Top California Democrats are calling the recovery from the devastating January fires a major success, but seven months later, most victims still havenât been cleared to rebuild their homes.
The January blazes destroyed more than 16,000 homes and buildings from Malibu to Pasadena, causing more than $100 billion in damages to residential properties. Despite Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass describing the rebuilding efforts as âhistoricâ and rapid, less than 13% of permits for residential properties have been approved by Los Angeles County, according to government data.
âThe number of permits issued for rebuilding remains remarkably low after all these months,â Steven Greenhut, director of the Pacific Research Instituteâs Free City Center, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.âIt shows how hard it is to unravel decades of excessive regulation and to transform the restrictive permitting system and bureaucratic culture that stifles new construction.â
Los Angeles County, which oversees rebuilding in unincorporated areas hit by the Eaton and Palisades fires, has issued 120 permits out of 690 applications related to new residential buildings received as of Aug. 11, according to the countyâs permitting dashboard. In total, the county has issued 187 permits out of 1,497 applications, including for residential properties, accessory dwelling units, non-residential buildings and repairs.
The city of Los Angeles has issued 304 permits related to single-family homes, 142 of which are for new structures, a spokesperson for the cityâs department of building and safety told the DCNF. The city has received 1,024 applications from 629 unique addresses.
In the coastal community of Malibu, only one of the seven submitted building check plans has been approved, according to the cityâs dashboard. The permitting process for some coastal properties can take up to 24 months, with planning fees starting at $11,579, according to the city website.
Still, Newsom has labeled disaster cleanup efforts as the fastest in American history, while Bass has called it the fastest in state history.
While bureaucratic red tape continues to bog down rebuilding, opportunistic buyers are moving in. One mystery foreign investor has reportedly snapped up $65 million worth of oceanfront lots in Malibu that were wiped out by the fire, according to the New York Post.
Greenhut said the state has taken several steps to expedite recovery efforts, including exempting new buildings affected by the fires from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California Coastal Act permitting requirements, creating pre-approved building plans and allowing for self-certification of properties. Still, many residents say progress has been far slower than the picture painted by state and local leaders, and that some proposals run directly counter to community interests.
Newsom was forced to exempt the Pacific Palisades and other areas impacted by the January fire from an executive order that streamlined multifamily housing construction, after locals warned it could turn their communities into high-density affordable housing zones with little input from residents.
SB549, which would have established the Los Angeles County âResilient Rebuilding Authorityâ to buy fire-destroyed lots and rebuild a percentage of them for low-income housing, was paused after many residents argued that it amounted to a âland grabâ by the government. Similar concerns have been raised over SB79, which allows the construction of high-density housing near public transit projects and is currently making its way through the state Legislature.
Bass, who was in Ghana as the flames engulfed her city, has faced criticism for her poor leadership during the tragedy that claimed 31 lives. Bass, Newsom and other officials have been blamed for inadequate management of forested areas, which increased fire risks, as well as for water policies that led to low water supplies while firefighters fought the blaze.
The offices of Bass and Newsom did not respond to the DCNFâs request for comment.
(Featured Image Media Credit:Â Screen Capture/PBS NewsHour)
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