Options for Rebuilding Following Southern California’s Fires
Options for Rebuilding Following Southern California’s Fires
Key Points:
- In the days following the devastating fires that impacted Los Angeles and Ventura Counties in January 2025, Governor Newsom issued executive orders to streamline rebuilding damaged homes. The California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act’s permitting requirements were suspended for projects that rebuild up to 110% of damaged structures located in substantially the same location and new accessory structures at those sites.
- Local jurisdictions in areas impacted by the fire also issued emergency orders to streamline replacement housing. For example, the City of Los Angeles issued an order that sets strict deadlines for reviewing and approving building permits for these projects. The City of Los Angeles order also allows for eligible non-conforming buildings to be rebuilt.
- Alternatively, landowners affected by the fire may want to consider new statewide housing streamlining laws that recently took effect on January 1 to rebuild at a higher density. Under Senate Bill 1123, property owners may be able to build up to a ten-unit small-lot subdivision on eligible properties. Senate Bill 450 applies to a broader area and allows for streamlined review and approval of up to four new residential units on properties zoned for single-family residential use. State law requires either pathway be approved within 60 days for eligible projects. These opportunities, however, should be reviewed in coordination with any limitations on insurance proceeds or mortgage terms.
The devastating effects of the January 2025 fires in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties will be felt for years. Early estimates show that roughly 12,000 structures were destroyed in Altadena and Pacific Palisades, the vast majority of which are residential buildings.1 The Eaton Fire, in particular, is astonishing for the amount of damage it has caused in urban areas that were not previously identified by the state as high wildfire-risk zones. Public and private stakeholders will need to find solutions to not only rebuild, but to rebuild in ways that are more resilient to a hotter, drier and more fire-prone climate in Los Angeles.
State and Local Emergency Orders Intend to Primarily Expedite the Rebuilding of Existing Homes
In the days following the fires, Governor Newsom issued a series of executive orders to help communities rebuild “faster and stronger” by “eliminating barriers that unduly delay the rapid rebuilding of homes and other facilities” (to use the Governor’s own words). One order in particular, Executive Order N-4-25,2 suspended the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), CEQA regulations, and any requirement to obtain a permit under the California Coastal Act for projects to repair, restore, demolish, or replace property or facilities substantially damaged or destroyed as a result of the January 2025 Los Angeles and Ventura County Fires. This order only applies to projects that are in substantially the same location as, and do not exceed 110% of the footprint and height of, properties and facilities that were legally established and existed immediately before the fires.
Four days after issuing Executive Order N-4-25, Governor Newsom issued a separate order (N-9-25)3 clarifying that the CEQA and Coastal Act exemptions also apply to projects that include the construction of a new accessory dwelling unit that did not previously exist, so long as the remainder of the project otherwise meets the criteria of that executive order. Executive Order N-9-25 also suspended CEQA and other laws that regulate the establishment of certain qualifying mobile homes and manufactured homes on lots destroyed or damaged by the fires while the property is rebuilt.
Local jurisdictions in the Los Angeles area have also issued a range of executive and emergency orders to respond to the fires. For example, Mayor Bass in the City of Los Angeles issued an order that provides for streamlined, ministerial review of certain types of projects that rebuild structures that were damaged or destroyed by the fires. “Ministerial review” means that the City must approve those projects if they meet building code standards and other checklist requirements. Like Governor Newsom’s orders, the City of Los Angeles orders generally apply to projects that rebuild up to 110% of the previous structure’s size. Among other things, the City of Los Angeles order directs city departments to conduct and conclude all of the initial building permitting reviews required for eligible reconstruction projects that are on a site with a structure substantially damaged or destroyed by the fires, and to complete all appropriate reviews for such projects within 30 days following the submission of a complete application. Notably, the City of Los Angeles’ order allows for nonconforming uses and structures to be rebuilt in the same location, subject to certain size restrictions.
Past precedent has shown that many property owners will attempt to rebuild as quickly as possible while maximizing buildable space. Following the 2018 Woolsey Fire, the City of Malibu created a streamlined process that allowed for most property owners to rebuild up to 110% of a damaged structure through a ministerial process. As of 2022, a large number of property owners utilized the streamlined process to rebuild homes at 110% the scale of the damaged homes, instead of submitting a new application for a larger project.4
State Law Provides Alternatives to Rebuild Single-Family Homes with Higher Density
In the past few years, the California Legislature has adopted a range of new housing streamlining laws that could allow for the ministerial approval of higher-density housing applications in fire-damaged areas, ministerially and without the need for CEQA review.
For example, Senate Bill 1123 (approved in 2024) creates a pathway for the streamlined subdivision and approval of up to 10 homes on vacant, single-family zoned lots on qualifying parcels. SB 1123 projects must meet a detailed checklist to confirm if a property is eligible for streamlined approval. One key limitation is that SB 1123 cannot be used for projects located in a “very high fire hazard severity zone,” which excludes most areas impacted by the Palisades Fire and a large swath of the Eaton Fire. The burn perimeter for the Eaton Fire, however, extends into areas of Altadena and the vicinity that do not have that designation. If a project meets the SB 1123 checklist, cities and counties are required to approve those projects within 60 days after the application is deemed complete, and they are statutorily exempt from CEQA review.
Property owners may be able to take advantage of other housing streamlining laws in areas impacted by the fires. For example, Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 450 require ministerial review and approval to subdivide qualifying single-family lots into two parcels, and the law allows a duplex on each parcel. A 5,000 square-foot parcel zoned for single-family residential, for example, could be converted to two parcels, with a total of four primary residences where only one was previously allowed. Senate Bill 423 (formerly Senate Bill 35) also provides for ministerial approval of certain housing projects, and is allowed in very high fire hazard severity zones if certain mitigation measures for fire safety are implemented.
The process of recovering from these devastating fires and rebuilding will likely take years. We have heard so many heartbreaking stories of loss over the past week, and our thoughts are with those who have been affected by this tragedy. If readers have questions about how to facilitate a speedier recovery and redevelopment of properties impacted by the fire, please do not hesitate to reach out to the authors of this alert.
2 The full text of Executive Order N-4-25 is available here.
3 The full text of Executive Order N-9-25 is available here.
4 The list of Woolsey Fire rebuild projects as of May 2022 is available here.
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