City Departments Ordered to Suspend Collection of Fees for Rebuilding
Mayor Karen Bass on Friday issued an Emergency Executive Order to provide financial relief for residents rebuilding homes damaged or destroyed by January’s wildfires, accelerating efforts she previewed during her State of the City address earlier this week.
The directive instructs city departments to immediately stop collecting permit and plan check fees associated with the repair or reconstruction of wildfire-affected homes, pending City Council approval of a formal amendment to waive the fees. The order also requests the City Attorney to draft an urgency ordinance for the council’s consideration.
“City leadership must work together to remove these barriers, and today’s action provides immediate relief for residents while expediting the process for City Council to waive these fees,” Bass said in a statement.
The move builds upon legislation introduced by Councilwoman Traci Park, who said waiving the fees is a necessary step for families already reeling from loss.
“They’ve been through enough, and they did not ask for this,” Park said. “Waiving these fees is reflective of our commitment to helping them start over. I’m grateful to Mayor Bass for accelerating this effort through executive action.”
The executive order follows two others issued by Bass earlier this week aimed at streamlining rebuilding efforts in the Pacific Palisades, including the launch of the city’s first-ever plan check Self-Certification pilot program and the exploration of Artificial Intelligence technology to assist with plan reviews.
Bass has prioritized speeding up the recovery process since the fires. Earlier this month, she toured two rebuilding sites where construction permits had been issued. So far, the city has approved 27 permits tied to 19 addresses in the Palisades area.
The first rebuilding permit was issued just 57 days after the start of the Palisades Fire on January 7 — a permitting timeline more than twice as fast as that following the devastating Camp and Woolsey fires, officials said.
Under Bass’ previous Executive Order No. 1, departments were directed to complete permit reviews within 30 days or less. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) is now completing plan check reviews in an average of six days, roughly twice as quickly as before the fires.
