By MARYAM ZAR | Contributing Writer
Palisades Recovery Coalition hosted its third community visioning charrette on August 23, focused on Castellammare and Paseo Miramar. It was organized by PRC President Maryam Zar, who is Pacific Palisades Community Council chair emeritus. The next visioning charrette will focus on the Bluffs communities and will take place September 20.
The Castellammare neighborhood of Pacific Palisades is facing the dual crises of geological instability and post-wildfire vulnerability, compounded by inadequate infrastructure, insurance gaps and recovery delays. The January 2025 Palisades fire destabilized slopes, destroyed homes and amplified long-standing risks, from landslides to evacuation challenges.
Residents gathered with RAND facilitators, AIA volunteers and PRC leadership to articulate priorities, document lived experiences and propose actionable strategies.
The findings are organized under five key themes, integrating charrette notes, community input and technical realities.
The premise of each of our charrettes is to envision the Palisades of 2035 and determine how we got there—e.g. what tradeoffs we made for resilience, and how we wish our built environment to be different or the same as it was on January 6, 2025.
Community & Governance
Neighborhood Identity: Castellammare’s unique hillside geography and historic character must be preserved, while ensuring recovery integrates resilience.
Rebuild Authority (2035 Vision):
- Residents supported a formal recovery/rebuilding authority to coordinate sanitation, utilities, grading and permitting. This formation would have residents codified specifically in the legislation to serve on the governing structure.
- Authority would issue clear rebuild rules on fire resilience, infrastructure and financing.
- Coordination across state, county and city is critical, with transparency on taxation and funding.
Preventative & Long-Term Measures:
- Underground water cisterns for firefighting and suppression. There is a high water table in this neighborhood, and this water can be captured to fill the cisterns and maintain a defensive green belt. This defensive space can also include fire breaks wind breaks, hyper-local flora (Quercus Agrifolia (known as a live oak)), which is evergreen and large with deep roots and also work as erosion control and habitat for local biodiversity.
- Preventive upgrades for power lines, transformers and drainage.
- Enforce new fuel modification zones and resilient codes. This requires advocacy at the city and county level to ensure there is an enforcement authority that proactively enforces fuel modification regulations. (LADBS imposes to oversight on itself right now to enforce these codes.)
- Education on ecosystems and how they interact with fore is needed. Most homes do not maintain their outdoor space defensively. The removal of well-maintained/irrigated vegetation would amplify fire, not suppress or protect homes. Wood fences and other combustible items, such as furniture, wood piles, flammable patio furniture, are more hazardous.
Governance Options:
- Discussion of alternative governance models (special districts, self-governance unincorporated options).
- Timing seen as an opportunity to rethink governance while external funds (federal, state, county) are available.
Infrastructure & Land Stability
Landslides as Top Priority:
- Repeated concern about unstable slopes, worsened by loss of vegetation after the fire.
- Residents recalled past cost estimates (~$25M in 2010) for stabilization, noting urgent need for updated RFPs.
- A strong push emerged for economies of scale: stabilizing slopes collectively rather than piecemeal.
Drainage & Utilities:
- Long-standing issues with inadequate storm drains and runoff remain unresolved, contributing to landslides.
- Call for underground utilities (where they aren’t already) to reduce ignition risks and harden the system.
Shared Process Efficiencies:
- Streamline rebuild sequencing, align inspections and share contractors to reduce costs.
- Residents supported a model of collective contracting for slope stabilization and infrastructure staging.
Emergency Access:
- Extremely narrow streets (as little as 12 feet wide) and dead ends remain a lifesafety concern.
- Roads fail to meet fire code standards (20 feet minimum), complicating evacuation and fire apparatus access.
Insurance & Financing
Coverage Gaps:
- Survivors face challenges with IRS loss claims, SBA loans and underinsurance.
- Onerous requirements for detailed personal property inventories and remediation reimbursement slow recovery.
Resilient Insurance Models:
- Vision of an insurable, resilient community: If homes are hardened collectively, premiums may stabilize.
- The “herd immunity” concept resonated—risk drops when all properties adopt ember-safe measures.
Financial Tools:
- Acknowledgment of major financing gaps between payouts and rebuilding costs.
- Calls for creative solutions: pooled funds, resilience bonds, federal/state block grants and philanthropy.
Fairness Concerns:
- Some residents noted stricter code enforcement for rebuilds, while new developments proceed without matching resilience standards.
Fire-Resilient Homes
Design & Materials:
- Ember-safe roofs, hardened siding, enclosed eaves and ignition-resistant decks/fences emphasized.
- Note: Many January fire losses began when embers ignited inside the home—interior ignition protection is critical.
Zone 0 Standards:
- Requests for clarification and flexibility: residents want privacy and greenery but also compliance with defensible space standards.
- Fire-resistant landscaping should balance beauty, privacy and safety. Chaparral and coastal sage scrub are beautiful and vibrant, full of life (biodiversity hotspot: native bugs, birds—food chain). We must learn to value a fire-resistant aesthetic that does not conflict with the bioregion.
Ongoing Maintenance:
- Brush clearance, smoke mitigation and landscape management must be institutionalized.
- Invasive plants, which escape gardens and then spread on hillsides, are highly flammable, dry out and outcompete native vegetation which has a higher heat threshold and is adapted to burn. In addition to the “Brush Clearance Unit,” irrigation and soil care should be implemented.
Education & Resources:
- Widespread call for better education and outreach so residents adopt recommendations.
- Key partners: MySafeLA (free assessments), Santa Monica Conservancy and fire-resilience consultants/architects.
- FireWise communities, like Topanga Coalition for Emergency Preparedness, can bring the education and awareness we need to create and sustain resilience.
Strategic Questions for the Future
- Who pays for the improvements we implement for our 2035 vision? Shared responsibility between agencies and homeowners remains unclear. Could a recovery authority or Climate Resilience District carry some costs?
- How to balance affordability with resilience? Residents worry resilience will price people out. How much more does resilience really cost?
- What governance model ensures accountability? Options include recovery authorities, resilience districts, or other structures.
- How to leverage economies of scale? Shared contractors, bulk procurement, ready workforce and collective stabilization could cut costs.
- How to ensure insurability long-term? Will insurers provide clear checklists of hardening measures and timelines for premium relief? How can we engage insurers?
Conclusion
The Castellammare charrette underscored the interconnectedness of landslides, fire resilience, infrastructure, insurance and governance.
Residents see slope stabilization and resilient infrastructure as prerequisites for recovery, not optional add-ons. Insurance will not return until the community demonstrates large-scale mitigation, and homeowners cannot shoulder costs alone.
Councilmember Traci Park discussed how a coordinated resilience district or recovery authority can marshal funds, set rules and deliver projects at scale with community input. Without such a structure, Castellammare risks repeating cycles of fire, landslide and displacement. With it, the community has a chance to rebuild stronger, safer and insurable for generations to come.
For more information, visit palirecovery.org.
