Gavin Newsom

Gov. Newsom lifts environmental requirements for those rebuilding from LA fires

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Survivors of the fires in Los Angeles County will face many hurdles in the days, weeks, and months ahead. California Governor Gavin Newsom told NBC’s Jacob Soboroff on Sunday’s Meet the Press that he doesn’t want logistical red tape to be one of those hurdles.  Alyssa Goard has the latest details.

Survivors of the fires in Los Angeles County will face many hurdles in the days, weeks, and months ahead. California Gov. Gavin Newsom told NBC's Jacob Soboroff on Sunday's Meet the Press that he doesn't want logistical red tape to be one of those hurdles.

"California leads the nation in environmental stewardship. I’m not going to give that up, but one thing I won't give into is delay," Newsom told Soboroff.

On Sunday, Newsom issued an executive order waiving the requirement that people rebuilding from these fires undergo a California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) review and California Coastal Act permitting.

Sunday, the LA Area Chamber of Commerce commended this decision, with chamber president and CEO Maria S. Salinas said this order "will play a critical role in accelerating the recovery and rebuilding efforts across Los Angeles County following the devastating Southern California wildfires."

Jennifer Gray Thompson, a Sonoma resident who founded the nonprofit After the Fire in the wake of the Wine Country fires of 2017, also applauded Newsom's action.

"What Newsom did today by removing that entire aspect of the California Coastal [Act] and CEQA will be an absolute game changer for everybody who wants to rebuild along that stretch," Gray Thompson said.

She explained that much of the rebuilding after the Sonoma County fires took about five years to accomplish. Gray Thompson said there are several factors she believes will make a recovery from the LA County fires take even longer.

She is concerned that the high number of properties destroyed along the coast will present additional challenges.

"You saw this actually in Lahaina, they’ve been grappling with this for the last year and a half for how to tackle it," Gray Thompson noted.

Her nonprofit plans to deploy to assist in Southern California, hoping to help survivors rebuild.

"I don’t want people to give up hope that they can actually do it, it’s going to be a slog and a long time, but they can do it," she said.

State Senator Scott Wiener, D- San Francisco, also expressed his support for Newsom's executive order on Sunday.

"We, as a state, have to rally and do everything we can to support LA as folks rebuild and recover, and we have to be there for our neighbors to the south," he emphasized.

Wiener said that while rebuilding quickly should be a priority for communities in LA County, it is also important to focus on rebuilding safely and in ways that protect residents from future disasters.

Wiener noted the conversation around obstacles to rebuilding highlights how difficult building has become in California. In 2024, Wiener authored a bill, that did not make it into law, which would have exempted development in a zone of downtown San Francisco from CEQA requirements.

"And so we want to make sure, of course, that as folks in LA are recovering, that they can get what they need quickly, but let’s be clear, we need to be making these changes in many ways statewide -- not exactly what the governor proposed [in the executive order]-- but we need to streamline and expedite people’s ability to build new homes," Wiener said.

Newsom's executive order also directs state agencies to find and report back to him on permitting requirements that are making it difficult for people to rebuild in LA County.

Newsom told Soborroff that the state wants to make sure that when people in Southern California rebuild, they rebuild with high-quality and modern building standards. He acknowledged the state will need to make sure the "associated costs with that are not disproportionate."

Newsom urged survivors of these Southern California blazes to stay in the state, saying, "We want you to come back, rebuild."

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