Palisades New Year's Updates

Almost 300 homes have started construction, and 1,392 rebuild permits have been issued. According to homes.com, there is a slow down in the city reviewing permits. The city of LA has put out its second certificate of occupancy, which is actually the first true rebuild, as the first finished house turned out to be a Potemkin-village developer’s show-case. Meanwhile, the LA City Council still refuses to waive permitting fees for life long tax payers who lost everything through no fault of their own. There are two plans, one that would waive permitting fees for single family homes and duplex, which would amount to $86 million, and a second proposal which would include all rebuilds, and cost $278 million. Council members, who preside over $549 million in long term debt, and $955 million in unfunded pension liabilities, are calling this potential loss in revenue a “cost” to the general fund. Of course, no functional city government would consider permitting costs for a burned down town as a revenue source. However, this is LA City we’re talking about, and they paid over $286 million in liability payments from the general fund, just in 2025 alone. Meaning that by the LA City Council’s math, the full amount of fees for rebuilding in the Pacific Palisades would just about cover the cost of what they paid out for lawsuits this last year.

The empty Santa Ynez Reservoir’s role in the Palisades Fire is part of a major lawsuit against the City of LA, LADWP, and other water entities. LAFD’s After-Action Report states that they “identified the Santa Ynez Reservoir as the Palisades helispot," where helicopters would land and pick up water, but as there was no water, helicopters were forced to fly long distances to fill and refill.

This is particularly relevant as LADWP has announced plans to drain the Santa Ynez Reservoir again in 2026. The reservoir holds 117 million gallons of water, 60 million of which should be available for fighting fires. LADWP assures residents that there will be no increased danger as they can connect a hose to water tanks in Topanga, but residents have legitimate cause for concern. Even if a hose was capable of pumping enough water into the Palisades/Malibu hydrants, it still leaves the area without a local water source for helicopters. In the response to the reservoir lawsuit, city attorneys do not argue any of the following media talking points: that helicopters could not have used the water anyway because of the winds, that the water would not have mattered in the hydrants because of the loss of pressure, or that the Santa Ynez Reservoir is purely for drinking water. Instead, the city’s attorneys have submitted a Demurrer, arguing that, based on two over a hundred year old court cases, cities have no legal responsibility to provide water to fight fires.

The Supreme Court, since Niehaus and Ukiah, has twice reaffirmed the rule that water utilities have no duty to provide water for firefighting and cannot be held liable for failing to prevent fire damage…Niehaus found no support in the Constitution for a claim against a water utility and held that municipal liability for fire damage “can only arise” under a contract where the utility has undertaken a specific obligation to provide water for firefighting

So, on one hand the City of Los Angeles and the LADWP are telling residents that there is enough water available, while on the other hand arguing that they simply have no obligation to provide any water at all.

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) union has drafted a ballot initiative to raise Los Angeles sales tax by 0.5%, to help LAFD’s budget. LA City funding and support for LAFD has been in decline in Los Angeles for the past few decades, and LAFD is one of the most understaffed departments in the country. At the same time, the increase in city wide homelessness has strained their service capacity and focused the department’s attention on urban areas and away from wildfires. The Battalion Chief who oversaw the improper mop-up of the Lachman Fire admits to not being properly trained in how to deal with wildfires. According to Fire Captains I spoke to, this is shocking. Additionally, they do admit that it is increasingly harder to find the resources and manpower to train new recruits. The City of Los Angeles has a sales tax rate of 9.5%, which is substantially higher than the average California sales tax rate of 7.25%, but less than the sales tax of surrounding incorporated cities, such as Burbank or Culver City, so residents may be inclined to vote for a small raise to support LAFD. Meanwhile, recent LAFD news has not been positive. The LA Times reported that the Los Angeles LAFD watered down (no pun intended) their after action report, including the departments’ knowledge of the improper handling of the January, 1st Lachman Fire. According to the Times, the final draft of the after-action report also excluded details about the lack of pre-deployment, details similar to what was recounted to me by a Regional Fire Captain who worked the Palisades Fire on January 7th. This is not the first time LAFD has been misleading the public. In 2012, the department admitted to inaccurately reporting response times, making it appear they were getting faster, when in fact they were not. Voters are going to want to see more accountability and transparency from the department before voting for increased taxes. The recent media spotlight on fraud and corruption, starting with the Somali day care scandal, and spreading to other government agencies, is a good sign. Let’s hope 2026 is the year of government transparency.

Briefly mentioned in the local news was another home in the Highlands Palisades catching on fire on Christmas day. Going through my Christmas card list this year made me realize how many friends spent this Christmas without their homes in Palisades. Families lost homemade Christmas ornaments and family heirlooms that no amount of money can ever replace. This was the first year of my entire life that I did not spend Christmas at my parents’ or grandparents’ home in the Palisades, both of which burned down. The grief was palpable with friends and family, but so was the community’s gritty resolve. We look forward to the coming anniversary event: They Let Us Burn, Tuesday, January 7th. Last year began with our community burning to ashes, this year will begin with the commitment to continue to discover the truth, to preserve, and to rebuild. I hope to see you there.