Los Angeles has given the green light for the reconstruction of homes in Pacific Palisades that were affected by the January wildfires. Four permits have been approved so far for homes that were either completely destroyed or partially damaged in the upscale neighborhood.

This comes as residents are beginning to prep their properties for rebuilding. The Instagram account, palisadeshq, walks viewers through this process.

It starts with a contractor who will be responsible for clearing the lot. At least 6 inches of topsoil within the ash boundary needs to be removed.

The ash boundary is where the fire burned the structure itself. Palisadeshq explains this is necessary not just for cleanup, but “it’s the essential foundation for rebuilding.”

Once this is all cleared, contractors can start grading the property to start building a house.

Permit progess

Any home that is to be rebuilt needs to have a permit. The first few permits issued have been touted as a major milestone in the city’s recovery by Mayor Karen Bass and the L.A. Department of Buildings and Safety, but local leaders and residents were quick to criticize the slow pace of the permitting process, with one city councilmember saying it was “concerning” that only four permits had been issued as of March 24, more than two months after the fires.

The first permit was issued by the city on March 5, clearing the way for homeowners to fix up their wrecked properties in the star-studded Pacific Palisades neighborhood, where some 6,800 homes either burned to the ground or were seriously damaged by the Palisades fire.  

The owner of the split-level home near Rustic Canyon submitted blueprints to city inspectors back on Feb. 17, reported the Los Angeles Times.

“We want this to be happening on your lot, too,” Mayor Bass said at a news conference on Friday.

Among the first three permits approved by the city, two were for complete rebuilds: one in the Palisades section and another overlooking the Pacific Coast Highway.

Gary Lionelli, an Emmy-winning film and TV composer who owns the Palisades property destroyed by the wildfire less than a year after he and had family had moved into their newly constructed home, told the Times that he plans to have it rebuilt exactly as it was, in a bid to avoid delays.

The mayor has issued executive orders aimed at streamlining and expediting the rebuilding process in the fire-ravaged communities.

Among other measures, the city established a debris-removal task force to clear the way for rebuilding, opened a permitting center, and waived local discretionary review processes—all in the name of speeding up the recovery efforts. 

As of last week, 72 owners had submitted rebuilding applications to the city, and another 135 to the L.A. County Department of Public Works for rebuilding in unincorporated areas impacted by the Palisades and Eaton fires.

Again, the cleared plot of land has to be graded, or smoothed and shaped, to create a surface suitable for construction.  

Bass said on Friday that so far, some 1,000 property owners have not opted in or out of the government-run debris-removal initiative.

Failing to have all the debris removed could result in a lien being attached to a property.

L.A. leaders lash out at pace of rebuilding

During an L.A. City Council meeting on Monday, politicians and residents alike voiced their concerns about the pace of the rebuilding process. 

“We want to get going,” one Palisades resident said at the meeting.

Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Palisades section, said she found the low number of permits that so far had been approved by the Department of Buildings and Safety to be unacceptable. 

“When I hear in the community meeting like we had today that only four permits have been issued, and we’re on day 75 post-fire, that is concerning to me,” Park said, according to ABC7. “And I don’t think it’s a lack of interest in rebuilding, I suspect it is indicative of systemic issues that we need to continue to focus on.”

Realtor.com® has reached out to the Department of Buildings, seeking comment on the permitting pace and was awaiting a reply.

Other City Council members took aim at the mayor’s decision to hire Hagerty Consulting, a private firm, to oversee the recovery effort to the tune of $10 million, even as Los Angeles is staring at a $1 billion budget deficit next year. 

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez slammed the move as “obscene.” 

“We have city departments who know how to do this recovery, who have been involved in recovery efforts in the past,” Rodriguez told ABC7. “And yet they can’t be afforded the opportunity to hire the personnel that they need, but we can give a $10 million contract to an outside agency to help write a report for us.”

Debris removal necessary for rebuilding

Before any construction could begin, homeowners must have all debris cleared from their lots. For Palisades residents, debris removal is free through a federal program; but homeowners must opt in by completing a Right of Entry form, allowing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to access their properties.

The process is split into two phases: Phase 1 typically involves identifying and carting away visible household hazardous waste like asbestos, lead, other toxic materials. Phase 2 focuses on clearing ash and the top 3 to 6 inches of contaminated soil.