Palisades Recovery Coalition – Recovery Plan
A Vision for Swift Rebuilding and Long-Term Resilience
In the aftermath of the recent devastation, a group of concerned community members came together to form the Palisades Recovery Coalition. United by a shared love for the Palisades, we resolved to explore ways to solve for the perils ahead and emerge with a systemic plan to rebuild Pacific Palisades – given the breadth of the loss – rather than to leave it to an ad-hoc process beholden to chance. In the proposed plan, we have considered the complex process of rebuilding, restoring, and revitalizing our town, and emerged with a Recovery Plan rooted in solutions to foreseeable problems. We approach this with the strength of the community and the commitment we see at every corner to rebuild back better and emerge more resistant to fire, with the unique character that made this community special. Our hope is not just to restore what was lost, but to help the Palisades emerge even more resilient, sustainable, and connected.
The ideas outlined below reflect a proposed framework to help streamline rebuilding efforts, protect our environment, and support every resident as we move forward together. Community input will be key in shaping and refining this vision.
1. Logistics: A Plan to Recover Smart
The scale of what lies ahead is significant — with thousands of homes to rebuild, efficient movement of people and materials will be essential.
Our focus is on logistics. We envision staging areas for materials as well as people, once the demand is there, as well as a concrete plant (“batch plant”) that can mix and deliver a specific grade of concrete that will be more resistant to the post-fire soil, that will naturally be more corrosive than before. Concrete will be needed at the outset of the rebuilding process and will be a challenge to truck in because of sustained long wait times and delays in roadway access to the Palisades. Concrete is only able to remain enroute for three hours before it coagulates and becomes unuseful. The batch plant is a necessary part of our rebuilding process.
The Pali Recovery Coalition has an RFQ out to several Concrete companies that are familiar with the Palisades, and is supported in this process by the BOE and building professionals on the coalition. The concrete we propose to mix in Pacific Palisades, at a central location that can serve both Palisades North and Palisades South (dividing line at Temescal Canyon Riad), would be a mix that is specific to the Palisades rebuild and is infused with Pozzolans to accommodate foundations and caissons that will rest on soil that is impacted by fire and hence more corrosive to concrete due to elevated levels of gypsum and other minerals.
Further, a Pacific Palisades concrete plants will help save on an estimated millions of dollars in fees, which will otherwise be charged to local builders for delivery. These charges will be compounded by delays in ingress and egress as well distance. Palisades builders will further save on fees associated with early morning, late night, or weekend deliveries if our batch plant is within the community and can accommodate our request for fluid deliveries.
The reason for the fluidity of time and manner of delivery is because we propose that in areas of Pacific Palisades where the burn rate exceeds 70%, material deliveries can be made late at night or early in the morning in order to accommodate both swift rebuilding as well as reduced traffic/travel time. Repopulation in those areas will be minimal in the first few years of our rebuilding and, as such, the inconvenience of construction will be felt by few people – a circumstance that can help speed the rebuild of communities by implementing longer working hours for builders and extended delivery hours for material.
As an extension of more hours reserved for construction and a swift rebuilding of our hardest hit Palisadian neighborhoods, we have contemplated staging areas for workers to stay in the Palisades during the work week so the work of building can be hastened, and with the added benefit of taking cars off the road, reducing trips in and out of the Palisades, and ensuring that our neighbors across Los Angeles are not gridlocked and frustrated with us!
Truck trips as well as workers on the road leading in and out of Pacific Palisades can compound time delays. So, as we look ahead to the onset of rebuilding, we have also contemplated staging areas for not only materials but also for workers. Steel, lumber, plumbing and electric materials, fire-proof siding material and other materials as well as workers can be staged on flat lots in areas such as the Alphabet streets where lots are flat and usually small, Marquez flats where there has been almost complete devastation and the area lies close to Sunset Boulevard, and the Huntington where larger flat lots may serve a different purpose as rebuilding increases in the months ahead. Properties such as the Alma Real professional building and Paul Revere Middle School (during summer months) can also be utilized as staging areas, not only for materials, but for centralized services. Worker accommodations could potentially be created at beach parking lots, with shuttle services easing traffic through the hills.
For materials, sites like Malibu Feed Bin, the reel Inn and Westside Walldorf School offer areas that can be accessible to Malibu contractors as well, easing the load on PCH and enabling our neighbors to the north to rebuild alongside us.
Ralph’s, Gelson’s and other privately held lots that are cleared are already considering partnering with material or service providers to make their spaces useful as they prepare plans to rebuild and reestablish businesses in the Palisades. Roads such as Los Leones, which is long and easily secured, are under consideration by some, with the idea of minimizing costs for materials, reducing delivery times, and relieving the roads of unnecessary congestion. Neighboring rebuilding efforts in Malibu and Big Rock might present additional staging opportunities at places along PCH, and deeper into Malibu.
Traffic flow could be improved by routing morning deliveries eastbound into the Palisades, and afternoon exits westbound out of Chautauqua. A consultant on logistics and optimal mobility patterns for traffic flow can be consulted for better planning and an authority for implementation must be devised, that is accountable to local powers who are vested in our recovery.
A local concrete plant is also being discussed as a way to significantly cut down on costs and delivery times. Though still in early stages, an RFP (Request for Proposals) could eventually be issued to explore feasibility.
We’re also looking into innovative ideas — from drone or helicopter deliveries for difficult locations to encouraging unused lots to host temporary housing or refuse bins — all aimed at easing the burden on our streets and speeding up recovery.
