Rebuilding update

As most of the Palisades is being cleared of debris, rebuilding process is starting. Personally, I’ve submitted my plans and I’ve found it’s equally frustrating as before. If anything, because things are so fluid and the authorities are still figuring out how to interpret the Executive Orders, we are all working through it together. Please make sure that you get your FSO (Final Sign Off) from the LA County of Public Works, you’ll need this to get your final permit signoff. USACE is pretty quick on submitting their forms after clearance, but Public Works is having difficulties process them. Here’s the Public Works number: 844.347.3332

Crest RE Webinar

Crest Real Estate hosted their rebuild webinar #2 regarding LADBS interpretations of Mayor’s EO#1. HERE is the link to the recording.

A few things that came out of the meeting are :

1.LADBS is no longer focused on the square footage, they are focused on footprint and height. You can expand upon 110% of the footprint (including 2nd floor overhang) and 110% of the existing height. Please note that this differs from the Tax Assessor’s interpretation. Tax Assessor is still basing their reassessment on 110% of s.f. or 120% value of pre and post fire.

2.What is determined as an “Eligible Project” - Fire damage, Same use, 110% + ADU

3. Garages - A detached garage can be converted to an attached garage, but this would count towards the allowable 10% expansion. A detached garage can also be rebuilt as an ADU and expanded upon within the same 110% eligible project thresholds.

4. ADUs - New attached and detached ADUs are allowed. New attached and detached ADUs are not counted against the 110% footprint limit. Please note the bluff setbacks: 10feet from canyon bluff, 25 feet from coastal bluff, a coastal analysis is required by license engineer/geologist.

5. Hillside Ordinance is suspended for Eligible Projects. No street dedication or improvement, except noted on this map, However, you will need to check the BOE Map if your project is on the foundation and setback from street centerline. HERE is the map.

6. For Eligible Projects, no City Planning clearances or review is required. They may advise on bluff analysis for ADUs.

7. Mello act will be triggered if the existing building is to be replace with three or more units, or if proposed building is three or more units.

8. SB8 is suspended for projects to repair, restore, demolish or replace units damaged or destroyed and replacement units would not be required. However, a qualified tenants have the first right of refusal for comparable rebuilt units at an affordable rate if determined to qualify as lower income. Therefore the unit itself would not be an affordable unit, but the tenant who is of low income can obtain an affordable rent.

9. RSO still applies under two conditions: The residential property being replace by the project was subject to the RSO, and if the project is completed and any rental units are offered for rent within 5 years after the date the residential property being replaced were damaged, destroyed, or demolished by or as a result of the LA area fires.

OPEN QUESTIONS:

  1. Can basements within the footprint of the original building be added to an elegible project?

  2. How is height being measure for the 10% expansion of an eligible project?

  3. How is floor area limited for eligible projects, if at all

  4. Does the Building Footprint need to maintain the original shape + 10%, or can the shape be modified as long as the building footprint complies within the 110% and “substantially in the same location” provisions?

  5. What is the procedure for reviewing Bluff Analysis for ADU’s in the Coastal Zone.

ZONES WHERE YOU WILL HAVE TO PROVIDE A GEOLOGY AND SOILS REPORT

LADBS also issued a MEMO on geologic and geotechnical considerations for rebuilding in the Palisades Fire area on April 15, 2025. Most of the Palisades are exempt, but according to this map many areas are still required.

DETOX YOUR GARDEN SOIL

Here are some useful articles to detox your soil with wildflowers:

5 Amazing Plants That Cleanse and Detox Your Garden Soil

How to fix polluted soil after L.A. fires without scraping - Los Angeles Times

Stay positive!

XO May

Pali1 Caruso webinar, more on fire resiliency, and EO-1 interpretations

Happy Spring Everyone! We started the week with Caruso’s webinar on 1Pali, learning more about fire resiliency, and now ending the week LA City’s EO-1 interpretations.

1PALI Webinar

We started the week with a very informative webinar with Rick Caruso and his efforts towards rebuilding the Palisades that was hosted by 1Pali. HERE is the link to the recording.

Fire Resiliency

Here is the recording of the AIA Webinar on landscape and fire resiliency. Fire Response Session 3 | Landscape & Defensible Space: Designing for Fire Safety Other than planting for Zone 0, native planting is also high recommended. Creating the zones of fire resilience out from the house is important. First, make sure that you fire harden your home that I’ve posted about repeatedly before. In addition to making sure that your exterior walls are at least 1-hour rated, installing class-A roofing, fire sprinklers, dual pane tempered windows, and preparation for wildfire season; using flame-resistant vents such as Vulcan Vents, retrofit your existing vents with mesh less than 1/8” such as Wildfire Defense Mesh , or Komodo Fire Systems.

