Latest Executive Order from Mayor Bass Streamlines Process for Fire Rebuilds Greater than 110%
Property owners in the Pacific Palisades can replace their fire-destroyed homes with larger homes and still receive a streamlined review thanks to new emergency regulations announced by Mayor Karen Bass.
Emergency Executive Order 8 (EO8), which was issued by Mayor Bass late last week, creates a new, streamlined permitting process for Palisades property owners in the Coastal Zone who want to exceed the 110% threshold of an eligible fire rebuild as defined by earlier executive orders from the mayor.
Previously, property owners in the Coastal Zone who wanted to rebuild their home had to limit any increases to 110% of the previously permitted home to be eligible for an expedited review and approval. Any larger, and the proposed new residence would be reviewed under the “normal” process, including the requirement to obtain a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) from City Planning and – in some areas – a second CDP from the California Coastal Commission as well. The CDP process typically takes more than a year from initial filing to approval in hand, an aggravating amount of time for homeowners who have lost their homes.
EO8 will make it easier to rebuild single-family homes in the Coastal Zone that do not qualify as like-for-like under previous executive orders but do comply with their underlying zoning. EO8 also folds in an expansion of the state’s emergency suspension of CEQA and the California Coastal Act announced by Gov. Newsom earlier this month.
To qualify for an Eligible EO8 Project, a project must meet the following criteria:
- The project is within the Coastal Zone and proposes a single-family residence (but can include new accessory structures and/or supportive infrastructure).
- The project will replace structures substantially damaged or destroyed by the Palisades Fire.
- The project complies with all objective zoning standards in the LA Municipal Code (i.e. – setbacks, height, RFA, etc.).
- The project replaces the same number of units that did exist at the time of the Palisades Fire and does not include any lot consolidation, subdivision or lot-line adjustment.
- If applicable, the project is at least 10 feet from a canyon bluff and 25 feet from a coastal bluff.
- The project complies with any Environmental Protection Measures that are required by City Planning and does not have a significant impact to biological resources.
Eligible EO8 projects cannot include any discretionary requests from the city’s Coastal Development Permit process.
EO8 offers several benefits during the permitting process:
- Projects will receive an initial review by all relevant city departments within 30 days.
- Projects with ADUs can still be EO8 eligible.
- Eligible EO8 projects are not subject to Mello Act review or limitations.
- For projects in the Hillside areas, the applicant will not be required to widen the street either in front of the subject property or to the border of the Hillside area, as otherwise required by the Baseline Hillside Ordinance.
- If the project requires a haul route, it will be reviewed and approved administratively and will be exempt from the public hearing and notification requirements.
- If a prevailing setback existed prior to the Palisades Fire, the replacement project can utilize the same setback calculation.
- If the project includes the removal of protected trees and/or street trees, it will be reviewed and approved administratively and will be exempt from the public hearing and notification requirements.
The departments of Building & Safety, City Planning and other applicable city departments are required to issue written guidelines this week which would include the EPMs, according to the mayor’s order. City staff that PCC spoke with today anticipate the guidelines will not be issued for several weeks, at least. It took several months for the departments to issue written guidelines that were required by the mayor’s EO1 earlier this year.
