Hi everyone,

Today I attended the Mayor’s State of the City address where Sue Kohl, Larry Vein and I were invited to sit in the front row and were acknowledged for our efforts in the Palisades recovery. The Mayor announced during her speech that permit fees would be waived following a motion by City Council and an ensuing ordinance that would temporarily waive fees for Palisadians rebuilding after the fire. She also announced plans to allow self certification and a decision to use AI to streamline the permitting process. She expressly acknowledged Councilwoman Traci Park and thanked her for being a staunch advocate for her constituents. She went on to

talk about reductions in homelessness, the World Cup and Olympic games coming to LA, as well as the strained City budget that is expected to have an $800M deficit. She talked about gains made in housing Angelenos, an uptick in LAPD cadets, but also cuts to city departments and jobs as well as challenges ahead, including the rebuilding of LA given fiscal and workforce challenges. She asked Angelenos to come together to recover and rebuild. You can see the State of the City address, here.

Prior to the State of the City address, a group of Palisadians attended Councilwoman Park’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Rebuilding of LA, where LA departments reported to the committee. LA SAN reported on its post-disaster response efforts, including evaluating facilities and impacted structures. They assessed pump stations and emergency drain pumps and are working with BOE on pump repairs. 69 miles of sewer lines in the Palisades were inspected and contractors were engaged to repair damaged sewer and water pipes. Sanitation staff also cleared over 3,000 cubic yards of debris from basins and continues maintaining and repairing structures in the hillsides. Streets LA reported that it they have assisted BOE with k-rail and sandbag delivery for debris flow prevention, and continue to address PROW issues, including tree removals, illegal dumping, fire debris prevention, and permits. Of 371 trees needing removal, 35 have been removed and 32 trimmed. Post-fire pruning is also underway for trees that were damaged but are alive (and recovering). BOE reported that they are inspecting bridges, bulkheads, and tunnels—11 of 19 bulkheads inspected need repairs, and work is underway. The Positano bulkhead requires slope stabilization and may require setbacks due to right-of-way encroachment. Additional updates included an assessment from Rec & Parks, estimating repairs at about $50M. DWP reported restored power and Bureau of Street Lighting said they continue to evaluate circuits but have not yet restored all street lights. See also new pool drainage guidance, here.

Last Tuesday, we had State Senator Ben Allen join us at our Pali Recovery Coalition meeting, alongside Assessor Jeff Prang. Sen. Allen announced several bill he sponsored in this legislative session, aimed at addressing some of the lessons learned from the Palisades Fire. These included the “Eliminate the List” bill that

would eliminate the requirement that homeowners who have lost homes in a fire create a list of items lost in order to be reimbursed from insurance. The bill would establish a

percentage of the replacement cost of the home to serve as the baseline value for lost personal belongings. He reviewed other legislation that included more investment in fire fighting infrastructure like pumping technology for fire delivery and a commitment to State brush clearance within designated High Fire Severity Zones.

Assessor Prang announced ongoing property tax relief efforts and legislative developments related to the recent fires, saying they’ve processed over 13,300 Misfortune and Calamity claims for destroyed or damaged homes. These are now moving to the Auditor for processing and/or refunds (for homeowners who’ve already paid their second installment of 2024 property taxes).

He reviewed several key relief programs:

• Decline in Value relief: Lowers assessed values if market value drops.
• Homeowner Alert program: A free e-service that alerts homeowners by text within 48 hours of any title changes, offering protection from title fraud.
• 120% Rebuild Relief: The 120% value relief allows rebuilt properties to avoid reassessment—and a property tax increase—if their value stays within 120% of the pre-damage value after a major as proclaimed by the Governor. Assessor Prang legislative updates (some of which we had advocated for):

• SB 663 (Allen): Extends the rebuild period to 8 years, expands filing timeframes and offers more discretion in determining damage dates.
• SB 293 (Perez): Extends the Prop 58/19 transfer filing period from 6 months to 3 years for disaster-impacted properties.
• AB 245 (Gipson): Allows the Assessor to apply post-fire valuation as of January 1, 2025 (“Lien date”), versus January 7th (the date of the disaster).
• AB 1253 (Shultz): Allows the Assessor to regard a new structure as “substantially equivalent” to a damaged or destroyed structure, if it does not exceed the size that would allow the project to qualify for city expedited permitting, pursuant to the order issued by the City. Finally, there are two important meetings coming up this week: The Park Advisory Board meeting on Tuesday night at 6:30 PM and the PPCC meeting on Thursday night at 6PM. Stay tuned for our next meeting date (possibly April 29th) where we will discuss security and check points. I am hoping LAPD leaders as well as the City Attorney will join us to discuss the state of Palisades security after the Army Corps and National Guard exit. My most recent conversations with the Mayor and Cheif McDonnell (today) indicate that LAPD will not be able to support six police cars and twelve officers after the National guard exits Pacific Palisades. As such, we’ve reached out to LAPD and private security providers to come to the table and discuss what security will look like at the end

of May/start of June when ACE is expected to complete its debris clearance and wrap up its operations. We are also working on live-feed cameras on PCH and West Channel Rd, to inform residents of traffic and choke points.

With best regards,

Maryam Zar

Pali Recovery Coalition