For those of us that actually lived through the evacuation, HERE is the link to the PBS documentary.

Native Planting resources:

Calscape Theodore Payne Resilient Landscapes Coalition

EO 1 Implementation Guidelines

This was officially issued to the public on April 17th, 2025. The focus is on footprint and height, bulk is no longer the focus. You may add additional story, as long as you keep within the 110% footprint and height. For example, if you have an existing double height space, you can add additional square foot within the double height space. However, there’s still debate if basement is considered as a story. As usual, the conversation continues. But please note that the LA County Assessors still will consider any s.f. greater than the 110% s.f. increase as new s.f., or you can use the 120% value, whichever is lower. But we won’t know until all of the legislations are updated. In the meantime, most of us have changed our addresses and may have changed our voting location.

CHECK YOUR VOTING STATUS! https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/ There are a lot of issues that will affect the rebuild.

For a lot of homeowners, your insurance company may be requiring a Replacement Cost Estimate (RCE). If you cannot get one from your general contractor, there’s a resource that will provide one. I have not use them and do not know anything about them, but it was mentioned in one of the webinar. https://bwbuilder.com/services/replacement-cost-estimate/

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FRAUD, Register with the County Assessor’s office to be notified if anything is recorded against your home. https://assessor.lacounty.gov/news-information/enotification

Hope this helps. Have a great Easter Sunday!

xo May

Home Hardening Ideas

As Debris Clean up is going full force, a lot of us are looking at rebuilding. For those who are underinsured and still dealing with their insurance companies, this is a daunting prospect. On top of this, how will we be insured after the rebuilding? There are various community efforts underway and hopefully all of the politicians will fulfill their promises. In the meantime, let’s dream of a better and fire resistant built environment.

As promised, HERE is the link to the AIA webinar of Home Hardening Techniques.

USGBC-CA published a great pamphlet on California Wildfire Rebuilding Guide.

However, how can we be sure that it’ll be safe to move back? LA County is revealing a Post-Fire Assessment Plan on April 10, 6pm. Please submit your questions HERE. And watch the livestream on https://www.youtube.com/lapublichealth

For those with standing homes, you can also request for a home evaluation from RCD https://rcdsmm.org/what-we-do/home-ignition-zone-evaluations/

Cal Fire FHSZ map, Mayor's Executive Order, and Home Hardening

A lot of abbreviations this week. Cal Fire release their fire map of three levels of FHSZ (Fire Hazard Severity Zone). ROE must be turned in by March 30, 2025 for either opt-in or opt-out or the City will clean your site up starting on July 1st on your dime. The recommendation is that opt-in before March 30th, you can always opt-out later. FEMA & SBA assistance deadline extended to March 31, 2025. And Mayor Bass issued another Executive Order EO#5 on March 21st. Lastly, AIA CA hosted an very informative meeting on home hardening techniques that I’ll share once it’s online.

What does the FHSZ zones mean?

According to Cal Fire, these maps are required by law. They are mapping hazard, NOT risk. It identify levels of fire hazard. There are 3 levels: Moderate, High, & Very High, hence the VHFHSZ designation for the Palisades and Altadena. Essentially, all of the the hillsides are designated as VHFHSZ. Palisades has been designated as VHFHSZ for a while now. HERE is a link to how these zones are set up. Most of the new constructions were also built to the VHFHSZ standards, which means interior fire sprinklers, class-A roofing, 1 hour exterior walls, and dual glazed windows with tempered glass. What is new is that new structures will be required to create an ember-resistant zone within the first five feet around habitable structure in the SRA (State Responsibility Areas) and VHFHSZ (Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone) LRAs (Local Responsibility Areas) upon the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approval of AB 3074. This means no vegetation within the first five feet of the structure. This will probably take effect for all of the new structures that are being submitted and take effect for existing structure in three years. Currently, Pacific Palisades is in the LRA area. The local fire department may also be considering other regulations to be incorporated, so please check with the fire department when you submit your drawings.

HERE is the map where you can find your FHSZ zone. HERE is a link to the FAQ about the zones and HERE is the link for the LRA rollouts. If you are really interested, HERE is the link to the proposed rule packages for the LRA.

Here are a few articles that explains this further:

https://calmatters.org/housing/2025/03/calfire-maps-hazard-california/

https://www.newsweek.com/california-fire-risk-maps-impact-homeowners-2035772

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/more-la-county-land-has-very-high-fire-hazard-severity-under-new-state-maps

What does this all mean for insurance? This is part of the Mayor’s EO#5, there is supposed to be a report within 60 days to explore expanded insurance options and provide guidance to homeowners on insurance availability and pricing for wildfire-resilient homes.

