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FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration will allow California wildfire survivors to bypass local permitting delays that have stalled rebuilding in Los Angeles for more than a year, allowing immediate access to $3.2 billion in Small Business Administration disaster relief funds.
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler called California’s state and local permitting backlog a “nightmare” that has dragged out wildfire recovery.
“Today, with President Trump’s leadership and alongside EPA, the SBA is opening an expedited path to recovery for every borrower who has been held hostage by the bureaucracy of Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass,” Loeffler said.
ONE YEAR AFTER LA FIRES, POLITICIANS’ PROMISES OF PERMITS APPEAR PALTRY
An aerial image shows homes damaged and destroyed by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images)
The new SBA guidance allows builders to self-certify compliance with state and local requirements after 60 days of permitting delays, enabling reconstruction to begin without final local approval.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s office did not immediately respond to Digital’s request for comment.
More than a year after a series of the most expensive and devastating wildfires tore through California, survivors are still stuck in limbo as red tape, rising costs and stalled aid slow recovery. California’s strict rebuilding regulations, combined with the scale of the devastation, help explain why rebuilding has barely begun.
The Eaton and Palisades fires scorched a combined 37,728 acres, an area larger than California’s Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios combined, destroying more than 16,200 buildings in their path.
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Fire personnel respond to homes destroyed while a helicopter drops water as the Palisades Fire grows in Pacific Palisades, California on Jan. 7, 2025. (David Swanson/AFP/Getty Images)
Construction has begun on fewer than 600 of the homes and businesses destroyed, leaving more than 96% still untouched. Loeffler said that less than 3,000 rebuild permits have been issued across Los Angeles and fewer than 10 homes have been resurrected.
Under the new SBA guidance, disaster loan borrowers can bypass stalled local permitting by having their builders self-certify compliance with state and local regulations and immediately begin rebuilding.
Builders must certify to the SBA that all required permit applications were submitted more than 60 days ago, that delays are due to government inaction, and that all building, health, safety, inspection and occupancy requirements will be met.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom examines a scorched utility pole while surveying Dixie Fire damage in Greenville on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, in Plumas County, California. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Meanwhile, California officials say the state is pursuing its own housing initiatives following the wildfires.
Earlier this month, Newsom’s office announced $107.3 million in state housing funding for communities impacted by wildfire, supporting nine projects that will create 673 new affordable rental homes across Los Angeles County. The projects will not replace homes destroyed by fire.
