LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass today issued an Emergency Executive Order to make sure students, schools and child care facilities displaced by the fires do not run into red tape and that schools and child care facilities taking on additional students and children can do so without barriers.
“I am exercising my emergency powers to keep families and their communities together,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “The last thing families need is bureaucracy that causes more disruption to their children’s lives, and I won’t allow it.”
Mayor Bass’ Emergency Executive Order directs actions to expedite the reopening of schools and child care centers including:
Enrollment caps of schools and child care centers are increased by 20 percent, to allow displaced children and youth to transfer to schools or child care facilities unaffected by the fires for three to five years.
Schools or child care facilities that have been damaged or destroyed by the fires shall be able to immediately receive a 180-day permit allowing them to relocate and operate anywhere in the City. Currently, such permits are for 90-days.
Relocating schools and child care facilities that wish to operate beyond 180 days in a new location will be approved through an expedited review process that eliminates hearings and appeals.
Read the full Executive Order below:
EMERGENCY EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 4
Return and Rebuild
Issue Date: February 4, 2025
Subject: Temporary School and Child Care Facility Use
The Los Angeles County Firestorms, first igniting on January 7, 2025, destroyed or damaged thousands of structures across the county, including numerous schools (TK-12) and child care facilities within the city of Los Angeles, and in the nearby cities of Altadena and Pasadena. Families not only lost their homes, but also lost their schools and child care facilities. And those upon whom we so heavily rely – teachers and child care providers – also lost homes and livelihoods.
This Emergency Executive Order provides a streamlined path in accordance with the Governor's Executive Order N-6-25, #11, for the relocation, co-location, and temporary operation of educational and child care facilities. Pursuant to City Charter Section 231, subsection (i), and under the provisions of the Los Angeles Administrative Code Section 8.29 that authorize me to promulgate, issue and enforce emergency rules, regulations, orders, and directives, I hereby declare the following order to be necessary for the protection of life and property and I hereby order, effective immediately that:
Short-Term Temporary School and Child Care Facility Uses: Notwithstanding the provisions of Los Angeles Municipal Code (“LAMC”) Section 16.04.1, the Department of Building and Safety shall have the authority to issue a temporary 180-day permit on any lot, regardless of zone, for any temporary school or child care facility use that will aid in the immediate restoration of operations for schools and child care facilities that were damaged, destroyed, or otherwise adversely impacted as a result of the fires. Approval of any application for a short-term temporary school or child care facility use shall not result in any vested or nonconforming rights to continue the temporary school or child care facility use beyond the term authorized.
Long-Term Temporary School and Child Care Facility Uses: Notwithstanding the provisions of LAMC Section 16.01, the Department of City Planning shall create an expedited ministerial review process, without a hearing or an appeal, to issue long-term temporary school and child care facility use authorizations. The Zoning Administrator shall have the authority to approve a long-term school/child care facility use on a lot in any zone that will aid in the immediate restoration of operations for schools and child care facilities that were damaged, destroyed, or otherwise adversely impacted as a result of the fires.
A long-term temporary school and child care facility use authorization issued during the declared emergency shall be valid for three years from the date of issuance and eligible for up to two additional yearly extensions and, if necessary, one partial extension to ensure alignment with the academic calendar. Thereafter, the temporary school use shall be terminated, all temporary improvements on the site removed, and the site shall be restored to the previously permitted use.
Approval of any application for a long-term temporary school or child care facility use shall not result in any vested or nonconforming rights to continue the school or child care facility use beyond the term authorized.
If the school or child care facility use is intended to extend beyond the terms of the long-term temporary school and child care facility use authorization, the school or child care facility shall submit applications for all necessary discretionary approvals (such as a conditional use permit), as well as required application fees, prior to the expiration of the long-term temporary school and child care facility use authorization.
Potential Scenarios:
If a school or child care facility that was damaged, destroyed, or otherwise adversely impacted as a result of the fires is relocating from their prior location (“prior site”) to a new location (“new site”) that has a different permitted use (with or without a previous discretionary approval), the prior and new sites’ uses may be simultaneously continued or temporarily paused, and not constitute a change or discontinuance of use.
If a school or child care facility that was damaged, destroyed, or otherwise adversely impacted as a result of the fires is relocating to a site with an existing school or child care facility having a valid Conditional Use Permit or legal nonconforming use, the host school or child care facility may temporarily modify its existing operational conditions to allow for an impacted school or child care facility to co-locate onto their campus or to allow displaced students to be temporarily enrolled. A temporary school and child care facility use authorization may allow for a temporary increase in staffing and student enrollment, the addition of temporary classroom buildings and trailers, changes in days and hours of operation, and modification of existing parking, drop-off, and pick-up areas.
An existing school or child care facility with a valid Conditional Use Permit or legal nonconforming use, even if not adversely impacted by the fires, may apply for a long-term temporary school and child care facility authorization to allow a temporary modification of their existing operational conditions in order to allow for the enrollment of displaced students and children as a result of the fires. Any cap on enrollment shall only be increased up to 20% during the duration of the long-term temporary school and child care facility authorization.
C. Building Permits: A school and/or child care facility seeking approval for a long-term temporary school and child care facility use authorization is responsible for obtaining any necessary building permits from the Department of Building and Safety if additional construction is planned, including approval for temporary physical improvements.
D. Implementation Guidance: Within 14 days of this Order, the Department of Building and Safety, the Department of City Planning, and other applicable City Departments shall, in consultation with the Mayor’s Office, issue guidelines that include objective criteria and operating standards as necessary to implement this Order. Implementation guidelines may be amended and updated from time to time, as may be necessary.
E. Application Assistance: Direct the Economic and Workforce Development Department, in coordination with the Department of City Planning and the Department of Building and Safety, to provide application assistance to schools and childcare facilities through the City’s BusinessSource Centers.
Nothing in this Order shall be construed to conflict with state law or applicable state licensing requirements.