Los Angeles mayor issues executive order for "residents to rapidly rebuild"

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has issued an executive order that expedites or negates permit requirements, expands ADU usage and provides for the cataloguing of damage to historical buildings as unprecedented wildfires continue to destroy lives and property.

Named Return and Rebuild, the executive order seeks to clear away bureaucratic red tape in order to aid residents who have lost homes or businesses in the wildfires, which have destroyed more than 12,000 structures and caused the deaths of at least 24 people.

The order was issued to provide a "streamlined path for the rebuilding of the City of Los Angeles' fire-devastated communities".

It deals mostly with the expedition or waiving of permit requirements for rebuilding for those affected by the Palisades, Hurst, Kenneth, Archer, and Sunset Fires, fires that took place fully or partially within the city limits

The order covers three main categories: clean up, rebuilding, and government assistance programs. It adds details to a state-wide executive order issued by governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday, which "suspended" aspects of California permitting such as the California Coastal Act and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for affected residents.

Cleaning and rebuilding

For cleaning up efforts, the Return and Rebuild order establishes a "debris manager" role within the city government office and a Watershed Hazards Task Force to protect infrastructure against flash floods and mudslides.

The rebuilding section of the executive order is extensive and provides details on the waiving of environmental reviews first announced by Newsom.

It also expedites all necessary reviews, including a 30-day limit on any building permit reviews for structures affected by the fires.

It substantially decreases limitations of demolition, and waives permit requests for the demolition of affected structures, as long as someone "notifies" the  Department of Building and Safety and properly disposes of waste.

The order also states that a status report of all historic properties within the affected zones will be released within 10 days of "safe access" to the areas.

Tiny homes and temporary occupancy

The order also allows for the unpermitted use of "recreational vehicles, tiny homes, modular structures and mobile homes" on affected properties for three years, or as long as building permits are in effect.

It also proposes an "interdepartmental task force" to allow for multi-family projects to obtain Temporary Certificates of Occupancy (TCOs) that would allow occupation of buildings before they are complete in order to "create more available units in the market".

The latter is specifically important for many evacuees as reports of spiking rents in the area are being released, despite emergency bans on price gouging in Newsom's executive order.

Though the order points to a return home for some, the fires in the city and county are still active, with strong winds and continued droughts worsening conditions in some places with an "unprecedented" extreme fire alert being declared in some areas.

In light of the foreseen need to rebuild, a number of organisations and working groups have formed to provide engineering, architecture and legal resources to the community, and are calling for volunteers.

The AIA is currently offering a course on how to apply for FEMA relief, while the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority has released a long list of resources that support those affected by the fire.

Past executive directives released from Bass' office have revolved around temporary structures relating to the housing and homelessness crisis in the city.

The photography is by Kelvin Cheng

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