Altadena residents can now use LA County-approved blueprints to rebuild homes

Homeowners rebuilding in Altadena can now choose from preapproved home designs from the Foothill Catalog Foundation and the San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity to help accelerate the construction process.

January's Eaton Fire burned across more than 14,000 acres and destroyed at least 9,400 structures. New state wildfire maps show that some portions of Altadena now have to meet wildfire building codes — which could be more costly.

The process could also be complex and tedious for some property owners. To help, the new initiative announced Friday could cut some red tape with preapproved building plans.

Alex Athenson, president and co-founder of the Foothill Catalog Foundation, said the plans can help save Altadena families time and money.

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“What the Foothill Catalog is looking to do is give homeowners a head start in this rebuilding process by providing preapproved, non-custom architectural solutions to allow them to rebuild in a way that's feasible for them,” Athenson said.

What to know about the plans

All the plans are designed with fire resistance in mind, Athenson said.

“I think it's important that resiliency and affordability are not mutually exclusive,” he added. “Everyone deserves a home that is safe and a community that is safe as well.”

The house plans also take Altadena’s character into account, said Cynthia Sigler, co-founder of the Foothill Catalog Foundation.

That's been a “driving factor of the mission,” Sigler said. “It's really such a special community, so when this all happened, we really felt like we needed to do whatever we could to help.”

Cynthia Sigler and Alex Athenson, co-founders of the Foothill Catalog Foundation, designed home plans to help Altadena residents rebuild faster while mitigating costs.

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The Foothill Catalog Foundation is supporting the planning phase, and Habitat for Humanity is then supporting the building of homes.

Bryan Wong, chief executive of the San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity, said helping the Altadena community rebuild became a primary goal after the Eaton Fire.

“We hope with getting homes like this preapproved, basically, it's going to cut the construction time down dramatically,” Wong said. “We can't imagine these houses taking more than four months.”

What residents are saying

Some families have already been able to start rebuilding using the ready-to-use plans.

Kenneth Wood Jr. and his family lost their homes in the January fire and says the program was a saving grace.

“We were just kind of living in this suspended anxiety of what's next. We have no idea. No one's seen anything like this. What's the answer?” Wood said. “So it's really nice to have something that gives us hope.”

Of the preapproved homes in the Foothill Catalog, Wood’s parents chose the “Lewis” design — a 3-bedroom bungalow modeled after a house on Lewis Avenue that was lost to the fire.

“It was nice that they had some models that looked like houses in Altadena. As soon as my parents saw the Lewis model, they jumped at that one because that looks like home,” Wood said.

The Wood family of Altadena is one of the first to benefit from the Foothill Catalog Foundation and Habitat for Humanity.

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L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the initiative is a win across the board.

“It is not government doing it. We were a partner. We helped uplift and get them approved. First time ever doing that,” Barger said. “It was ‘community,’ and that's why I love Altadena.”

How to get started

If you are a property owner affected by the Eaton Fire, you can fill out a form at SGV Habitat for Humanity’s website. The application asks about one’s household, property and financial information.

Aside from home rebuilding, Habitat for Humanity is also providing help with major or minor home repairs.

LAist also has a resource guide helping communities get back on their feet, including help with child support, financial assistance and mental health counseling and more.