Rebuilding at Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles leaders have restricted duplex buildings to single-family home lots.
The move follows an executive order issued Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which grants exemptions for Pallisard and other areas destroyed by the Palisade and Eton fires in January.
Recently, Palisade residents have issued a warning about SB 9, worrying that the detached home community historically will be transformed by the additional density permitted by law, making it even more dangerous in the event of a future fire. On January 7th, a chaotic evacuation amid the flames caused residents to abandon their cars on Sunset Boulevard and escape on foot, causing bulldozers to clear the roads so emergency responders could enter the area.
A similar increase could be brought about in the reconstruction of Pallisard, and despite being much more common in permit applications, protests have not erupted with the addition of the housing units attached to the reconstruction of Pallisard.
Approximately 4,700 detached homes have been destroyed or largely damaged by a Palisade fire. The majority of them were in the city of Los Angeles.
Newsom’s orders apply to the Palisades and parts of Malibu and Altadena. It is designated as a “very high fire hazard severity zone” by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. A one-week hiatus was implemented on the SB 9 project to allow cities and counties in Los Angeles and Malibu to develop restrictions.
In response, alongside City Councilman Traci Park, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who prompted Newsom this week, issued an executive order that would hinder Palisades’ future SB 9 development.
“I would like to thank Governor Newsom for working with my office to provide a sense of comfort to the community working on rebuilding,” Bus said in a statement accompanying the order.
Since the fire, the dense outlook, including an increase in affordable housing, has heightened tensions in the neighborhood. Some debates have been plagued by misinformation and conspiracy theories that falsely argued that wealthy communities will be rezoned for the mass construction of low-income apartments.
But residents are afraid that they will retain deep scars from the turbulent evacuation in January and will worsen in a larger population, said Larry Vein, founder of the Wildfire Recovery Group. They also hope that the area will return to the neighborhoods of their detached houses, he said.
“The community doesn’t want higher density,” Vein said.
Officials’ push to limit construction stands on SB 9 is in contrast to efforts to allow more buildings in single-family home lots through different means.
Newsom and Bass each issued previous executive orders to streamline permit reviews for accessory housing units for single family accommodations in the burn zone.
There are some practical distinctions between the two ways to add a home. Generally, ADU Law allows up to three more units. SB 9 can allow four or potentially more when combined with the ADU method. SB 9 units can often be larger than ADUs.
However, the possibility of an increase in ADU construction has not attracted the same opposition in the community. Instead, the data shows it is popular.
The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety did not specifically track permit requests for ADUS or SB 9 projects to rebuild homes and were unable to immediately check their number. However, the departmental reconstruction data analyzed by the Times includes an explanation of each proposed development that is to be noted if additional units are planned.
As of July 28, 500 homeowners had allowed applications to rebuild at Pallisard, a Times analysis of department data found. According to the project description, 73 of them (almost 15%) contain at least one ADU. The explanation says that the three will use SB 9, but the number is short, said Devin Myrick, the department’s assistant director. Myrick said the department is still analyzing the data and devising the actual amount of the SB 9 project.
Property owners have cited ADU Construction as a way to return to Palisades more quickly, and plan to build an ADU before working on the main home. For others, the opportunity to build additional units based on ADU Law or SB 9 provides financial benefits that can be used to cover the cost gaps of reconstruction.
Vein said Palisades residents were friendly with Adus. Because their construction does not necessarily lead to a larger population. Many said they would use ADUs to work from home as a guesthouse or allow members of multi-generational families to have their own space. In contrast, he said the Sb 9 duplex necessarily adds people.
“You just doubled the density,” he said.
Some development organizations are blowing up SB 9 restrictions. California Immy spokesman Matthew Lewis said that while residents are advocating for larger housing statewide, residents’ evacuation concerns are legal, staff should focus on solving the issue rather than limiting duplexes.
Lewis said the spread of the ADU in the reconstruction indicates that it is not a possibility that it actually motivates the opposition. Instead, he said community groups and LA politicians were using that argument to thwart the law they’ve long disliked.
“What we’re talking about is a strong constituency that makes enough noise to cause a halt to laws properly passed by the state legislature,” Lewis said. “That’s very concerning.”
Bass believes her support from Adus and opposition to SB 9 in Palisades is not a conflict, mayoral spokesman Zachary Seidl said. The SB 9 was not expected to be used after a major wildfire, he said, while allowing the ADU to help rebuild the property owners.
“The mayors who have both these positions are supporting community members in the reconstruction of Pallisard,” Saidl said.
Douglas Smith, a staff writer for the Times, contributed to this report.
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