2. Public Space Compounds: A Hub for Rebuilding and Community
A centralized hub could help streamline services and bring the community together.
Early ideas include on-site plan check for streamlined permitting that enables Palisadians to spend time in the community, perhaps onsite and to have the benefit of quick responses. This would mean that city departments will also be on cite so clearances can be secured in shorter timeframes. We also call for inspection stations with inspectors on site to hasten the approval process at each step of the way. There has also bean discussion for a workers hall, a builders gathering as well as the suggestion of a food truck plaza for workers and neighbors – although that may not be universally appealing as brick and mortar businesses open.
We also envision a materials showroom where homeowners and builders can see resilient building materials on display and gather inspiration. We’re also exploring the possibility of a builder’s hall — a central location for builders, architects, and residents to meet, problem-solve, and collaborate. A group of volunteer architects have come together to form AIA to launch the Ask an Architect program, connecting homeowners with volunteer architects for free design consultations. We hope to have them onsite as well as other resources for building, envisioning and material selection.
Community hubs can also have the trades represented and have available WIFI for residents, displaced Palisadians and workers. experts to sit down, meet, collaborate, and work. This location will have desks, chairs and printers for use by plan checkers, inspectors, community members and professionals on site to help with the rebuilding.
Cleared spaces, public and private, such as the library or the mobile home parks along PCH could temporarily serve as flexible areas for staging or resource centers, adapting as the community’s needs evolve. Looking beyond Pacific Palisades at our partnership with Malibu and the areas along the coast that burned in the Palisades Fire, we have also contemplated areas like Malibu feed Bin or the Reel Inn as potential staging areas. Los Leones road has also been suggested. Security becomes an issue around which we have begun discussions with LAPD. (see our Community Advisory Group call readouts with law enforcement agencies and MOPS.)
3. Resilience: Building Back Better
Our future depends on rebuilding thoughtfully.
We aim to encourage the use of fire-resistant materials, smarter landscaping that includes defensible spaces, and strategic open lots that act as natural firebreaks. While we can’t change the natural risks of living in a high fire severity zone, we can build smarter and better prepare for what may come.
We are partnering with RAND Corporation and Resilient Palisades as well as Department of Angels to the extent their work impacts the Palisades, to hold community charettes that enable Palisadians to use this uniquely difficult time that has us poised to rebuild in a positive way, to take the time and imagine what we want our neighborhoods to look like, as they emerge more resilient to wildfire.
This is a moment there we can not only envision materials and style, but also the creation of a land trust that can purchase certain lots and ensure that they remain undeveloped in order to serve as a natural fire break the next time a wildfire races through. This is a recommendation made by the Blue Ribbon Commission – and we want to being this to the community. So far, the idea has been met with great reception each time we have shared it. We also hope to bring back policies that commit to funding state bush clearance as well as local resources for controlled burns, fire lines and deployment of goats for chaparral control.
We have already been contacted by State Assemblymember Irwin to liaise with them on a list of areas where the State must focus attention. We will continue these legislative entreaties to develop better policies for VHFHSZs like ours, up and down the state of CA.
We hope to work alongside the state to advocate for infrastructure improvements, controlled burns, and better maintenance of public lands — while also ensuring that insurance companies are part of the conversation from the beginning, helping make rebuilt homes more insurable. We have asked State Sen Ben Allen to work with Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to bring the major insurance companies to the table so we can ascertain how we should rebuild our homes in order to be insurable.
Research partners like UCLA and the County’s Blue Ribbon Commission could also provide critical insights as we move forward. We’re excited to invite experts and community members into visioning workshops (charettes) with VerdeXchange to imagine a more resilient, future-ready Palisades.
We are also very much involved in the discussion around Zone Zero, which has been passed at the State Legislature (SB 3074) but has yet to been adopted by the Fire Marshall. Local organizations have spoken out against Zone Zero, as it codifies a 5 foot fuel free, ember resistant, buffer zone around any structure, and proscribes certain kinds of plantings in a restrictive way. The aim is to make our communities more fire hardened, but the result is severe limitations on landscaping. We are consulting with experts to see how best to marry these two competing necessities, and bring the conversation to the community.
4. Communications: Keeping Everyone Connected
Clear communication will be the foundation of a successful recovery.
We propose developing a community bulletin board that allows us to be able to amplify community concerns, and address them with information we are able to gather from recourses ranging from our leaders and lawmakers as well as experts and industry professionals with insight and experience that can benefit the Palisades recovery.
We are also working on a collective contractor app to manage deliveries, share real-time updates, and coordinate schedules. Regular community meetings to address emerging issues and enduring priorities will be the cornerstone of our outreach. To date, we have successfully held several of these convenings, and continue to interface with carious stakeholders – bringing new people to the table in order to give the community a sense of control and connection. A developing network of volunteer neighborhood ambassadors will aim to help keep neighborhoods informed, ensuring information flows quickly and clearly.
Security and neighborhood coordination will also be important elements of the rebuilding – as permits in process indicate there will be a great deal of construction ahead and securing sites, property and staging areas will be a challenge around which information sharing and communication will be critical. Monthly contractor updates could help manage expectations and share progress.
Early planning for community communication will help ensure things run as smoothly as possible.
A Community Effort, A Hopeful Future
As lot clearance begins and neighbors start working with architects and builders, it’s crucial that we have flexible plans in place to support them — not obstacles that discourage rebuilding.
Our strength lies in our community spirit. Together, with creativity, patience, and collaboration, we can ensure the Pacific Palisades not only recovers, but thrives for generations to come.