EO#5

This EO focuses on the rebuilding and home hardening. I’ve already published the link to the EO on March 19th, if you look back on the blog. The main points are that the city departments will develop paths forward to:

  1. Streamline permitting for owners who rebuild all-electric, more fire-resistant homes. Please note, this is on top of rebuilding like-for like.

  2. Promote the use of fire-resistant construction materials.

  3. Further strengthen the resilience of utilities.

HERE is the link to a copy of it.

Home Hardening Techniques

Creating a continuous layer that envelope the home best protects the home. Most home burned in a wildfire scenario are from embers, not the vegetation itself. With that said, it’s still important to create a fire resistant perimeter around the structure. AIA CA hosted a very informative webinar on both how to harden the home in new construction and retrofit with Q&A afterwards. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has a WUI (Wildland Urban Interface) Fire Institute that studies this. The director Frank L. Frievalt had a great point that none of this works unless we have the local government buy-in on all aspects. Meanwhile, here are few takeaways from the seminar.

https://ibhs.org/wildfire/suburban-wildfire-adaptation-roadmaps/

Isolating the Primary Drivers of Fire Risk to Structures in WUI regions in California

https://headwaterseconomics.org/natural-hazards/retrofitting-home-wildfire-resistance/

Fire Rated Wall

IBHS (Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safey) Wildfire Retrofit

10 Low Cost Ways to Harden Your Home

https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14853-continuing-education-wildfire-adapted-design

Final Thought

As we rebuild, let’s not forget about the older survivors. Those older residents that have lived in the Palisades for decades, who thought they were spending their golden years living in a paid off home and enjoying the fruits of their decades of labor, have just lost everything. Try and reach out and give them support. “We Lost Everything”: Older Wildfire Survivors Face an Uncertain Future — Department of Angels

More helpful links for rebuilding

LA Department of Bldg and Safety and LA County Public Works

HERE is the link to a FAQ pdf that was published by LA County who is coordinating with LADBS .

Per LA County Public Works, the One Stop Rebuild Center will not be located at the Palisades, but it is located at the Calabasas One-Stop Center, 26600 Agoura Road, #110, Calabasas, CA 91302. Apparently only 22 applications have been submitted in the Palisades. 76 applications have been submitted in the Eaton area. You can make appointment HERE for the Calabasas office. Or you can make virtual appointment with someone at LADBS counter via this link ::: BuildLA Appointment System ::: Another important link is the FAQ link on the LADBS website 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires Information | LADBS Check back weekly!!!! This is a fluid process. They are constantly updating this FAQ pending feedbacks from the residents.

Other Useful Studies, Surveys and Links

Resilient Palisades has commissioned a fire field study regarding how the fire had spread.

ULI (Urban Land Institute) would like feedback from the residents via this survey. https://la.uli.org/la-fires-survey/

Here is the study on Long Term Health of LA Fire: https://lafirehealth.org/

For those who has homes still standing, Purdue is seeking household interview for their study: https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eg338czfsedtZ7E

Here is the link for FREE SOIL TESTING

POOL

Lastly, here is the reminder and suggestion on how to clean your standing pool: Pool sampling is currently fully subscribed, but for those who are trying to remediate their pool, the recommendation we have, based on the best science available right now, is:

  1. Vacuum out large ash and debris to minimize load on sanitary sewer (but do not do any chemistry - no pH balancing, no chlorine, none of that).

  2. Get a reservation from LASAN to drain your pool, and drain it on the reservation time.

  3. ⁠⁠Power wash the walls, flush all lines and pumps, and do an inspection of lines and pumps for damage, and then drain remnant water.

  4. Refill the pool

  5. Test under EPA Method 524.2/.4 and 200.7/.8 (stagnate for 72 hours first with no pumps or filters running).

  6. If you have no detections of either method, then acid wash or treat plaster to remove discoloration.


If you hit VOCs still in step 5, you have a plaster permeation problem. If you hit metals, you have a general cleaning problem.

This approach balances risk and cost, as you hope that test in step 5 comes back well.

Hope you guys are staying safe and healthy!

xo May

FREE soils testing, upcoming deadlines, don't throw parties

During the 1Pali webinar, it was announced that though expected land value after a wildfire tend to drop 50%, it has only dropped 10% per the latest statistic. Meanwhile, the surviving Riviera properties have appreciated 10 to 15%. Per Post Fire Rebuild site, a thousand buyers have registered, but only a hundred seller have indicated interest in selling. All in all, every indication is showing that likely 80% of the residents intend to rebuild and return to the Palisades. The top three reasons from the community survey was: 1. The neighborhood 2. Small Town Feel 3. Access to Nature.

Local businesses are slowly opening back up, such as the Garden Cafe, Vons, Anawalt Hardware, Golden Bull and Village 76 gas station.

Resources are being set up at the American Legion for the community, such as FEMA and SBA. Samaritan’s Purse is offering free assistance on recovery work. Please reach out them for details: 833.747.1234.

