www.palisadesnews.com
July 2025
Officials Push to Halt Lot-Split Housing in Fire-Prone Palisades Pali leaders warn that SB 9 — a law that allows duplexes and lot splits on single-family parcels — is being used to push dense redevelopment in a hazard zone Elected officials and community leaders are calling on state and city authorities to halt the implementation of Senate Bill 9 in Pacific Palisades, citing heightened wildfire risks and threats to public safety in the aftermath of January’s devastating fire. Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park and the Pacific Palisades Community Council sent separate letters to Governor Gavin Newsom this week, warning that SB 9 — a California housing law that allows
duplexes and lot splits on single-family parcels — is being used by developers to push dense redevelopment in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone still reeling from disaster. In her letter dated July 28, Park said developers are exploiting emergency recovery measures to rebuild destroyed single-family homes as multi-unit structures under SB 9. “Given that over 5,000 homes were destroyed by the fire, the redevelopment of even a portion of these sites utilizing SB 9 could lead to an unforeseen explosion of density,” she wrote, warning that Pacific Palisades has “limited ingress and egress” and cannot safely support such rapid growth. The PPCC, in a parallel letter signed by its executive committee, issued a more urgent plea. The group called for an immediate pause on all SB 9 permit approvals in the Palisades until the city completes long-overdue evacuation route analyses required by state law. The community, they said, remains vulnerable to future wildfires, and increased housing density could lead to catastrophic delays
in emergency evacuations. “Residents were forced to abandon their cars and flee on foot during the Palisades Fire — at existing density levels,” the letter said. “We are facing government action that creates exponentially greater public safety risks.” SB 9 was signed into law in 2021 to address California’s housing crisis by allowing small-scale density increases in traditionally single-family neighborhoods. But Park argues the law was never meant to apply in disaster-stricken areas. “When SB 9 was adopted… it was never intended to capitalize on a horrific disaster,” she wrote. The PPCC proposed a range of emergency and legislative responses, including temporarily freezing permits, enforcing fire mitigation standards similar to those adopted in other cities, and carving out exemptions for high-risk zones like the Palisades. The group also cited a recent Los Angeles Times investigation that highlighted gaps in the city’s wildfire evacuation planning, despite mandates from AB 747, a state law enacted after the
Photo: Traci Park deadly 2018 Camp Fire. “Time is of the essence,” the PPCC said, noting multiple SB 9 applications are already in process. “The community has suffered enough from the singular, devastating conditions caused by the Palisades Fire.”
Executive Orders Aim to Accelerate Palisades Rebuilding With Streamlined Permits, Pre-Approved Housing Plans The executive orders are designed to remove regulatory hurdles and reduce rebuilding costs Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday issued two new executive actions aimed at expediting the rebuilding process in Pacific Palisades, more than six months after a series of devastating wildfires destroyed hundreds of homes across the area. Emergency Executive Order No. 8 expands local streamlining measures for rebuilding homes that are not identical to those lost, aligning the city with Governor Gavin Newsom’s statewide emergency order suspending key environmental reviews. The new directive allows qualifying single-family home projects to bypass local Coastal Act requirements, provided they meet objective zoning standards and environmental protections. The second action, Executive Directive No. 13, establishes a pilot program for
pre-approved standard housing plans. The city will create an online library of codecompliant, architect-submitted designs that residents can use to fast-track the permitting process. An open call for architects and builders to contribute to the plan library is expected within 30 days. “While our recovery is on track to be the fastest in modern California history, I know that nothing will erase the unimaginable pain and loss that the Palisades community has endured,” Bass said in a statement. “With debris removal months ahead of expectations and construction underway, we continue to push forward in our all-out effort to get families home.” City officials say more than 85% of affected residential properties have already been cleared of debris, and nearly 300 rebuilding plans have been approved. The first reconstruction permit was issued just 57 days after the fires began in January, a pace officials say is twice as fast as postdisaster recovery timelines following the Camp and Woolsey Fires. The executive orders are designed to
Photo: Office of Mayor Karen Bass remove regulatory hurdles and reduce rebuilding costs. Projects that qualify under the new order must meet specific criteria, including adherence to zoning rules, proximity limits from coastal bluffs, and biological impact restrictions. Affected homeowners have seven years to obtain a building permit and three years to complete construction once approved. Additional provisions in the orders waive certain permit requirements, including
discretionary haul route approvals and low-impact development mandates for homes built before 2002. The city is also instructing departments to accelerate inspections and utility releases for rebuilds. The virtual plan library is expected to include an online portal for submissions, a dashboard for approved designs, and tools for homeowners to track their permitting status.