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LA mayor, council approve orders aimed at helping residents affected by fires
Thursday, Jan. 9: A person walks amid the destruction left by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.
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Jae C. Hong/AP
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Tuesday that she’s signed a sweeping executive order that would allow Angelenos to quickly rebuild after the devastating fires, and the City Council considered a series of special orders related to the disaster.
The order clears the way for a variety of expedited actions, including coordinating crews for debris removal, streamlining the process for obtaining permits and rebuilding homes and other structures, with a focus on rebuilding structures of the same type and size that were lost on a particular parcel of land.
More than 5,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed in the city of L.A. alone since the fires ignited early last week.
Bass also announced that two Disaster Resource Centers opened this week — one on L.A.’s westside, the other in Pasadena — to help Angelenos with lost documentation, insurance claims, and more.
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“This unprecedented natural disaster warrants an unprecedented response that will expedite the rebuilding of homes, businesses and communities,” Bass said in a news release. “This order is the first step in clearing away red tape and bureaucracy to organize around urgency, common sense and compassion.
“We will do everything we can to get Angelenos back home.”
More on Bass’ order
The Mayor’s Office said that in order to house displaced residents, people will be allowed to erect tiny homes, module structures, mobile homes, and other similar structures on sites where homes were lost to the fires. Property owners will also be allowed, under the order, to put up a storage unit or shed on property for up to three years.
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LA mayor, council approve orders aimed at helping residents affected by fires
The executive order also allows the creation of a task force to assess fire areas for mudslide hazards. Mudslides are a common concern after wildfires, and debris flows can sometimes be as deadly as the fires.
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Bass said the executive order would allow fast-tracking of 1,400 multi-family units that are nearing completion across the city. According to the mayor’s office, an interdepartmental task force will be formed to help multi-family residential projects nearing completion obtain their Temporary Certificate of Occupancy
City Council special agenda items
The L.A. City Council approved the mayor’s emergency declaration from last week and took up two dozen special agenda items, several of which were approved.
One approved motion directs the Department of Water and Power to regularly update the city Fire Department on the status of water reservoirs including any systems that are offline.
The council approved an item that requests that the Department of Recreation and Parks close parks in high fire hazard areas during the current red flag warning.
Council members also unanimously approved a motion that directs staff to work with L.A. County to hire a consultant to put together an independent after action report on these historic and devastating fires.
Disaster Resource Centers open
Two Disaster Resource Centers opened Tuesday to help L.A. residents affected by the fires replace lost documentation, file insurance claims, and other needs.
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“This is a one stop shop,” Bass said during a Tuesday news conference. “There are multiple local, state, county and federal agencies that are here, and hopefully people will be able to get the services that they need.”
The Disaster Recovery Centers are open 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Westside Location: 10850 Pico Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90064
Eastside Location: 3035 E. Foothill Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91107
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