LA DWP currently are answering questions in the Palisades Recreation Center. I’ve been told that Public Works and LADBS should be setting up tables there soon for plan submittal. LA DWP has installed 791 temporary poles and installed more that 50,000 feet of wire for temporary service. You will see marking on the street are for public safety, indicating presence of utilities under the areas that are being considered for excavation.

FREE SOILS TESTING

Loyola Marymount University, UCLA, and Purdue University are conducting a joint research with funding from the R&S Kayne Foundation for soil and pool sampling. Here is the link to the website to sign up: https://academics.lmu.edu/studyla/studies/communityactionprojectla/

SUMMARY OF MAYOR’S ZOOME UPDATE

EPA has announced that they had completed Phase I as of last Wednesday.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES:

To check your status on the ROE, please go to https://recovery.lacounty.gov/debris-removal/phase-2/ and you can track your ROE Form by looking up your address.

Here are what the different colors mean on the map:

GREEN = accepted

YELLOW = need more information

ORANGE = received

BLUE = opted out

For questions, you can call the Public Works Removal Hotline: 844.347.3332. If you see USACE signs in front of your property, it just means it was surveyed by the USACE in case you opted in. If you don’t file the ROE by 3/31/2025, USACE will considered the property to be opted out.

DON’T THROW PARTIES

Apparently someone made 20 copies of the contractor’s pass and threw a dinner party last Saturday night. The National Guard and LAPD will be checking passes to match ID. Residents’ old passes are still valid, but a Unified Pass will be handed out at the following areas.

LADWP and Rebuild update

WATER

Per Mayor Bass’ Tuesday 2/25/2025 ZOOM meeting, a DO NOT DRINK NOTICE remains in effect for Pacific Palisades, zip code 90272, West of Temescal Canyon Road and North of Bestor Blvd. in the LA DWP service area. This is the Dashboard for water restoration plan: Palisades Water Quality Restoration Dashboard

UNDERGROUNDING UTILITIES

When I asked if the infrastructure is going to be undergrounded, here’s the answer from Vahid Khorsand - Board of Public Works:

Hi May.

LADWP’s distribution circuits—the lines that supply electricity to homes and businesses—in the Pacific Palisades area are entirely underground. LADWP has one overhead line in the area. LADWP has established a joint Utility Restoration Center in the Palisades to coordinate permanent rebuilding of its infrastructure in the Palisades using the most advanced technology available, including undergrounding utilities, and to serve as a one-stop center to better serve its customers.

During the restoration phase, LADWP is temporarily placing overhead power poles to get as many customers reenergized as possible. However, LADWP intends to rebuild 100% underground and has begun underground designs, which are dependent on where the power station will be located. The process of procuring a location is underway.

LADBS REBUILD CENTER

Osama Younan from LADBS was available to respond to a lot of questions. They have been ableto turn around plan check corrections within 6 days. There’s been 40 projects submitted so far. Energy code and green building forms need to be updated in the submittal. Wood burning fireplace is still regulated by AQMD. Yes, gas appliances are still permitted. Per Governor’s Executive Order N-20-25, this was the slide that Osama showed, the self certification issue wasn’t discussed.:

You may also submit online:

Demolition process is also streamlined.

Here is the checklist to file your project:

Following are the participating agencies in the One Stop Plan Check Center on Sawtelle:

The participating agencies however are:

Department of Building and Safety

Department of City Planning

Bureau of Engineering

Bureau of Street Services

Department of Water and Power

Department of Transportation

Fire Department

Housing Department

Bureau of Sanitation

Bureau of Contract Administration

SoCalGas

Property Tax and Pool Cleanup update

PROPERTY TAX:

There’s been a lot of confusion to how the LA County Assessors will reassess the value of the property after the rebuild. From 2/20/2025 Mayor’s town hall, there were a few clarifications. The assessors will be re-valuate the in one of the two methods and keep your existing or pre-fire tax base, the assessor will choose the method that has the maximum benefit to the homeowner:

  1. VALUE - Under 120% of the pre-fire VALUE. For example, if your home was worth $1million before the fire, you can build up to $1.2 million and keep your full tax basis. But this will diminish over time, so the sooner you build, the more likely you will be able to keep your pre-fire tax basis.

  2. SIZE - Maintain the same size and square footage + 10% of the pre-fire home. Replacement in similarity. But if you build and add construction beyond what was originally there, then only that portion will be picked up as new construction and added to your taxable value. The assessor also explained that if your property was 1,000 s.f. and you build 1,005 s.f., they are not going to pick that up. But if you build a 2,000s.f. home, then they will consider that as additional s.f. and would be picked up as new construction. Please also note that garage does not count in square footage. HERE is a good explanation how tax assessors calculate their square footage.

