The Independent Commission is calling for the creation of new local authorities, and has the authority to oversee the reconstruction of fire-control areas in Altadena and Palisade in the Pacific, coordinate planning and construction efforts, and coordinate funding from property taxes, state and federal funds and charities.
The proposal is one of several preliminary recommendations in a report issued by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire Safety Recovery, established by Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvas to inform recovery efforts.
“We’re a great leader in our efforts to help you,” said Matt Petersen, chairman and chief executive of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubators Committee. “It really gives us additional resources and finds ways to leverage capital and support it.”
The 19-person committee includes people drawn from businesses, local governments, civic organizations, environmental groups, and urban planning experts.
One of its main recommendations calls for the creation of one or more new reconstruction authorities to use tax increment funding sources and other sources of funding to buy fire-wrapped lots that property owners want to sell and guide the reconstruction process.
Residents who were evacuated by the wildfires in January will be given priority over their new homes.
The goal is to find “a creative way to help fund and coordinate the efforts needed to ensure reconstruction,” Petersen said. This coordinated approach is also intended to address concerns among residents. Without intervention, developers could simply buy a horizontal lot and build more expensive homes.
Similar development authorities were established to oversee reconstruction in areas that have been devastated by other major disasters, such as the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the 9/11 attack, and Hurricane Katrina.
The report released last week states that the so-called resilient reconstruction authorities will “take steps to strengthen property insurance and promote a resilient and sustainable recovery.”
“We have smarter and safer responsibility and opportunities,” Horvath said. Many residents said they wanted to rebuild their neighborhoods that would help them deal with climate change and prepare for its effects. Scientists say global warming has contributed to the mix of factors that have made fires so violently destructive.
The committee is expected to release its final recommendations in June.
Establishing a local reconstruction authority will allow for the use of tax increment financing. There, land purchases and improvements will be funded based on the expected increase in property taxes due to improvements.
Some proposals, such as creating reconstruction authorities, will require state law.
The committee also proposes establishing a LA County Fire District with dedicated funding to support fire safety efforts, including maintaining a “buffer zone” between households and wild vegetation.
Other committee recommendations include:
It is mostly mandatory by fire protection building standards to improve both safety and home insurance. Provide reliable supply, improve water systems to provide firefighting needs, create pre-approved designs for all electric homes and power systems such as streamlined permits or solar and battery storage, and support clean energy to provide clean energy. Various steps to ensure that homeowner insurance is available and that all residents are affordable.
“Without bold and coordinated action, we risk further evacuation, rising insurance costs and deepening our community’s vulnerability to future climate events,” the committee said in its report. “When a home is built using the latest buildings and energy codes, neighborhoods and individual property owners will increase insurance, along with the best science associated with Wildfire Home Ignitions.”
The report also states that soil testing in burned areas is important not only for public health but also for securing funds for construction.
As part of the reconstruction, committee members said they are considering ways to secure affordable rental housing. They said their initial proposals have been released to inform the decisions by officials in Los Angeles and Sacramento.
To improve local water infrastructure, the committee recommended that utilities conduct vulnerability assessments and upgrade the system to “meet the latest fire flow requirements.” These improvements aim to prevent the types of problems that firefighters encountered as the hydrants lost pressure and became dry in some areas.
Committee members also sought additional storage capacity in the neighborhood, and systems with external sprinklers with external sprinklers to homes, parks and schools.
“We are a member of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s committee and director of Water Rare Solutions,” said Mark Gold, “We are a member of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The goal is to “come back in a more disaster-sensitive way,” he said.
Others who are participating as members of the committee include Marty Adams, former general manager of Water and Electricity in Los Angeles. Mary Leslie, Chairman of the Los Angeles Business Council. Russell Goldsmith, former chairman of the City National Bank. Rudy Ortega, tribal president of the Fernandeño Tatavium Mission Indian band. UCLA researchers provide support to the committee.
The goals outlined in the report, particularly the ambitious energy standards, encounter some practical limitations, said Dan Dunmoyer, president and CEO of California Building Industry Assn.
“In reality, for many fire victims, they don’t have the right insurance to bridge the gap between their coverage and the ambitious goals of the Blue Ribbon Committee unless someone else steps in to help them,” Dunmoyer said.
Part of the problem is that insurance policies generally resemble those who cover home restructuring and resemble more expensive homes with a massive investment in the energy system.
“We want to make it as simple as possible so that people with limited resources can rebuild their homes,” Dunmoyer said.
He said he hopes that the Trump administration or Gavin Newsom administration will come with funds to help people rebuild and recover from the disaster.
“The practical restructuring capacity with limited insurance would be extremely difficult to achieve without the government and charity bridge,” he said.
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