Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
LA mayor bans duplexes in Palisades burn zone after getting permission from governor
Sunset Boulevard House, also known as The Bridges House by architect Robert Bridges, was destroyed by the Palisades fire on Wednesday.
(
Brian van der Brug
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
Duplexes can no longer replace single-family houses in the Pacific Palisades as rebuilding begins for the more than 5,000 homes destroyed by the January fire.
On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ordered a ban on duplex projects in the Palisades. The move came after an order the same day from Gov. Gavin Newsom that granted local governments permission to suspend a state housing density law in burn zones.
The law at play, Senate Bill 9, allows single-family homeowners across the state to build duplexes and split their lots, potentially creating up to four units of housing on land previously zoned for one unit.
In the city of L.A., 72% of residential land is zoned for single-family homes.
Support for LAist comes from
In a statement Wednesday, Bass said: “SB 9 was not originally intended to be used in the rebuilding of a community that was decimated by the worst natural disaster L.A. has ever seen.”
Duplexes seen as threat to safety, neighborhood character
Bass thanked Newsom for his executive order giving local governments the option to suspend SB 9 in zones where the severity of fire hazard is very high. The governor’s order applies to the Palisades, Sunset Mesa, Malibu and the eastern foothills of Altadena.
“This executive order responds directly to requests from local officials and community feedback, recognizing the need for local discretion in recovery and that not all laws are designed for rebuilding entire communities destroyed by fires overnight,” Newsom said in a statement.
The exemptions come after Palisades residents, along with their city councilmember, Traci Park, pushed state and local leaders to cancel the application of SB 9 in their neighborhood.
They said increased population would make evacuations even more difficult during emergencies, and multi-family buildings would threaten the neighborhood’s “quiet, low-density” character.
Support for LAist comes from
How a handful of applications led to a social media uproar
A spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office said the city has received seven SB 9 applications in the Palisades since January. L.A. officials did not specify how many new units those applications sought to create.
Six months after the fires, L.A. had received about 400 rebuilding applications in the Palisades. SB 9 projects represent less than 2% of those applications.
Despite the relatively low number of SB 9 projects, homeowner groups and social media influencers have urged elected officials to stop what they see as “opportunistic developers” building unsafe, dense housing along the neighborhood’s narrow, winding streets.
“On one single-family lot, there could be up to eight to 12 new cars on a street that fire trucks couldn’t even fit on,” said reality TV personality Spencer Pratt in a recent TikTok video.
Since Pratt and his family lost their home in the Palisades Fire, he has become an outspoken critic of how Newsom and other California officials have responded to the disaster.
Support for LAist comes from
Pratt said in his TikTok video: “Everyone, message Newsom, Karen Bass and Senator Ben Allen and tell them: stop SB 9 in the Palisades immediately.”
Supporters of SB 9 had hoped the law would give displaced Palisades renters a few more options for returning to the high-cost neighborhood. They noted that because of the law’s owner-occupancy requirements, only homeowners who planned to live on the property for at least three years were allowed to split their lots.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars. -
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Best of LAist