    OR

    if you want to sell, Proposition 19 allows you to transfer your property’s tax base to be transferred to a comparable property within the same county or another county in California.

All of this information may be found on https://assessor.lacounty.gov/tax-relief/disaster-relief The assessors also indicated that they are working with both the State Senate and the Assembly in trying to deliver a bill that will address the application of decrease in value as of 1/7/2025 rather than as of 1/1/2026. Please also note that the reduced value remains in effect until the property is fully repaired, restored, or reconstructed.

POOL CLEANUP

If you opt into Army Corp phase 2 debris removal program, please note that the pools within the structural ash footprint with eligible structural debris will have structural debris and water removed from the pool to wet the ash debris. The pool will also be fenced off after debris removal to prevent accidental falls. However, they will not refill the pools, they will not remove the pools, and they will not clear or clean the pools and ponds outside the structural ash footprint.

HERE is the link to the City of LA protocol for swimming pool drainage. You will need to fill out the Pacific Palisades - Pool Discharge Request Google form via the link, or scan below:

city of la protocol for swimming pool drainage

After draining the pool, the County also recommends the following procedure for health and safety.

Cleanup Update and how to get your permitted plans

Army Corp of Engineers has set up a website updating status of the CA Wildlife Debris cleanup https://www.spl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Emergency-Management/Los-Angeles-County-Wildfire-Debris-Removal-Mission/

Here is also another great resource for creating a wildfire resilience home: https://defensiblespace.org/

Per the latest Executive Order N-20-25, you can now request for a copy of your permitted plan without the architect or structural engineer’s release. https://dbs.lacity.gov/how-can-i-get-copy-my-plans-blueprints

You will need a completed affidavit, proof of ownership (deed), and a valid driver’s license prior to releasing the plans. then you email it to records.ladbs@lacity.org

Things are moving fast. The first site has already been cleared by USACE. HERE is the link to the story.

Fire Safe Landscaping

I’ve been getting a lot of questions on landscaping and what will our lush landscape look like after the rebuild. Here are some preliminary research I’ve done and wanted to share with the community. We can still bring back the lush landscape, but at a more conscientious level, like creating a defensible space zone around your home with no vertical path for the fire to travel up. Thus, start from your home’s perimeter and work outwards. HERE is a great resource to illustrate this.

Zone 0 (0-5 ft) - Avoid anything combustible in this zone. No wood mulch. Try using gravel.

Zone 1 (5-30ft) - Lean and Clean - the goal is to eliminate fire paths between vegetation by increasing spacing between trees, removing lower branches of trees and shrubs. Maintain the plants with proper irrigation and remove dead/dry material.

Zone 2 (30-100+ft) - reduce the density of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants or grasses.

Does that mean no trees? No, it just means that you have to select your trees carefully. HERE is a good resource for selecting your trees.

Can you still have a privacy hedge? Yes and no. It depends on how far away the hedge is away from your structure. Again, maintenance is crucial. Plant selection is key.

CalFire also has a great site for guidance. https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/fire-smart-landscaping/

If you want to know which plants are fire hazardous, please check out this list prepared by the city of Marin. https://firesafemarin.org/create-a-fire-smart-yard/plants/fire-hazardous-plants/ The Fire Safe Marin website has a lot of great resources that is applicable to us in the Palisades.

Shelly Sparks RLA has also prepared this powerpoint addressing this issue: Don't Play with Fire

1 Pali and rebuild update

A few LA DBS updates;
1. One-Stop rebuilding center for permitting is at the WLA DBS office - 1828 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025. There will also be a mediation center to resolve conflicts between neighbors. M-F 10AM-8PM, SAT-SUN 10AM-4PM.

2. Soils repot and Title 24 are still required.

2. Updated structural is required.

3. Survey is needed, at least the foundation should be shown on the updated survey.

I had the opportunity to join the 1 Pali ZOOM last night. Here are the takeaways:

  1. 650 million has been raised so far for the wildfire, but how will the money be used? HERE is the link to the article.

  2. Mayor Bass has engaged Hagerty Consulting to assist in managing the infrastructure and environmental issues after Steve Soboroff’s 90 days term is up. HERE is the link tot he article. Yes, there are a lot of questions here too.

  3. EPA aims to complete Phase I cleanup at the end of February. It looks like most of the Alphabets are completed. HERE is the link to look up your neighborhood or address for the status. Phase II by Army Corp of Engineers (ACE) has already started. They are not waiting for Phase I to be completed. Again, ACE will not remove, driveways, pools, trees(unless it’s at risk of dying) and patios.

