Los Angeles has only approved four permits to rebuild homes destroyed or damaged during the January wildfires in the wealthy enclave of Pacific Palisades that charred some 7,000 homes.
A handful of residents received approval to begin rebuilding their properties last week, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Three of the permits were for one to repair a damaged home and two for full rebuilds, according to the Department of Building and Safety. The first permit was issued on March 5, less than two months after the Palisades fire swept through the Pacific Palisades and the surrounding area and destroyed or seriously damaged more than 6,000 homes.
The first few permits issued have been touted by Mayor Karen Bass as a milestone in the city’s recovery, but local leaders and residents have criticized the slow permitting process. Councilmember Traci Park said it was “concerning” that only four permits had been issued as of March 24, more than two months after the fires.
“When I hear in the community meeting like we had today that only four permits have been issued, and we’re on day 75 post-fire, that is concerning to me,” Park said during Monday’s meeting “And I don’t think it’s a lack of interest in rebuilding, I suspect it is indicative of systemic issues that we need to continue to focus on.”
PALISADES FIRE IN LA IGNITES LOOTING FEARS AND PUSHES PRIVATE SECURITY GUARDS TO THE BRINK
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety about the permitting process.
State Rep. Joe Patterson, a Republican who serves as the vice chair of the Committee on Housing and Community Development, said the Los Angeles planning and building departments should be put into receivership.
“The taxpayers of California have given alot of money to the LA region to recover, as they should,” Patterson told Fox News Digital. “But there is also an equal responsibility that the entities we’re giving the money to… ought to get out of the way of efficient use of those dollars.”
Patterson noted that some money given to Los Angeles was specifically to pay for permitting costs.
“If they’re going to be this inefficient with taxpayer dollars, then we need to take that power away from them to issue permits and let the free market help these people rebuild,” he said.
The first phase of the permit process involves identifying and disposing of hazardous waste, such as asbestos, lead, and other toxic materials. The second phase requires the clearing of ash and the top 3 to 6 inches of contaminated soil.
Of the four permits issued, one involved the owner of the split-level home near Rustic Canyon, who submitted blueprints to city inspectors on Feb. 17 for repairs to a fire-damaged primary bedroom, bathroom and garage, according to the Times.
Other city lawmakers have criticized Bass’ decision to hire the private Hagerty Consulting for a $10 million fee to oversee the recovery effort, despite the city staring down a $1 billion budget deficit next year.
“We have city departments who know how to do this recovery, who have been involved in recovery efforts in the past,” Councilmember Monica Rodriguez told ABC7. “And yet they can’t be afforded the opportunity to hire the personnel that they need, but we can give a $10 million contract to an outside agency to help write a report for us.”