West L.A. recovery permitting center sees thousands of visitors; LADBS urges—0'like-for-like' for fastest rebuilds
Loading...
Summary
LADBS reported the West L.A. recovery permitting center has served 3,004 customers and urged homeowners to pursue like-for-like rebuilds for the fastest route to a permit.
John Waite and Ben Fann of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety briefed the committee on the West Los Angeles recovery permitting center and said the office is processing wildfire-related building activity.
Waite reported that the one-stop site has served 3,004 customers since opening; 1,537 of those were Palisades-related. LADBS said it has received 86 unique sites and 103 permit applications tied to the Palisades; the department reported issuing four permits so far, including building and demolition permits. Waite said LADBS is providing a six-day initial plan-check turnaround for wildfire-related submissions and pointed committee members to an online dashboard at ladbs.org that maps submitted projects.
Waite and Fann stressed the difference between like-for-like rebuilding and projects that expand or materially change a structure. Fann said many submissions are not "like-for-like" and therefore require additional clearances and code reviews from other departments, which slows issuance. He outlined exemptions for certain fees on like-for-like rebuilds: linkage fees generally won't apply to like-for-like rebuilds under the thresholds described, and school-district impact fees may be exempt for limited additions.
Council members and residents pressed LADBS on procedural problems that delay permit issuance, including missing county rights-of-entry paperwork. Waite said LADBS will accept an electronic certification from the county that a site has been cleared; while the county has not been staffing the one-stop in person, LADBS is working to receive county certification electronically so property owners need not return with paper certificates.
The committee approved a motion that notes the LADBS report and instructs LADBS to provide to EMD (1) the number of appointments and drop-ins at the West L.A. permitting center, (2) the number of reconstruction permits issued and (3) the average days to first review of reconstruction submissions. The committee also instructed LADBS to notify homeowners associations when a rebuild application is filed in their HOA area. That item passed on the record in committee (three ayes; two members were absent).
Ending: LADBS staff urged property owners aiming for speed to submit like-for-like plans when possible, and the committee asked staff to provide regular metrics to improve transparency about the permitting pipeline.