  4. First scorched plot sold in the Highlands recently. It was listed for $999,000 for 9,932 s.f. lot on Jan. 16, 2025 and sold for $1.3 million after 60 bids. Before the fire, it was estimated at $2.1million on Zillow. It was sold for much less than assessor value of land. HERE is the article. Another scorched property is currently for sale on McKendree for $2.895 million, or the land assessor’s value.

  5. Currently 900 people have been accused of pricing gouging.

  6. Brad Sherwood, a survivor of the Santa Rosa Tubbs fire in 2017, shared his community’s rebuild experience.

    1. They were able to rebuild in 2 years.

    2. They formed a 502(c)(3) non-profit to help them fund the rebuilding.

    3. The people who hired private contractors experienced higher cost and longer delays.

    4. Brad also confirmed that ACE will work with you on removing the roof and allow you to sift through the debris.

Another thing to keep our eyes on is the tax ramification from insurance payments. Please consult your tax specialist on this matter. HERE is an article from Forbes.

Per Mayor’s ZOOM tonight, ACE has begin their debris removal. And they will remove these items: Chimneys, hazardous trees (dead or at risk of dying within five years), fire ash and debris, foundation (if specified in the ROE), up to 6 inches of soil int eh ash footprint (if necessary and safe to do so), titled properties (vehicles/trailers). LADWP is also in process of restoring the power and the water. Bureau of Sanitation is still working on guidelines for pool debris removal. Do not pump out the water for now.

XO May

Access and LADBS updates

Things have been very fluid, so the updates are going to be somewhat inconsistent.

For contractor and residents, you may obtain a pass that no longer expires at either the Disaster Recovery Center on 10850 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064 or at the second floor of the West LA Civic Center at 1645 Corinth Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90025. Please note that due to the upcoming rain this week, please note that PCH will be closed between Chautaqua and Carbon Beach. But as a resident, you can still enter off Chautaqua.

Per the Mayor’s Zoom meeting on 2/4/25, this is the new website for disaster relief. lacity.gov. LA DWP is still working on power restoration. However, Dept. of Public Health is still warning that the public should wear PPE when visiting the site. I was back at my destroyed home yesterday and today, EPA has already started the battery removals and they will be working on household hazardous waster removal in the next week. The gentleman I spoke with indicated that they should be done in a few weeks. The officer from the Army Corp of Engineers also indicated that once they have all of the ROE submitted (deadline March 31st, 2025), they will start the debris removal. They will call the homeowner 3 to 5 days before, and the homeowner will be invited to be present. It’s not necessary to be present, but one may observe at a safe distance.

There’s also on going PPCC online meetings. check the link HERE for future meetings. HERE is the link to the recording of the one from 2/4/25. Traci Park, Brad Sherman, and Steve Soboroff all gave good information. Traci Park indicated that they are working on eliminating the architect or structural engineer’s approval to access the existing plans. There are also talk of increasing the limit beyond 10% for smaller homes. Please reach out to Traci Park’s office Councilmember.Park@lacity.org or traci.park@lacity.org for more information. The special submittal office have not been set up yet. It should be coming soon. But both Traci Park and Steve Sodoroff seem to think that you should be able to submit it to LA DBS directly.

Here are a few items of information I’ve found out from the LA DBS plan checker at the disaster relief center:

  1. 10% increase per the Mayor’s executive order applies to height, bulk, and footprint. However, you still have to meet the current code. Malibu is allowing up to 25% increase if your building is below 2500 s.f.. Stay tuned for this development in LADBS.

  2. Garage will still be exempted from the square footage calculation.

  3. If you are putting back as-is, you won’t need a Title-24 and LID is waived.

  4. Yes, you can keep all of the exceeding retaining walls, even if it exceed the current code.

  5. You will need a permit to remove pools.

  6. A few items I’m still not getting answers for, do you still need an arborist and Urban Forestry approval for tree removal. Do you still need a grading bond? No one seems to know the answer. I’ll update as I find out the answers.

Debris Cleanup

There was a town hall last night regarding debris removal, if you didn’t catch it, HERE is the link to the Youtube video. It’s worth watching.

Essentially the clean up is split into two parts and as Mayor Bass kept stressing that this effort is being led by the County of Los Angeles, not the City:

PHASE I: EPA CLEANUP, FREE to the residents. FEMA has assigned the EPA to assess, remove, and safely dispose hazardous materials from all burned areas. These are household items like lithium batteries, and chemicals (think of the ones in your garage and cleaning supplies). You can follow the status of their clean up on their website: https://www.epa.gov/ca/2025-california-wildfires OR call 1.833.798.7372. They are estimating it’ll be a few hours per household, but there are 15,000 household per the spokesperson. They are starting today, Monday 1/27/2025

PHASE II: After the EPA certify the lot free of hazardous material. You move onto Private Property Debris Removal or PPDR phase. You have two choices:

1.OPTION ONE: Hire your own contractor for debris removal. They must be licensed by the state, and it cannot just be a general contractor. This was quoted as much as $170,000. Porperty owners who elect to opt-out of the government-sponsored program will be required to obtain County approval prior to removing any fire debris.

