Mayor Bass Speaks on Waiving Permit Fees at State of the City Address

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

With 100 days passing since the start of the Palisades fire, multiple officials provided updates regarding recovery work and legislation, including Mayor Karen Bass at her State of the City Address on April 21.

During the address, Bass announced three new actions regarding Palisades fire recovery efforts, including calling on City Council to pass an ordinance that would “waive all plan check and permit fees so that Angelenos can get home.”

“[The executive action will] direct relevant city departments to work with the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance to waive all permit-related fees to rebuild structures damaged or destroyed in the fires for Council’s consideration,” according to the mayor’s office. “This will be supported by a report by the City Administrative Officer and other relevant departments with recommendations to City Council.”

Bass also announced the city is “establishing a self-certification program,” which is designed to “reduce redundancy in the permitting process,” as well as launching an “initiative to start using innovative AI technology to accelerate and support the city’s permit process.”

“If successful, we will take both of these new initiatives citywide to accelerate building everywhere,” Bass said.

The mayor’s office confirmed they expected to make an announcement in the next week or sooner regarding next steps and availability for the actions.

During the address, Bass called upon several Palisadians to stand for their work as “heroes” through the fire and recovery efforts, including Larry Vein of Pali Strong, Maryam Zar of the Palisades Recovery Coalition, Pacific Palisades Community Council President Sue Kohl and Kevin Chin, who “single-handedly fought the flames and saved people’s lives.”

“The state of our city is this—homelessness is down, crime is down,” Bass said. “These are tough challenges, and they show that we can do so much more. We still have a long way to go. We need a citywide turnaround. We need a fundamental overhaul of city government to deliver the clean, safe and orderly neighborhoods that Angelenos deserve in the place they call home—and to reverse decades of failure on homelessness.”

On the 100-day mark of the fire, Senator Ben Allen facilitated a press conference at Will Rogers State Beach the afternoon of April 17.

Among those who spoke were Councilmember Traci Park, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, Palisades Bowl resident Jon Brown, Bass, City Attorney Hydee Soto Feldstein, Malibu Mayor Pro Tem Marianne Riggins, County Assessor Jeff Prang, Executive Director of National Stewardship Action Council Heidi Sanborn and Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, who represents the 25th district, including Altadena and areas impacted by the Eaton fire.

“It’s been 100 days of despair, of destruction, but also of resilience, of growth, of rebuilding,” Allen described. “It’s been 100 days of challenge. First of all, the challenge of governance and making sure that people from around the country—indeed, around the world—knew what we were going through, getting the support from leadership in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento.”

Lara spoke on legislation related to insurance that is in the works, noting that he is sponsoring “a comprehensive legislative package” that is “based on” years of insurance town halls, which took place in “every single county in California.”

“This package aims at fixing our broken system,” Lara described. “It expedites payments to survivors, strengthens our consumer protections and implements the most significant regulatory reforms to our insurance market in 30 years.”

One of the pieces of legislation that Lara is sponsoring is SB 495—the “Eliminate the List Act,” authored by Allen. In early February, Lara said he issued a notice to residential property insurance companies in California, urging them to waive detailed inventory requirements to receive pay-outs.

“Most insurers responded positively, offering at least 75% of contents coverage without requiring an itemization, with some even agreeing to 100%,” Lara said. “Well, this action is voluntary for insurers. After these LA fires, we need to ensure that everyone pays 100% of their contents coverage without a detailed inventory list.”

Another piece of legislation Allen authored—SB 749—is related to residences in mobile home parks, including places like Palisades Bowl and Tahitian Terrace, both of which burned down in the fire. Those who own homes in the parks face a different path to rebuilding, as they own the structure on the property, but not the property itself.

“Current law almost disincentivizes the rebuilding of a home park like this, so we are seeking to address this,” Allen said.

The bill, Allen explained, gives the homeowners who are living in the park “a mechanism for the right of first refusal” if the owner of the property wants to close or change its use.

