PPCC, Councilmember Park Host Meeting With Information for Residents With Homes Still Standing

By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

Pacific Palisades Community Council hosted a virtual meeting with Councilmember Traci Park on Friday, February 7, with a focus on issues pertaining to residents with homes that are still standing after the Palisades fire.

The meeting—which marked the third in PPCC’s series of special meetings—had over 1,000 attendees. Agency representatives and local officials were invited to provide answers to Palisadians, responding to a sequence of questions.

Assistant Deputy of Monitoring and Analysis at South Coast Air Quality Management District Andrea Polidori addressed air quality in the Palisades, noting that an air-monitoring campaign is currently in the works, pending weather conditions. The first phase of the campaign includes mobile monitoring of air toxins, using different mobile platforms that are capable of measuring toxic metals, such as lead and arsenic.

“The idea is to drive around the repopulation and … measure the concentration of these pollutants in real time,” Polidori explained.

The mobile monitoring will be in place for approximately four weeks, and will help the team determine ideal locations for two to three stationary monitoring sites that will continue to monitor the concentration of different pollutants in the Palisades.

Park addressed clusters of homes that are still standing in the Palisades, but are in close proximity to fire damaged properties—residents had questions about how safe it is to return to their home if it is surrounded by rubble and debris, and how long they may expect to be away from their home.

Colonel Eric Swenson of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is leading the charge for Phase 2 of debris removal, said the answer is dependent on the residents’ “personal acceptance of risk in [their] neighborhood.”

“If you’re in a situation where you are in a neighborhood, your home is still standing, but you want more clarity about how long it’s going to be until the lots around you are cleared, I would say stay in touch with your other neighbors who live on that street … and work with them,” Park said. “My recommendation to everybody is to sign up for the government program … Help Colonel Swenson spot clusters of complete communities that are demonstrating an interest to get back in … and then you can use their timelines, hopefully, to make some decisions for yourself based on your own personal risk factors and preferences.”

Park then went on to explain that a number of apartment buildings, condos and townhouses in the Palisades are still standing, but residents want to know who is responsible for cleaning and remediating individual units and common areas.

Director of Code Enforcement for the LA Housing Department Robert Galardi said the department is inspecting and following up on complaints for all multi-family rental properties in the city, but to answer residents’ questions: Renters are responsible for their unit’s interior, while landlords and property owners are responsible for common areas and the exterior of the property.

For individuals handling fire-damaged furniture or items, Alex Helou with LA Sanitation advised wrapping furniture in plastic-wrap, calling LA Sanitation—at 1-800-773-2489—and placing it on the curb for it to be picked up free of charge.

On the topic of utilities, Park said Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has been on the ground and making “steady progress” with power in the Palisades. However, Park explained that water is taking more time because of state-mandated testing that has to be completed every 72 hours.

Jonathan Leung with LADWP said there is a system of flushing and testing that needs to be done, which could take weeks, as samples need to be inspected and arising issues need to be addressed.

“I hope you all understand the logic in how we’re trying to progress,” Leung said. “To get all the initial testing done will take about four weeks … We have had a few low-level detections, we’re working with the state regulator on how to address those. We’re hoping those can be addressed at a very localized level that won’t create extensive delays.”

Park concluded the meeting by letting attendees know they are welcome to reach out to her and her team directly with any concerns.

“We’re always happy to help,” she said.

To watch the February 7 special meeting, visit youtube.com/watch?v=WJpafqDSZP8, also available via PPCC’s website: pacpalicc.org.