Homeowners in Malibu and Pasadena who saw their neighborhoods burn in the Eaton and Palisades fires last year will soon be able to build up to four units on their properties now that the two fire-scarred cities have settled a lawsuit brought by pro-development activists.
The twin settlements come almost a year to the day after Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signed executive orders letting local governments nullify a state housing law, Senate Bill 9, in areas deemed to be “very high” wildfire severity zones in the region’s burn scars.
That five-year-old housing law makes it easier for single-family home owners to divide up their parcels and build duplexes on each lot, potentially allowing as many as four small units where local rules once allowed only one.
Pro-development group YIMBY Law sued both the governor and the mayor, along with the four jurisdictions who made use of the executive orders, arguing that none had the right to override a law passed by the state legislature. The duplex law was enacted in 2022 in an effort to legalize the construction of modestly-sized multiplexes and townhouses in neighborhoods zoned exclusively for single-family homes.
In settlement agreements, both Malibu and Pasadena agreed to repeal their local anti-duplex ordinances and accept all pending and future applications filed under the law. Pasadena’s city council followed suit in a unanimous vote on July 20. The agreement with Malibu gives that city until Sept. 29 to do so.
“For people who are living, or hoping to live, or hoping to move back to Malibu and Pasadena, SB 9 is back,” said YIMBY Law executive director Sonja Trauss.
Many fire survivors of both the Eaton and Palisades fires have railed against the prospect of building back at higher densities, raising concerns about snarled evacuations along with broader concerns about traffic and unwelcome changes in community character. One of the most vocal critics of the law was Spencer Pratt, who rode a wave of popular fury at the state and local response to the fires to a high-profile, if ultimately unsuccessful, run for LA mayor.
YIMBY Law and other pro-development groups have argued that the law gives fire survivors additional financial flexibility to rebuild amid escalating construction costs and insufficient or sluggish insurance payouts.
Of the more than 16,000 structures destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires, most were located in the City of Los Angeles and in Altadena, in unincorporated Los Angeles County. Even so, Trauss said the settlement agreements are a positive sign that the law is on their side.
“The writing is on the wall,” she said. “It’s a good signal when parties are settling because it indicates the respondents feelings about how defendable their side is.”
The legal battle continues for Los Angeles County, the City of Los Angeles and both Newsom and Bass.
Meanwhile, a parallel debate is also playing out in the state capitol. Earlier this summer, Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, a Democrat who represents Altadena, introduced a bill to temporarily exempt the town from the duplex law along with another related housing law.