Gov. Gavin Newsom is scheduled to issue an executive order on Wednesday, allowing the Los Angeles Regional Government to restrict development in wild-affected areas by being exempt from the provisions of the Landmark Housing Act.
The proposed order allows the city and Malibu county in Los Angeles to limit construction permitted under Senate Bill 9.
This order applies to the Pacific Palisades and some of the Malibu and Altadena. This is the area burned in the January Pallisard and Eton fires designated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention as “a very high fire hazard severity zone,” said Tara Gallegos, a spokesman for Newsmom.
The decision came after concerns about the possibility of a significant population growth if the development of SB 9 is widely used in reconstructed areas and future fire evacuations were made even more difficult, Gallegos said.
The governor’s plan follows pressure from elected officials in Los Angeles this week. On Monday, City Councilman Traci Park, representing Pacific Palisade, sent a letter to Newsom demanding that SB 9 be suspended, warning that there could be a “unexpected explosion of density” in otherwise dangerous areas.
“When SB 9 was adopted into state law, it was never intended to exploit a horrifying disaster,” Park wrote.
LA Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement Tuesday in support of the park’s request, citing similar concerns about the tension evacuation routes for SB 9 in Palisades and local infrastructure.
“It could fundamentally change the safety of the community,” Bass said.
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