When Angela Ewing retired after her Rogue Valley real estate career, there was no doubt where she would live.

“I wanted to be near the ocean because I love it,” she said.

So she moved to Brookings in 2005, bought a park model home and began enjoying her dream at Portside RV Park.

It was just what she’d wanted: a secluded spot with vegetation on two sides, and a backyard where she could sit on her deck and listen to the year-round brook out of sight of neighbors.

Ewing, a master gardener, planted jasmine, fuchsia, lavender and roses. Butterfly bush grows on the hillside. She added a table and chairs, a birdbath, and a birdfeeder. The spot is an idyllic retreat for Ewing and her friends.

Except when water runoff problems occur during rainy winter months.

There’s disagreement over what caused the change from a trickle of water many years ago to the torrent that now comes down during the heaviest rains. The matter is the subject of a lawsuit working its way through state court.

C&K Markets Inc., which owns property above the slope, filed suit against Portside RV Park owner Ken Byrtus, alleging the RV park is built on unsuitable land and is unsafe for residential use. Byrtus has denied any wrongdoing.

Last winter, the company erected a sign on the hill above the homes. It reads, “Danger. Do Not Enter. Unstable Hillside. Risk of Landslide.”

The sign adds that homes at the bottom of the hill are in extreme danger. It says those who live there or even stand there “ ... do so at your own risk!”

The sign encourages people with questions to call C&K Market and gives a phone number.

Ewing said she returned to her home last spring from a trip to Arizona to find a note on her door. It said it would be wise to temporarily relocate because slope failures were likely to occur in the event of intense rainfall or seismic events, Ewing said, adding the note was posted by C&K.

She believes the problem results from a change C&K made in the way water is piped away from shops above the housing units. That happened a couple of years before Ewing moved in, she said.

Residents of two homes have moved out because of the problem, she said.

Meanwhile, Ewing is in limbo. Byrtus has offered to move her house to another site on the park where mudslides are not a factor.

But Ewing doesn’t want to leave the piece of heaven she calls “Lavender Cottage,” with its privacy and park-like backyard.

“I want to stay here,” she said. “The reason I moved here was because of this.”

A few days ago, she received a message from C&K  Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Bauer. It addressed the slope stability issue by saying, “Please know C&K has been working hard to reach an agreement with Portside on our differences and find a solution that works for everyone.”

The Pilot made several phone calls to C&K and sent an email seeking comment, but did not receive a response by press time Friday.

Ewing, who is in her 70s, said she feels pressure every day over the situation – including encouragement by Byrtus to move.

She’ll leave next month to visit friends in Arizona and then vacation in Europe, coming back to Brookings in May.

“Does (Byrtus) have authority to move me when I’m not here?” she wondered.

She tries to remain philosophical and not let the dilemma worry her, but admits that’s difficult.

“I guess I’ll just have to forget about it for the next few months because there is nothing I can do,” she said.