“We want to give them the first opportunity to purchase the property at market or an agreed upon value to preserve the current use as an affordable mobile home park,” Allen continued.

If this is not achieved, the owners of the park would then give the same opportunity to “qualified affordable housing entities or nonprofits,” for a chance to purchase and preserve its use in its current form.

“This would [put] residents and affordable housing advocates … in the driver’s seat to preserve these precious places of land that have preserved affordable housing right here on the coast,” Allen said, “and indeed, hopefully return them to their homes here in the Palisades.”

Palisades Bowl Community Partnership Co-Chair Brown—who asked a few other Palisades Bowl and Tahitian Terrace residents to join him at the podium—spoke at the press conference on their collective experience since the fire began, detailing the difficulty of accessing their homes and not knowing what is next for the parks.

“For us, we’re on day one,” Brown described. “My kids ask me, ‘Dad, when can we go home? When are we going to go home?’ I can’t give them an answer. I have no—I can’t even tell them if we’re ever going to be able to go home, and we need that option.”

By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has released preliminary results from soil sample testing in and around the Palisades fire area, which revealed “localized chemical impacts” to soil above health-based screening thresholds are present in some areas of the Palisades, but widespread contamination from potentially fire-related chemicals is not evident.

LA County’s soil sampling and analysis—conducted by Roux Inc.—measured for levels of 14 substances that could be present after a wildfire on representative soil samples from different areas in the Palisades.

The provided data is based on the 90% of results available at the time of the report, which was distributed April 10. A final report and analysis is expected to become available in May.

So far the data is from parcels that were “minorly affected,” “not damaged” or “outside the fire boundary.” Data from destroyed properties is still pending.

“Over four weeks from mid-February to mid-March, soil samples were collected from destroyed, damaged and intact properties within the burn areas, as well as from properties just outside, and compared to current residential soil screening level thresholds,” according to Public Health.

Roux sampled soil from 780 parcels between the Palisades and Eaton fires, and reported differences between the two areas in the chemical types found in soil results, with low lead exceedances in the Palisades, but isolated areas of heavy metal and polyaromatic hydrocarbons soil sample exceedances above screening thresholds.

During a Public Health Town Hall on April 10, Dr. Adam Love explained on behalf of Roux that arsenic had the highest exceedance levels in the Palisades.

“A lot of the Palisades area didn’t have high arsenic exceedances at all, but … there was a high percentage of exceedances in a small area to the northeast,” Love said. “Those areas where we see higher arsenic levels don’t appear to be where we could expect to see impacts if it was related to a larger from wildfire smoke.”

Benzo(a)pyrene—a PAH that forms from burning organic matter—was identified in the same area.

“There is something locally in that area that is going on, that we don’t know the answer to yet,” Love said. “But it doesn’t look like something that is impacting the entire Palisades community.”

Love said cadmium was minorly detected throughout the Palisades—with “virtually no detections at all” of cadmium over the residential screening levels, but a hotspot “near the ocean” in the “southwest corner of the Palisades.”

“[Here] we see exceedances of cadmium above the residential screening levels in ways that we don’t see in any other part of the Palisades area,” Love explained. “But [it] doesn’t seem to be indicative of a larger wildfire impact.”

The overall exceedance for lead in the Palisades is approximately 5%, which Love said is “normal for an urban area.” There is no focus area where lead levels are higher than any place else in the Palisades.

“If levels exceed the screening thresholds, it does not automatically mean cleanup is required, but it suggests the need to consider additional evaluation,” according to Public Health. “This assessment provides a representative analysis of the soil in areas and under different conditions impacted by the fires. The reported results are not intended to imply cleanup or specific remediation is necessary; rather, the results identify areas potentially requiring additional evaluation.”

Individual parcels may have “unique factors” that would result in differences compared to the representative samples, according to Public Health. Residents with concerns about their specific property are encouraged to consult an environmental professional about evaluating their property.

