VIEWPOINT: Homeowners Trying to Rebuild: No Help from City

The Young home prior to the fire.

BY BART YOUNG

(Editor’s note: Bart and Cindi Young have lived in the Castellammare area of the Pacific Palisades since (year) and have been active in Homeowners Association, the Palisades Task Force on Homelessness and served on the Pacific Palisades Community Council. They lost their home on Tramonto in the Palisades Fire. Bart has been working to get a temporary power pole on his property since March. The pole is needed to run a dewatering pump to ensure the landslide on Tramonto is not activated.)

The Young home after the fire.

Mayor Bass announced some very meaningful executive orders. But these LA City departments are not supporting her. Heck, they don’t even know about them! Seriously! Mayor Bass needs to know this.

When I have tried to ask questions via chat and posting questions at her Town Hall meetings yet they are completely ignored. I have copied her staff multiple times on this particular issue.

I am screaming for help but no one hears me. They are too busy congratulating themselves for all the progress they’ve made. Below is the truth about the executive orders based on my experience.

Emergency Executive Order No. 1 (January 13, 2025):

This order aimed to clear debris, streamline permitting, and expedite rebuilding by establishing a one-stop-shop for permits, bypassing discretionary reviews, and allowing rebuilding “like for like”.

This is a fantasy. I have found nothing of the sort. I have spent more than 100 hours in three months, and I am only at step 4 out of 13. The Temp Power Meter quagmire is a nightmare in slow motion.

 Emergency Executive Order No. 2 (January 21, 2025):

This order addressed potential wet weather by directing Public Works crews to shore up burn areas, remove debris, and mitigate risks from potential rainstorms.

This is critically important to me. There have had several landslides in 28 years on Tramonto. We are extremely vulnerable in wet weather and are still unprotected. I need power to run my pumps to dewater my property.

I draw 1,000 gallons a week under my house when it is dry due to lack of city drainage on my street. Who is assisting me with mitigating risk from rainstorms? Not Public Works! 

Emergency Executive Order (April 23, 2025):

This order established a pilot program allowing qualified architects to self-certify plans for rebuilding in the Palisades, reducing the time spent on the plan check process.

This is a good idea. So why can’t my architect, contractor and electrician approve the placement and installation of my temporary power meter?  Why does DWP and LADBS need to make multiple trips to my house?

Couldn’t DWP inspect this simple installation on their own? Couldn’t I just send photos so they could approve it quickly?

Why is the topic of temporary power poles important ? Because all 5,000 homes in Pacific Palisades will need temporary power when they begin to rebuild.

What we need is a one-stop shop for this and other essential services and it does not exist.

The waiving of fees is a lie. No one at DWP has heard anything about waiving fees. Nor at LADBS.

Mayor Bass promised to make the process way more efficient.

DWP and LADBS are not respecting or delivering what the Mayor promised.

DWP is owned by the City of LA and the five Commissioners are appointed by Bass and confirmed by the City Council.

She is the boss. If she can’t get it done, she should hire me or one of a thousand other capable executives in LA.

This is not hard to fix. But it is hard to take after losing our home due to apathy and neglect.

I want action. I need my power turned on!