Upon returning from Christmas holidays to our home in the Alphabet Streets in the Palisades, the most difficult thing that was confronting me was what New Year’s goals to set. Never did we imagine that our lives were to be turned completely upside down on Jan. 7th, 2025. I am not a blogger, but I wanted to start this to share resources with my neighbors about rebuilding the Palisades. I know it would be easier to just sell and collect insurance, but this was a magic community. Though I have only been here for twenty years, some of my neighbors in the Village have been there for generations. This is not just a town full of celebrities and wealthy families. This is also a town full of working class people that had purchased a home early on to raise their kids in a safe neighborhood. My kids were born and raised here. I lost a husband here. I fell in love with my new husband here. This was (and will be) my forever home. Now our schools are gone, our homes are gone, and our communities are gone. But I believe in the Palisadian spirit. We will rebuild. As an architect that have worked in the Palisades for twenty years, I am happy to share my knowledge and resources.
Whatever you do, DON’T SELL! It’s like losing a spouse. Don’t do anything rash for the first year. Right now there are a lot of agencies at the FEMA Disaster Center on Pico Blvd. to help you.
File an application for reassessment (FORM ADS-820) with the County Assessor.
Ask for forebearance from your mortgage company. You typically can extend this to 12 months.
Though FEMA may have rejected you because you have insurance, you can still seek displacement replacement. They will pay up to 2 months of displacement cost if you upload your insurance declaration pages.
Apply for SBA loan for both your home and your business, if it’s run from your home.
File for tax extensions, the government is even allowing for extensions for professionals that works and does not live in the Palisades.
Here are some of the latest items from the governmental agencies and handouts for rebuilding. The Cliff note version of it, is that you can build like for like. Same footprint, same height, and bulk. You can add 10% of the existing s.f.. However, you can change the design and interior layout of the project. You may also receive additional fund from your insurance company if you build up to current code by using more resilient and ecological materials. This may add another 20% on top of coverage A of your original coverage. But you should check with your insurance company.
Someone on the WhatsApp link group created this Google Doc with local resources for the rebuilding the Palisades. It’s a live document.
Here are some handouts I received from the FEMA office.
City of Los Angeles Emergency Executive Order No. 1
Palisades Fire Rebuild and Recovery Coastal Zone Requirement
Coastal Exemption - Single Jurisdiction Coastal Zone applications
Hope this helps. Do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.
XO May