Government and private civic groups efforts to guide rebuilding after the Palisades Fire
Renowned modernist architect Hugh Newell Jacobson once quipped, “When you look at a city, it’s like reading the hopes, aspirations, and pride of everyone who built it.” Due to the tragic Palisades Fire in January, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, and Altadena have a chance to participate in urban planning, with hopes of capturing the essence of the communities that once were, with their public gathering places, businesses, churches, schools, and critically, neighborhoods, while also rebuilding for the future.
As individual homeowners begin the rebuilding process, there are also efforts by government officials and private sector entities to guide rebuilding. Readers may have heard about a Blue Ribbon Commission, created by Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath and Steadfast LA, a civic nonprofit organization launched by Rick Caruso, that seeks to “accelerate the rebuilding of Los Angeles by cutting through bureaucracy, mobilizing the expertise of the private sector and to deliver real solutions to rebuilding with urgency and efficiency.” Further, there has been a lot of press concerning State Sen. Ben Allen’s now-paused bill proposing to establish a Resilient Rebuilding Authority and thereby implement one of the key recommendations by the Blue Ribbon Commission. Finally, on July 8, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he was allocating $101 million “to jumpstart critical rebuilding” even as he petitions Congress for more financial support to rebuild.
Some residents have expressed concerns about such government-centered and public-private initiatives. It is helpful to outline what all those parallel efforts are recommending and undertaking, and to discuss the concerns that some residents have expressed.
The Blue Ribbon Commission’s recommendations
The Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action, formed in February as an independent commission by Horvath in collaboration with UCLA, has released its final recommendations and action plans concerning “the resilient and sustainable rebuilding of the fire-affected areas and preparing for future climate crisis-fueled wildfire and related disasters,” according to the organization’s press release. The commission, which was composed of scholars from UCLA, subject matter experts, and other civic leaders and government officials, recommended just under 60 specific critical actions that policymakers should take to ensure an equitable, sustainable, and resilient recovery. The commission recommended the creation of two new governance structures: a Resilient Rebuilding Authority to help finance and accelerate fire-resistant rebuilding and a Los Angeles County Fire Control District that would create vegetated buffer zones and retrofit fire-vulnerable neighborhoods.
The commission also recommended the implementation of strategies for climate resilience and fire safety, such as new building standards and water systems that are climate-resilient. Finally, the commission urged insurance reform to integrate affordability, equity, and risk reduction into insurance models utilized by the California Insurance Commissioner to approve insurance premium rates, including the implementation of renter protections.
Allen, whose senatorial district includes Pacific Palisades, introduced SB 549, a bill aimed to streamline and coordinate wildfire recovery across Los Angeles County by establishing a new Resilient Rebuilding Authority to serve as a centralized recovery agency with redevelopment powers, to assist communities impacted by the wildfires. However, on July 14, Allen announced that he will not move forward with the proposed legislation this year. He did so after a difficult Senate committee meeting wherein attendees demanded more community input from local officials and fire survivors. Acknowledging concerns regarding local control, transparency, and governance, Allen said, “For me to feel comfortable proceeding, the bill would have to be deeply grounded in community input, empowerment, and decision-making, including the support of the impacted councilmembers such as Councilmember Tracy Park.”
Wade Major, a lifelong Malibu resident who serves as a public works commissioner, president of Advocates for Malibu Public Schools (AMPS), and a member of the Malibu Rebuild Task Force, vociferously objected to establishing the Rebuilding Authority in a lengthy email sent to local leaders and members of the press. “We do not want or need ‘land-banking’ (by a Rebuilding Authority) as a strategy to circumvent local planning and zoning in order to combine single-family lots into multi-family apartments. We do not want or need ‘low-income’ or ‘multi-family apartments’ where single-family homes and neighborhoods once stood,” Major stated. “We do not want or need ‘15-minute cities’ imposed on our communities as the price of assistance in rebuilding what was destroyed. We do not want or need our local zoning and planning laws undermined or usurped by a new, centralized county bureaucracy which no one credibly believes can better manage 14,000-plus rebuilds than the existing city and county departments presently charged with doing so.”
