On a Laguna Beach podcast, Assemblymember Diane Dixon and Mayor Alex Wenagi discussed wildfire mitigation and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), with both saying state-level collaboration is needed to allow certain mitigation projects in coastal zones to proceed more efficiently.

Mayor Alex Wenagi said city actions such as fuel modification and fire-station investments require permitting under CEQA and Coastal Commission rules and that state-level changes could allow more timely wildfire mitigation in coastal communities. “With fuel modification, for example, we have to deal with coastal development permit, CEQA, and so that's why we need collaboration at the state level,” Wenagi said.

Dixon said she is pursuing CEQA reform to reduce development costs and argued that CEQA can add thousands of dollars to the price of housing, limiting generational home ownership. She described a two-year bill that had been held over by the natural resources committee this year and said it would return next year; she acknowledged the issue will be contentious but said it is motivated by public-safety and housing concerns.

Dixon said the natural resources committee had been overloaded following the Palisades fire and that she expects the matter to be considered again next year. She framed the effort as seeking balance between environmental review and the practical need to make communities safer and more affordable.