Community Members Are Encouraged to Fill Out Survey

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

When it comes to rebuilding Pacific Palisades, the idea of forming a builders alliance to streamline “reconstruction through cost-saving collaboration” was presented during a meeting that took place at American Legion Ronald Reagan – Palisades Post 283 and virtually via Zoom on Thursday evening, March 6.

The meeting was focused on a presentation titled “LA Fires Rebuilding and Recovery Strategy,” prepared by the LA Rebuilding Advisory Committee, which is a joint effort of the Urban Land Institute, the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate and USC’s Lusk Center for Real Estate. It was hosted by Chief Recovery Officer for the city of Los Angeles Steve Soboroff, with Randy Johnson, Palisadian Taylor Mammen (CEO of RCLCO Fund Advisors and bishop of the Pacific Palisades Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and representatives from Brookfield Residential.

Soboroff noted of rebuilding efforts that “some people will be able to afford it,” while others will not, but he said that when decisions to rebuild or not are made, his goal is to be sure property owners have “all the options.”

The first step, the presenters explained, is having residential owners and renters fill out a questionnaire with their intentions when it comes to rebuilding in and returning to the Palisades.

“The purpose of this survey … is to listen directly to the residents and businesses impacted by the fires to ensure that elected officials, policy makers and rebuilding authorities’ response is both effective and aligns with needs and preferences,” read a description. “The survey will assess residents’ of the Palisades intentions and means relative to rebuilding their homes. The results of this comprehensive, anonymous and statistically significant survey will inform elected officials and policymakers regarding where and how to prioritize their efforts, ultimately helping to facilitate the rebuilding and recovery from the fires as quickly, as well and as cost effectively, as possible.”

The survey is available at la.uli.org/la-fires-survey. By this week, it will be expanded to include commercial property owners and tenants, and then further expanded to include the same for the Eaton fire zone.

The presentation began with a summary of the ULI/UCLA/USC LA Fires Rebuilding and Recovery Advisory Committee’s preliminary recommendations.

“This is an unprecedented disaster that requires an unprecedented approach,” Mammen said during the meeting, noting that cost-estimates of $1,000 per square foot and above is “not going to be achievable for most.” People are having to make “really big decisions” with not enough information or time.

“To facilitate the vertical rebuilding of physical commercial, residential and community facilities as well, as quickly and as effectively as possible, and the recovery of the communities devastated by the fires, we recommend setting up rebuilding authority(ies) to plan and implement the rebuilding, financing and recovery efforts, with oversight from an independent governance board but with complete operational autonomy and authority,” read an executive summary.

The overarching objective, according to the presentation, is to “build back better and quickly,” with a focus on rebuilding and recovering efficiently and cost effectively, to help “minimize population loss” and to “avoid a recurring cycle of repopulation and construction activity,” while preserving and enhancing the “character of the communities and the ‘way of life.’”

The presentation noted that “rebuilding through business-as-usual channels and in a piece-meal fashion is impractical,” which will “overburden the already overcapacity city and county services and departments.” It can “take years longer” and “will be much more expensive.”

“The big idea,” according to the presentation is to establish the rebuilding authority(ies) to operate a financing center, financial assistance center, insurance center, community rebuilding resource center, and dedicated planning approval, permitting, inspection and certification center.

Depending on community interest, Mammen explained, they are considering launching a Builders Alliance Program to “offer turn-key rebuilding solutions to property owners who prefer not to hire an architect, find a contractor and undertake the rebuilding on their own.”

The Builders Alliance would be a “collaborative of contractors and builders, including custom builders, semi-custom builders and production builders, who are committed to help build back better, and do it as quickly, as well and as cost-effectively as possible.”

As proposed, it would include things like architecture and structural engineering, permitting, project management, general contractor, landscape design and installation, financing and insurance solutions, and assistance with insurance claims, property tax resolution, and mortgage arrangements.

The presenters explained that through this avenue, property owners would retain ownership of their lot, but would enter into a construction contract, giving “access to cost-effective, high-quality and timely rebuilding solutions through innovative technology, strategic partnerships and a streamlined approach to construction.”

“Pass on to property owners the cost saving, operational efficiencies, shorter timeframes and quality improvement achieved through economies of scale, purchasing power and the ability to manage a more efficient supply chain and labor pool,” read the presentation. “Members of the Builders Alliance will work together to arrive at a cost structure that is lower than the standard targets for design and build services.”

Some of the homebuilders who are being considered to participate in what they are calling “volume production” include Brookfield Residential, Landsea Homes, Lennar and Toll Brothers. Each of the homebuilders would have several pre-approved floor plan options available that could be customized to the property owner’s specifications.

Depending on the specifications of the lot, property owners would be able to use a portal to view and select floor plans and elevations, explore and select wildfire resilience options, explore and select personalization options, and use a calculator to estimate all-in costs.

An “aggressive” timeline has the survey completed by March 23, with set up processes for the alliance and approved  developers taking place between then and May 1, when doors to the center and portal could open.

Presenters took a series of questions from meeting attendees in person as well as online. Kimberly Bloom, who represents Area 5, including the Alphabet Streets, on Pacific Palisades Community Council, suggested that they make a follow-up presentation via 1Pali, which is facilitated by Anthony Marguleas.

One attendee asked if the ideas being proposed could apply to hillside lots that require fully custom builds, to which a representative from Brookfield Residential responded that while the program would not entirely apply, custom builders could still use some of the facets, which could cut costs around 5 or 10%, he estimated.

Following the meeting, the survey went live and is currently open to responses.