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Regional Planning warns of staffing shortfalls, requests legal and lease funding as wildfire rebuild surge begins
Summary
Regional Planning told the Board of Supervisors it has a thin discretionary budget and is seeking $1.5 million in recurring legal support, one-time litigation funds and lease amortization to manage a sprint of post-fire permitting and rebuild demand.
Los Angeles County—s Department of Regional Planning presented its fiscal 2025–26 budget and described how the January wildfires add near-term permitting demand atop a steady rise in housing permits.
Key takeaways: Director Amy Bodak told the Board that Regional Planning operates with 211 budgeted positions (about 80 professional planners), an 8 percent vacancy rate and a budget of roughly $48 million for the year. Approximately 86 percent of the budget is staff costs; discretionary funds are minimal (about $250,000), limiting the department—s ability to contract services.
Unmet needs and requests: The department asked for $1.5 million ongoing to cover County Counsel fee-for-service legal support, plus $600,000 in one-time costs for outside litigation expertise; $240,000 per year to amortize Regional Planning—s share of the La Puente one-stop office buildout over 10 years; and an estimated $185,000 annually for a replacement Calabasas one-stop lease. Bodak said the department faces spikes in ministerial and discretionary permits because of fire rebuilds and coastal permits that remain time-consuming.
Supervisors— questions and staff responses: Supervisors asked about community engagement capacity, code enforcement staffing, coastal permit delays and how the department is leveraging EPIC LA and data to advocate for more positions. Bodak said the area-plan teams have completed heavy rezoning work and will shift toward implementation and community-based outreach via contracted community-based organizations where possible. She said regional planners are seeking three additional coastal planners to handle a disproportionate share of complex coastal discretionary permits.
Next steps: County CEO staff said they are developing a rebuild surge plan and that the state—s Department of Housing and Community Development has approximately $4 million available in one-time staffing grants for affected jurisdictions; Regional Planning will seek its share and return with requests tied to the surge timeline.
Ending: Directors and supervisors emphasized the county—s limited discretionary funds and asked for follow-up on possible cross-department cost-sharing with Public Works and others to better staff permitting and rebuild efforts.