2.OPTION TWO: Government-sponsored program. led by the Army Corp of Engineers. You will have to sign a Right of Entry (ROE) to give the federal government the right to enter your site for debris removal. This program is FREE to those without debris removal in their insurance policy or without insurance. For this with insurance, the county will access the fund available for debris removal provided by the insurance. I encourage everyone to sign up for this government sponsored program. This is why we pay taxes. The more homeowners sign up the more they can organize by area and sooner they can get this done. Check https://pw.lacounty.gov/epd/debris-removal/ The portal is now open: https://recovery.lacounty.gov/debris-removal/ You can download the opt-in and opt-out form on the website. There will be an option to see if you want the foundation to be removed or not. You should confirm with your structural engineer or architect. Typical 18” pier footing should be removed, due to the high heat caused by the fire. The rebar within those footings probably have melted. The homes with caisson and full basement will require core samples examined by structural engineer to verify if it should be removed or not. the deadline for this is MARCH 31, 2025. They will not remove swimming pools and spas. You should check with your pool contractor on this. THIS is the link for what to do after a fire for swimming pools.

Meanwhile, you can still submit your plans to LADBS for review. Regardless, you’ll need to obtain an existing plan for your insurance or your mortgage company. HERE is the link to the form to request for blueprint of your home. Mayor Bass indicated in her news conference yesterday that the one-stop portal for plan check submittal should be open next week or the week after. https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/video/la-mayor-karen-bass-gives-update-on-palisades-fire-recovery-efforts-rebuilding-socal/

Hope this helps. Have a great week!

XO May

I just want to go home

Every since we evacuated, I have dreamed about waking up in my own bed back home on the Alphabet Street. But every morning, I wake up to find myself at the overpriced Airbnb on a lumpy bed in cramp quarter. Everyone tells me that I should be grateful that my family is safe and my pets are here. But all I can think of is that all I want is to wake up and have my coffee looking out into my own backyard again.

I know I won’t be able to go home right away. But I would like to see what there’s left and sift through the debris. Rumor is flying that we won’t be able to start building for another 18months. Then during the President’ visit, Mayor Bass stated that it won’t be 18months. But who are we to believe.

Meanwhile, here is the LINK to the Palisades Re-Entry per the Emergency Management Department of Los Angeles to check if your area has opened up. The access for entry to the Palisades evacuation zones is off PCH 1150 Pacific Coast Hwy, Santa Monica, CA 90401

To stay on top of the PPCC latest, follow them on We Are Pali

Other than just following these links, and few things we can do to expedite the process:

  1. Call the Insurance Commissioner’s Office 800.927.4357 to request all insurance companies to issue maximum benefit without itemization and with out signing an attestation. Paperwork is the last thing we’ll need.

  2. Call the County regarding debris removal 844.347.3322 to register interest for debris removal and recovery of personal property.

  3. Here is the Palisades Fire Debris Removal Town Hall link for Sunday, Jan. 26 | 3pm. or live stream it on Youtube

  4. Call on Karen Bass’ office 213.978.0600 to:

    1. Waive requirement for architect or structural engineer of record to release record drawings for fire damage houses as long as you can proof that you are the homeowner.

    2. Waive retaining wall requirements per latest Hillside Ordinance to when the house is originally constructed.

    3. Grading to be approved internally rather than triggering Coastal.

  5. Just for the heck of it, here’s a WSJ article on the two dueling developer’s vision for the Palisades.

XO May

What to consider...property tax, standard plan, and insurance

It’s Sunday morning, and typically around this time, my husband and I are getting ready to walk down to the farmer’s market in the Village to get our weekly supplies. We would get a our guilty pleasure -a croissant from Tommy and Atticus, and then head over to Antioch to get our fish and fruits. We would come home, have our croissant and coffee while we read our newspaper (yes, we would still receive Sunday paper on actual newsprints). Since January 7th, 2025, this has changed. Our Sundays will be different. But I look forward to the new Sunday routine, once the Palisades is back. What I wanted to let people know today are reaction to some of the issues that I’ve been reading on line.

Standard Plans and property tax - There’s been a lot of chatter about standard plans for the rectangular lots for the rebuilt. I just wanted to caution my fellow neighbors not to jump into something without understand ramifications. From my understanding, both the State and the City’s executive order allows for expediting and grandfathering your former tax basis if you rebuild on the existing footprint, height and bulk. You can can change the material, appearance, and interior layout. However, until the assessors confirm this, standard plans may be an upgrade, and that will trigger reassessing. This is a LINK to an interview with a tax expert on CBS News LA regarding this.

