LA’s Disaster Recovery Effort On Track to be Fastest in Modern California History
Rebuilding Continues Throughout the Palisades
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass today highlighted the speed and efficiency of the debris removal process by recognizing that more than 1,000 properties have been cleared of all debris by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and have received final sign off from LA County, a required step for rebuilding to begin.
Phase 2 of the debris removal process began just 35 days after the fires ignited – roughly half the time it took after the devastating 2018 Woolsey Fire. To date, more than 648,000 tons of debris have been removed from the Palisades area, with a recent average of 55 sites cleared per day.
Earlier this month, Mayor Bass highlighted the start of the rebuilding process in the Palisades by visiting two different construction sites that have been issued building permits by the City. To date, 31 permits for 23 addresses related to rebuilding efforts have been issued for projects in the Palisades. Hundreds of permit applications are in the process of being reviewed. The first permit was issued 57 days after the start of the Palisades Fire, more than twice as fast as they were issued after the devastating Camp and Woolsey fires.
“We’re working every day to expedite the process to get families home and businesses reopened,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “Thanks to the tireless work of partners like the Army Corps – who have removed hundreds of thousands of tons of fire debris from the Palisades so far – the rebuilding process is already underway, and our recovery effort is on track to be the fastest in modern California history.”
Mayor Bass has worked to expedite this process so that, when property owners are ready, LADBS can issue permits as quickly as possible. Just last week, Mayor Bass issued three executive actions to further reduce rebuilding costs and timelines for property owners in the Palisades:
- Emergency Executive Order 6 establishes Los Angeles’ first ever plan check Self-Certification pilot program to reduce time spent on the permitting process for the rebuilding of homes damaged or destroyed by the wildfires. Self-certification is a strategy that supports homeowners in the plan check process by allowing qualified architects to self-certify that their plans meet the California Residential Code. Under the Self-Certification pilot program, plans that are submitted for qualifying homes will no longer require plan check, but the buildings themselves will still be inspected for code compliance to ensure they are safe.
- Emergency Executive Order 7 directs City departments to refrain from collecting permit and plan check fees associated with the repair or reconstruction of homes damaged or destroyed by the January wildfires, pending City Council’s adoption of an amendment to waive these fees. Additionally, the Emergency Executive Order requests the City Attorney to prepare and present for Council’s consideration the draft urgency ordinance to waive the fees.
Executive Directive 10 takes a step forward to using Artificial Intelligence technology to support City staff review of project plans against building and zoning codes, saving time and expediting the rebuilding process for residents.