The petition argues that survivors of the fires are being unfairly burdened with permitting fees—often amounting to tens of thousands of dollars
A growing number of Pacific Palisades residents are calling on the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LABSD) to waive costly rebuild permit fees following a series of devastating fires in January that destroyed hundreds of homes across the area.
As of Sunday, more than 1,800 people had signed an online petition launched by resident Soheila Ataei on Change.org. The petition argues that survivors of the fires are being unfairly burdened with permitting fees—often amounting to tens of thousands of dollars—as they attempt to rebuild homes lost to the disaster.
“This petition is on behalf of the entire community of Pacific Palisades,” Ataei wrote. “The LABSD’s permit fees, in this circumstance, are a severe blow to those of us trying to rebuild from the life-changing catastrophe we had no control over.”
Many signers said they had already paid fees once, either during the original construction of their homes or through the purchase price of their properties, and argue it is unjust to be charged again. Supporters also pointed to precedents set during the aftermath of the Woolsey and Northern California wildfires, where similar fees were waived to ease financial burdens on residents.
The petition is addressed to several Los Angeles officials, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and City Councilmembers Traci Park and Hugo Soto-Martinez.
In comments posted to the petition page, residents expressed frustration over what they described as governmental inaction and neglect. “It feels grossly unfair to charge us to rebuild our home after the city neglected to do their part to keep us safe,” one signer wrote.
Another longtime resident, Kimberly from Pacific Palisades, added: “It is unbelievable to ask us to pay such huge fees when we were left to burn. If we had known we would have been abandoned by our officials, we would have hired our own private firefighters.”
The petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/waive-the-rebuild-permit-fees-now