“In all areas with on-going fire debris, residents are reminded to take precautions to not inhale, ingest or come into contact with ash, soot and/or fire debris by using appropriate personal protective equipment,” according to Public Health. “Additionally, community members are encouraged to review the soil sampling results and consider taking appropriate precautions if your home is in one of the areas where soil sample screening thresholds have been exceeded.”

Noting Public Health wanted to get the preliminary data out quickly, Love said a more detailed map of exceedances, potentially with street names, would be released in the future.

Public Health is offering free blood lead testing for individuals concerned about exposure to lead. Individuals can schedule a free appointment at a Quest Lab by calling 1-800-LA-4-LEAD.

“Testing is fast, free, confidential and does not require insurance,” according to Public Health.

For more information or to find testing locations, visit ph.lacounty.gov/wildfires.

By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass—along with LA Strong Sports, Steadfast LA and other groups—announced on April 10 the launch of a public-private partnership that will fund, redesign and rebuild Palisades Recreation Center following damage sustained in the January fire.

Built in 1947, Palisades Recreation Center was the first post-war civic building built in the area, designed by architects Bennett and Bennett. Throughout the years, Palisades Recreation Center has served as a hub of community and recreational activities, including several sports leagues, events like Eggstravaganza and Spooktacular, and Park Advisory Board meetings.

The facility faced “severe” damage during the Palisades fire, and Bass has pledged to “eliminate any and every obstacle in the way of rebuilding.”

“The Palisades Recreation Center, library and playground are each a vital piece of this community, which is why the city pushed for the Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize debris removal at these landmarks,” Bass said in a statement. “We will continue this progress, and I thank everyone—LA Strong Sports, Steadfast LA and key Palisades groups—for coming together for this new effort.”

LA Strong Sports was formed by JJ and Chelsea Redick, Charles and Jenna Jackson, and Kylee Kilgore to build and sustain sports, recreation facilities and programs in LA in the aftermath of the wildfires.

“We visited the Pali Rec Center the same day we decided to move to the Palisades,” JJ and Chelsea Redick said in a statement. “That visit showed us not only how important the park was as a physical space, but how the people and families who took advantage of it made up the beating heart of the community.”

“We’ve always felt strongly about taking action to create and support things that allow people to feel rooted and thrive in their communities,” Charles and Jenna Jackson added. “As Palisades residents, we know that the Pali Rec Center made that possible for us and for our neighbors and friends. Rebuilding it alongside these key community leaders so it can serve as a place to foster growth and opportunity is exactly the kind of initiative we’re excited to support.”

Steadfast LA—led by Rick Caruso—launched in February to assemble the “expertise, influence and power” of the private sector to expedite the rebuilding of the communities destroyed by the wildfires. Doing so will reportedly cut through delays and develop solutions with real estate, finance and construction departments, and others.

Steadfast LA reported it is currently working with a number of entities, including representatives from Gensler, CBRE, Parsons, Esri, Latham & Watkins LLP, and more—“all with experience building some of the most impactful places and spaces in the world,” according to a statement.

“This public-private partnership to rebuild the Rec Center with the city and in collaboration with civic leaders, local groups and industry experts demonstrates the vision of Steadfast LA in action,” Caruso said. “By bringing the public sector, the private sector and the community together to do this, we’re not only restoring an integral part of the Palisades, but we’re showing how we can effectively respond to this tragedy with the urgency that the moment demands. We intend to follow a similar approach on our projects in Altadena and Malibu as well.”

According to LA Strong Sports and Steadfast LA, early design plans have been created in collaboration with local groups—including the Pali Community Center Committee, LA Parks Foundation, Pali Strong, Pali 4 Pali, and Rec Center stakeholders Jimmy Dunne and Bob Benton.

“The coalition—which includes Gensler, a globally renowned architecture and design firm, and Latham Watkins LLP, one of the world’s leading law firms—has spent hours meeting with these groups and individuals to shape the preliminary vision for a revitalized Rec Center that honors its legacy and builds toward the future,” according to a statement.

Community input will continue to be solicited to refine and expand on the current plans.