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Waivers / Plancheck / Permit Fees / Arts Fees / Repair and Rebuilding / 2025 Wildfire Emergency Response and Recovery

Council File 25-0006-S57

Approved — the City Council cleared fee waivers for fire victims rebuilding in five neighborhoods, capped at $90 million over three years, though the final ordinance language is still working through committee.

Introduced
2025-01-24
Last changed
2026-06-26
Status
open
Expires
2028-04-23
Committee
Budget and Finance Committee
Mover
TRACI PARK
Second
BOB BLUMENFIELD
References
City Administrative Officer Report: 0220-06305-0000; 0220-06305-0001; 0220-06305-0002City Attorney Report: R25-0318; R26-0241

Brief

Councilmember Traci Park moved to waive plan check, permit, and arts fees for property owners rebuilding structures damaged or destroyed in the January 2025 wildfires. The City Administrative Officer assessed feasibility, the City Attorney drafted an ordinance adding Section 98.0419.1 to the Los Angeles Municipal Code, and the Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery and Budget and Finance Committee approved the measure as amended. Council adopted it unanimously (15-0) on February 3, 2026, and the file was transmitted to the Mayor.

Full summary

This motion, introduced by Councilmember Traci Park and seconded by Bob Blumenfield, directs the city to waive plan check, permit, and arts fees for owners repairing or rebuilding structures damaged or destroyed in the Palisades, Hurst, Kenneth, Archer, and Sunset Fires of January 2025. Park drew an explicit parallel to the Northridge Earthquake response, when the City Council waived similar fees under Ordinances 169813 and 169350 in 1994, with many of those waivers ultimately reimbursed by FEMA and Cal OES. The motion acknowledged legal complexity introduced by Proposition 218 but directed the City Administrative Officer, in consultation with the City Attorney and multiple departments, to assess feasibility and explore alternatives such as payment deferrals if full waivers proved legally untenable. After a feasibility report from the City Administrative Officer in May 2025 and a draft ordinance from the City Attorney in June 2025, the policy was refined through committee action. The Budget and Finance Committee ultimately approved what the CAO called Option 3: fees waived for all structure types, including single-family homes, duplexes, ADUs, multi-family buildings, and commercial properties, but only up to 110 percent of the area of the original structure. Property owners rebuilding beyond that threshold would be responsible for fees on the excess. The total program is capped at $90 million in waivers over three years, with eligibility retroactive to the date of the fires. Council also adopted Amending Motion 30A, which requires any property owner who sells before receiving a certificate of occupancy to reimburse the City for fees waived, with an exemption for condos and townhomes. The measure moved through the Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery and Budget and Finance Committee over roughly a year, with additional CAO analysis in October 2025 and January 2026 and amending motions filed by Rodriguez-Yaroslavsky and Park-Nazarian in December 2025. Budget and Finance approved the final package on January 20, 2026, and the full Council adopted it 15-0 on February 3, 2026. The action became final on February 6, 2026. The file remains technically open because a revised draft ordinance from City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, transmitted April 23, 2026, is still pending in both committees. That revised ordinance adds the new LAMC Section 98.0419.1 and incorporates all the terms the Council approved in February, including the 110 percent area cap, the $90 million program ceiling, the retroactivity provision, and the resale reimbursement requirement. An alternative version of the ordinance also circulated would instead cap waivers at $30 million per year distributed in order of fee due dates, without an insurance reimbursement offset provision. The Budget and Finance Committee waived consideration of that item in June 2026, leaving the ordinance's final adoption still pending.

Activity (31)

  • 2026-06-25 Budget and Finance Committee waived consideration of item .
  • 2026-04-24 City Attorney document(s) referred to Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery; Budget and Finance Committee.
  • 2026-04-23 Document submitted by City Attorney, dated April 23, 2026.
  • 2026-02-06 Council action final.
  • 2026-02-03 City Clerk transmitted file to Mayor. Last day for Mayor to act is February 13, 2026.
  • 2026-02-03 Council adopted item, as amended, forthwith.
  • 2026-01-30 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on February 3, 2026.
  • 2026-01-20 Budget and Finance Committee approved the item as amended; noted and filed the City Administrative Officer reports dated May 7, 2025 and October 2, 2025; noted and filed the City Attorney report and draft Ordinance dated June 20, 2025; and, noted and filed Amending Motion 23C (Rodriguez - Yaroslavsky) and Amending Motion 23D (Park - Nazarian) dated December 2, 2025.
  • 2026-01-16 Budget and Finance Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on January 20, 2026.
  • 2026-01-16 City Administrative Officer document(s) referred to Budget and Finance Committee.
  • 2026-01-16 Document submitted by City Administrative Officer, dated January 16, 2026.
  • 2025-12-02 Council referred the matter to the Budget and Finance Committee, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2025-11-25 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on December 2, 2025.
  • 2025-11-04 Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery waived consideration of item .
  • 2025-10-07 Budget and Finance Committee approved as amended .
  • 2025-10-03 Budget and Finance Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on October 7, 2025.
  • 2025-10-03 City Administrative Officer document(s) referred to Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery; Budget and Finance Committee.
  • 2025-10-02 Document submitted by City Administrative Officer, dated October 2, 2025.
  • 2025-06-23 Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery approved City Attorney report and Ordinance dated June 20, 2025; approved Recommendation No. 1.b-e contained in the City Administrative Officer report dated May 7, 2025 as amended.
  • 2025-06-23 Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery transmitted Council File to Budget and Finance Committee.
  • 2025-06-20 Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery scheduled item for committee meeting on June 23, 2025.
  • 2025-06-20 Budget and Finance Committee; City Attorney document(s) referred to Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery.
  • 2025-06-20 Document(s) submitted by City Attorney, as follows:City Attorney report, dated June 20, 2025, and draft Ordinance relative to adding Section 98.0419.1 to the Los Angeles Municipal Code to waive fees imposed in connection with permits to repair or rebuild buildings or structures damaged or destroyed by the wildfires of January 2025.
  • 2025-05-08 City Administrative Officer document(s) referred to Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery; Budget and Finance Committee.
  • 2025-05-07 Document(s) submitted by City Administrative Officer, as follows:City Administrative Officer report, dated May 7, 2025, relative to feasibility of waiving plan check and permit fees associated with reconstruction of private property damaged in the January 2025 Wildfires.
  • 2025-02-19 Council action final.
  • 2025-02-18 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2025-02-14 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on February 18, 2025.
  • 2025-02-06 Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery approved item(s) .
  • 2025-02-05 Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery scheduled item for committee meeting on February 6, 2025.
  • 2025-01-24 Motion referred to Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery.

Documents (82)

Council votes (1)

  • 2026-02-03 Vote — 15-0-0 · Regular

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