Importantly, Major said that some of the commission’s proposals might be of help to those rebuilding, including providing financing assistance, taking steps to preserve local and small businesses, and providing a sales tax holiday for purchases related to rebuilding. He also strongly advocated restoring tax consequence protections for inter-generational property transfers, which was removed in 2020 by Proposition 19, which imposes a valuation reassessment when properties are transferred inter-generationally. That reassessment can result in tax bills that many families cannot afford, forcing them to sell their homes. Finally, Major noted — as did many who testified at the legislature’s committee hearing — that before establishing such a rebuilding authority, lawmakers and policymakers need to obtain as much feedback from residents as possible by having virtual meetings and town halls. Admonishing lawmakers, he said, “You need to hear the passion, pain, and anger of survivors. You need to feel what they feel. No meaningful policy can be implemented on their behalf without that input.”
Steadfast LA
In late June, the City of Malibu posted on social media, stating, “The City of Malibu is partnering with State and philanthropic organizations — including Steadfast LA — in a groundbreaking regional effort to launch a new digital platform that will expedite the rebuilding process for communities.”
The posting concerned the new platform from Archistar and Mike Hopkins from Amazon, which provides an artificial intelligence software that can perform e-checks of some permit applications. The City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County are also employing Archistar for some permit application reviews.
Led by Rick Caruso, Steadfast LA’s chairman, the effort launched in February to coordinate expertise, influence, and power from the private sector to expedite rebuilding by developing solutions with the brightest minds in real estate, finance, construction, infrastructure, and more, according to the Steadfast LA website. The organization’s coalition includes business leaders from CBRE, ESRI, Latham & Watkins, LLP and Gensler.
Advocating public-private partnerships that collaborate with civic leaders, local groups and industry leaders, such as Steadfast L.A.’s effort to rebuild the Palisades Recreation Center, Caruso and his team aim to restore integral parts of communities ravaged by the wildfires. It remains to be seen how much Steadfast L.A. will be involved in Malibu’s rebuilding other than its urging the use of archistar for permit expediting.
Following the money: Gov. Newsom’s $101 million allocation for rebuilding
On July 8, Gov. Newsom and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) announced the release of $101 million “to help rapidly rebuild critically needed, affordable multi-family housing in the fire-devastated region.” The funding allows affordable housing developers to apply for multi-funding programs through a single application to support rebuilding efforts that prioritize projects that are close to the wildfire burn areas and include a resident preference for households displaced by the wildfires, according to Tomiquia Moss, Secretary of the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. The goal, according to Moss, is to “accelerate household stability, climate, and health outcomes in communities.” Moss noted that in February, announced availability of $382 million for development of affordable multi-family housing rental properties statewide, and that in March, a separate $50 million funding allocation was announced for Indian tribes. Readers can find out about the details at www.hcd.ca.gov.
Congressman Brad Sherman supports Gov. Newsom’s updated wildfire aid request for $34.1 billion
On July 15, Gov. Newsom submitted an updated wildfire aid request to Congress, seeking a supplemental appropriation of $34.1 billion in federal assistance to respond to the destruction caused by the January wildfires, noting that the basic package of federal benefits is insufficient in the wake of one of the worst fire disasters in U.S. history. That request sought less aid than the governor had requested in February to account for the $5.5 billion in federal funds already disbursed by FEMA and SBA this year.
Supporting the governor’s request, Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-32) issued a supportive notice, stating, “I am pleased to see two priorities included in the Governor’s request that I will continue advocating for as we move forward: first, a sharp increase in SBA’s maximum disaster loan limit so families and small businesses have sufficient funds to rebuild their homes; and second, major Community Development Block Grant funding for the state to provide grants to those who lost everything without adequate insurance. These tools will make the difference between temporary relief and long-term recovery.”
As those in Malibu traverse the long road to recovery after the fire, residents will, no doubt, interface with efforts by governments of all levels and philanthropic organizations offering to assist and Malibuites will, as they have since cityhood, evaluate whether such offers of help align with the vision that locals have for our rebuilt community.