Regarding insurance - Document, document, document. It’s incredible what we had in our homes, all the way down to the aluminum foil. All these can be claim on your insurance. This is a useful excel spreadsheet to get you started. Lastly, I’ll keep updating on what I find out about insurance, but most likely everyone will be on the CA Fair Plan. State Farm has announced that they will renew everyone’s insurance for another year. But what happens after? Here’s an article with the CA insurance commissioner.

That’s all for the day. Happy Sunday.

XO May

ADU and other resources.

Governor Newsom has added ADU to be exempt from CEQA and Coastal Act in a new executive order.. Which is good new. However, it is still unclear if grading will trigger CEQA and Coastal Act or not, which most lots in the Palisades will require.

To find out if your property is in the Coastal Zone on both the LA DBS Parcel Search (and you can find your permit history here too, if you home were built after 1990) and ZIMA.

There was a lot of great information given on the Palisades Community Meeting livestream lasts night. There are slow progress on the repopulation of the Palisades. It was just announced that people in the Riviera may return with ID. To find out if the evacuation notice has been lifter of your area, sign up for this the Protect.Genasys APP . Just input your address, and you’ll be alerted. But check back periodically. This map shows if your property has been assessed by Cal Fire. If your property has been assessed, this is the portal to request a report for your insurance company.

For brands that are offering discounts for fire victims. Please see this Google Doc.

Crest Real Estate hosted a great webinar today. I’ll share the link once it’s uploaded. But the gist of it is that:

  1. Start collecting records. Permits, record plans, title reports, assessor information.

  2. Review the zoning code.

  3. Determine if there are non-conforming elements.

  4. Determine if you want to Rebuild or Redevelop

LADBS is looking at exemption for survey and soils for the flat area and possibly having architect self certify. The City is also looking at issuing standard plans for fast permitting for flat rectangular lots. I personally have one flat rectangular lot in the Alphabets, and another sloped lot in the El Medio Bluffs. I’m hoping that this will be true. The City and the State are committed to speed up the rebuilding process. I’ll keep trying to add to this as often as I can.

Stay safe, please let me know if you have any questions.

XO May

Rebuild Palisades

Upon returning from Christmas holidays to our home in the Alphabet Streets in the Palisades, the most difficult thing that was confronting me was what New Year’s goals to set. Never did we imagine that our lives were to be turned completely upside down on Jan. 7th, 2025. I am not a blogger, but I wanted to start this to share resources with my neighbors about rebuilding the Palisades. I know it would be easier to just sell and collect insurance, but this was a magic community. Though I have only been here for twenty years, some of my neighbors in the Village have been there for generations. This is not just a town full of celebrities and wealthy families. This is also a town full of working class people that had purchased a home early on to raise their kids in a safe neighborhood. My kids were born and raised here. I lost a husband here. I fell in love with my new husband here. This was (and will be) my forever home. Now our schools are gone, our homes are gone, and our communities are gone. But I believe in the Palisadian spirit. We will rebuild. As an architect that have worked in the Palisades for twenty years, I am happy to share my knowledge and resources.

Whatever you do, DON’T SELL! It’s like losing a spouse. Don’t do anything rash for the first year. Right now there are a lot of agencies at the FEMA Disaster Center on Pico Blvd. to help you.

  1. File an application for reassessment (FORM ADS-820) with the County Assessor.

  2. Ask for forebearance from your mortgage company. You typically can extend this to 12 months.

  3. Though FEMA may have rejected you because you have insurance, you can still seek displacement replacement. They will pay up to 2 months of displacement cost if you upload your insurance declaration pages.

  4. Apply for SBA loan for both your home and your business, if it’s run from your home.

  5. File for tax extensions, the government is even allowing for extensions for professionals that works and does not live in the Palisades.

Here are some of the latest items from the governmental agencies and handouts for rebuilding. The Cliff note version of it, is that you can build like for like. Same footprint, same height, and bulk. You can add 10% of the existing s.f.. However, you can change the design and interior layout of the project. You may also receive additional fund from your insurance company if you build up to current code by using more resilient and ecological materials. This may add another 20% on top of coverage A of your original coverage. But you should check with your insurance company.

Someone on the WhatsApp link group created this Google Doc with local resources for the rebuilding the Palisades. It’s a live document.

Here are some handouts I received from the FEMA office.

City of Los Angeles Emergency Executive Order No. 1

City of Los Angeles ZI No. 2523 CA Coastal Coastal Commission Development Permit No. A-381-78 Palisades Highlands (Pacific Palisades)

Palisades Fire Rebuild and Recovery Coastal Zone Requirement

Coastal Exemption - Single Jurisdiction Coastal Zone applications

Hope this helps. Do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.

XO May