An independent commission is calling for the creation of new local government authorities to oversee the rebuilding of fire-destroyed neighborhoods in Altadena and Pacific Palisades, with powers to coordinate planning and construction efforts and secure financing from property taxes, state and federal funds and philanthropic organizations.
The proposal is one of several preliminary recommendations in a report issued by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire-Safe Recovery, which was formed by Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath to help inform the recovery efforts.
“It’s really critical we provide homeowners and communities all the resources they can get to be able to afford to rebuild,” said Matt Petersen, the commission’s chair and chief executive of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, which works with startups to promote renewable energy. “It really provides us additional resources and finds ways to leverage capital to help.”
The 19-member commission includes people drawn from business, local government, civic organizations and environmental groups, as well as experts in urban planning.
One of its key recommendations calls for creating one or more new rebuilding authorities that would use tax-increment financing and other funding sources to buy fire-razed lots that property owners want to sell and guide the rebuilding process — selecting developers and coordinating construction at scale.
Residents displaced by the January wildfires would get priority for the new homes.
The purpose is to find “creative ways to help finance and coordinate the efforts needed to ensure the rebuilding,” Petersen said. This coordinated approach is also geared toward addressing concerns among residents that without some intervention, developers otherwise might simply buy leveled lots and build more expensive homes.
Similar development authorities have been set up to oversee rebuilding in areas devastated by other major disasters, such as the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina.
The report, released last week, says a so-called Resilient Rebuilding Authority would take steps to “enhance property insurability and promote a resilient and sustainable recovery.”
“We have both a responsibility and an opportunity to rebuild smarter and safer,” Horvath said, noting that many residents want neighborhoods to be rebuilt in ways that help address climate change and prepare for its effects. Scientists say global warming contributed to the mix of factors that made the fires so intense and destructive.
The commission plans to release its final recommendations in June.
Forming a local rebuilding authority would enable the use of tax-increment financing, in which land purchases and improvements would be funded based on expected increases in property taxes from improvements.
Some of the proposals, such as creating the rebuilding authorities, would require state legislation.
The commission is also proposing to create an L.A. County Fire Control District with dedicated funds to support fire safety efforts, such as maintaining “buffer zones” between homes and wildland vegetation.
The commission’s other recommendations include:
- Mandating the most fire-protective building standards, both to improve safety and the insurability of homes;
- Improving water systems to provide reliable supplies and serve firefighting needs;
- Creating a streamlined permit or pre-approved designs for all-electric homes and power systems, including solar and battery storage, to deliver clean energy;
- Supporting health-related efforts, such as funding expanded mental health services for affected residents and providing protective gear for cleanup workers.
- Taking various steps to ensure homeowners’ insurance is available and affordable for all residents.
“Without bold, coordinated action, we risk further displacement, rising insurance costs, and deepening community vulnerability to future climate events,” the commission said in the report. It said when “homes are constructed using the latest building and energy codes along with the best science related to wildfire home ignitions … the neighborhood and individual property owners will increase their insurability.”
The report also noted that soil testing in burned areas is important not only to public health but also to securing financing for construction.
As part of rebuilding, the commission’s members said they are considering ways of ensuring affordable rental housing. They said their initial proposals are being released to inform decisions by officials in Los Angeles and Sacramento.
To improve local water infrastructure, the commission recommended utilities carry out vulnerability assessments and upgrade systems to “meet modern fire flow requirements.” Such improvements are intended to prevent the sort of problems firefighters encountered as hydrants lost pressure and ran dry in some areas.
The commission’s members also called for prioritizing additional water storage capacity in neighborhoods, and systems with external sprinklers to douse homes, parks and schools.
“Having more water available to fight fires in more locations that are highly vulnerable to these firestorms, I think, is really important,” said Mark Gold, a committee member and director of water scarcity solutions for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The goal is to “build back in a more disaster-resilient fashion,” he said.
Others who are participating as commission members include former Los Angeles Department of Water and Power General Manager Marty Adams; Mary Leslie, president of the Los Angeles Business Council; Russell Goldsmith, former chair of City National Bank; and Rudy Ortega, tribal president of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians. UCLA researchers are providing support to the commission.
The goals outlined in the report, particularly the ambitious energy standards, will encounter some practical limitations, said Dan Dunmoyer, president and CEO of the California Building Industry Assn.
“Practically, for many fire victims, they won’t have adequate insurance to bridge the gap between their coverage and the aspirational goals of the blue ribbon commission — unless somebody else steps in to help them,” Dunmoyer said.
Part of the problem is that insurance policies generally cover rebuilding homes to be similar to those lost, not more expensive homes with larger investments in energy systems, he said.
“You want to make it as easy as possible for people with their limited resources to be able to rebuild their homes,” Dunmoyer said.
He said he hopes the Trump administration or Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration will come through with funds to help people rebuild and recover from the disaster.
“The practical rebuild ability with limited insurance is going to make this very difficult to achieve without the bridge of government or charity,” he said.
