. We want to make sure the walls are there for a long time as well."

walsh@sltrib.com

St. George ordinance history

* Jan. 10, 2005

Wall between Gordon Rushforth and Ray Nolin's backyards collapses during unusually wet St. George winter.

* July 21, 2005

St. George City Council approves ordinance establishing guidelines for wall design and structure. But the ordinance does not appear on the city's Web site and is not codified.

* June 16, 2006

Rushforth and Nolin send a demand letter to the city, noting their intent to sue.

* Sept. 21, 2006

Attorneys for Nolin and Rushforth file suit.

* Sept. 25-27, 2006

City recorder posts ordinance for three-day public notice. Mayor signs post-dated ordinance. Law takes effect Sept. 30.