Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday issued an executive order seeking to speed up rebuilding efforts after fires devastated thousands of homes and businesses in the city last week, primarily within Pacific Palisades.
Executive Order 1 requires city departments to complete project reviews within 30 days of submitting a complete application and waives discretionary hearings under zoning rules, among other efforts.
The order applies as long as homeowners do not increase the size of their homes and businesses by more than 10%.
“This unprecedented natural disaster warrants an unprecedented response that will accelerate the rebuilding of homes, businesses and communities,” Bass said in a statement. “This order eliminates red tape and bureaucracy to organize around urgency, common sense and compassion. “We will do everything we can to bring Angelenos home.”
Bass' move comes a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom, through his own executive order, waived regulations under state environmental laws in an effort to speed up rebuilding in the Palisades, as well as in Altadena and other areas. out of town. Bass praised Newsom's decision and noted last week that the city would make a similar effort.
Analysts have pointed to lengthy, bureaucratic building permit processes as a major obstacle to housing construction in Los Angeles, which they say needed to be streamlined long before the fires.
While Bass and Newsom's efforts aim to make construction easier, the thicket of regulatory hurdles that typically plague construction, especially in the Palisades and other coastal areas, means that the details of the government's response, such as the number of staff available to process permits. , or even permit exemptions, will determine its effectiveness.
Bass' order also establishes task forces for debris removal, landslide mitigation and to help the multifamily development nearing completion receive temporary occupancy approval so more units are available on the market.
Azeen Khanmalek, executive director of Abundant Housing LA, called Bass's order a positive step forward in the rebuilding process. But given the magnitude of the crisis, he called on Los Angeles to do more to accelerate new housing developments throughout the city, regardless of their location and whether it is a rebuild.
“We were already in a housing crisis before and now there are thousands of new homes and families looking for places to live,” Khanmalek said.
