Eaton Fire has not yet been finalised for a single building permit for affected homeowners, despite more than 1,500 properties being prepared for rebuilding since Eaton Fire ripped out Altadena in January, Los Angeles County officials said Monday.
When LA County supervisor Kathryn Berger and city councillor Traci Park toured the Altadena area on Monday, they admitted that restoring the once-vibrant area had encountered obstacles and significant delays.
“To be honest, I’m not happy with the pace I’m at today,” Burger said. “There has been no building permits issued. That is not accepted at all.”
Berger added that a motion to cut the deficit on Tuesday by the LA County Board of Supervisors will be voted on Tuesday to establish a permitting authority.
“We need one contact that we can overwrite and really focus on getting it done in real time,” Berger said. Slow processing shows the need to fix the broken permit system and develop many necessary homes for future buildings, not just those affected by the fire.
“For me, we are part of the problem, not part of the solution, but a full awakening call to bureaucracy,” she said.
Altadena resident Margot Stever is one of the victims of a wildfire who is frustrated by the dull process.
When Stueber and her architect Trinidad Campbell submitted plans to rebuild their home on March 2, they were promised by the county that there was a two-week turnaround time for initial review and that 30 days would be issued a permit once the application is submitted.
However, due to three different departments (planning, fire, construction and safety), it took each agency two to three weeks to review the plans. According to Stueber and Trinidad, it ultimately meant it could be at least three months before they could get permission.
Many homeowners said that getting insurance and different county departments on the phone is like a second job for them, while living in expensive temporary homes or moving from place to place.
In the Altadena area affected by Eton Fire, LA County has received 173 zoning reviews, of which 23 have begun permitting processes, county officials told NBCLA. In the same area, two have been issued out of 17 applications for temporary homes, such as mobile phones and manufactured homes.
In the Palisade district of the Pacific, which was affected by the Palisade fire, the county has started the permit process for 13 of the 32 zoning reviews. Two temporary housing applications have been approved in the area.
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