The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is asking the state to suspend some housing laws that speed up new housing, particularly higher-density residential, saying residents in unincorporated Altadena affected by the Eaton fire need to be protected from swift-moving developers proposing higher density housing.
“In order to provide the community to return, and not face displacement, we can pause these policies,” said Amy Bodek, county director of regional planning.
Bodek emphasized the suspension of state laws on housing would only affect unincorporated areas of the county. It would not affect the Palisades area, devastated by fire nearly three weeks ago, because that is within the city of Los Angeles.
The county supervisors expressed justification for the motion, passed by a 5-0 vote on Tuesday, Jan. 28, saying the people of Altadena, including the 6,000 whose homes were lost in the devastating Jan. 7 Eaton fire, will exercise more control over rebuilding. Some county officials called the motion a local control measure.
The controversial request that requires state approval was opposed by many affordable-housing advocates and nonprofit organizations, who spoke at the board meeting. Many said suspending laws that provide housing density bonuses to developers and accelerates approvals for secondary units on properties, called ADUs, will be detrimental to recovery efforts.
Eduardo Mendoza, policy director for Livable Communities Initiative, told the board the temporary halting of pro-housing state laws such as SB 35, which he said has produced thousands of affordable housing units across the state, is unproductive.
“This action makes recovery harder, not easier,” he said.
For example, the county is asking to be exempt from laws that give developers permits to build denser multi-family housing, called density bonuses. It will also suspend its own ordinance to provide permits for an Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), a small unit on the single-family property in 90 days, saying the county doesn’t have enough staff to move that quickly.
These exemptions would be sparingly applied onto specific housing corridors in Altadena, mostly where single family housing was destroyed. The purpose is to prevent builders from replacing these streets with multi-family residential developments, Bodek explained.
She also said these waivers would prevent building of housing that is too close to fire hazard zones. If exemptions were granted by the state, the county hopes to continue the waivers for five years, Bodek said.
“We must ensure this disaster does not become another statistic of displacement or inequity. Altadena future must be shaped by those who call it home, not outside parties,” said Fifth District Supervisor and Board Chair Kathryn Barger.
The board also approved the following actions regarding the two fires and their aftermath:
• Launched an investigation into what many who lost loved ones reported as a lack of timely emergency fire alerts in west Altadena during the Jan. 7 Eaton Fire that resulted in 17 deaths. A report on alerts and evacuation orders will come back to the board in three months.
• Created a $32.2 million Los Angeles County Fire Recovery Fund that will provide cash to homeowners, renters, business owners, workers and other affected by the recent fires in LA County. The fund will provide temporary assistance until longer-term state and federal dollars become available, the county reported.
• Allow county Public Works to spend up to $1.25 billion on repairing or rebuilding roads, bridges, roadway drainage, flood control facilities, sewer facilities and other property and publicinfrastructure affected by the wildfires.
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