California lawmakers are limiting the kinds of houses that can be built on single-family lots in the Pacific Palisades after residents raised concerns over safety and density.
In an executive order issued Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom gave local governments the authority and flexibility to adjust a state law to the needs of “very high fire severity zones within the L.A. fire burn scars.”
The backstory: In 2021, the governor passed landmark legislation that allowed for up to four housing units on lots previously zoned for just one residence. For example, a lot zoned for just one residence could be split into two lots, each holding a duplex.
When the law, known as Senate Bill 9, was passed four years ago, it was billed as a solution to California’s housing shortage, but it included provisions to protect fire-prone areas.
Newsom’s executive order — which also included a seven-day pause on existing Senate Bill 9 development — follows through on that provision and will remain in effect so long as the state of emergency remains active. It applies to the entire Palisades within the city of Los Angeles and portions of Altadena, Sunset Mesa and Malibu.
Lawmakers respond to Pacific Palisades residents' concerns
In response to the governor’s announcement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued her own executive order suspending applications for duplexes and lot splits within the “very high fire hazard severity zone within the boundaries of the Palisades Fire area.”
Under the order, the city will no longer accept or process any applications for such projects.
“SB 9 was not originally intended to be used in the rebuilding of a community that was decimated by the worst natural disaster L.A. has ever seen,” Bass said in a statement.
The updated policy comes after Pacific Palisades residents raised concerns about the risks of overdeveloping the neighborhood during the ongoing rebuild.
Earlier this week, the Pacific Palisades Community Council, a nonprofit advocacy organization, sent a letter to lawmakers requesting an exemption from the legislation on the basis of “public safety and essential community character.”
“The essential, distinctive character of Pacific Palisades – a quiet, low-density community of predominantly single-family homes will be irrevocably destroyed as more and more of these streamlined SB 9 projects are permitted and built,” the group wrote in an Instagram post of the letter. “Palisades residents will be placed at extreme public safety risk from increased congestion in the event of future wildfires and other emergencies requiring rapid evacuation.”
Councilmember Traci Park and Bass also called on the governor to roll back the legislation in fire-affected areas. In her letter, Park cited “the widespread destruction of the Pacific Palisades, its topography, and limitations to infrastructure, ingress, and egress” as reasons to suspend the Senate Bill 9 provisions.
As of Wednesday morning, there were seven or eight properties that had applied for development under Senate Bill 9 in the Palisades, according to PaliBuilds, a database created by residents and Anthony Marguleas, the owner of brokerage Amalfi Estates. Roughly half of those properties traded hands before the fires.
According to Los Angeles County’s permitting process dashboard, the county has not issued any permits for multifamily residences in the Palisades fire area.
