Councilmember Park Tells Community Council: Disaster Recovery District Could Speed Palisades Improvements

By Laurel Busby

News & Information Editor

City Councilmember Traci Park advocated for the creation of a Disaster Recovery District for Pacific Palisades at the Oct. 15 Community Council meeting, and she will continue speaking on the topic at a second council meeting on Oct. 29..

(The Oct. 29 webinar will be from 5-6:30 p.m. at this link.)

The proposed district would be funded by incremental tax increases on Palisades real estate, which means that as property values naturally increase due to rebuilding, up to 50 percent of those city funds would be funneled back to the Palisades to address community needs, such as infrastructure improvements, according to Park. No separate new tax would be imposed.

“That gives you even more opportunities to utilize your [tax] dollars in ways that are flexible to support your recovery, whether that is water infrastructure, power, evacuation routes, [or] brush clearance,” Park said. “One of the things that I really like about the DRD program is that it creates opportunities for direct relief, direct assistance for people, HOAs, other owners that have generally been left out of the recovery funds and services that have been available to others. So, there are some real opportunities to use this money in a way that keeps it local in the Palisades, and for projects that you all as a community can and will identify as a priority for yourselves.”

The first step to the district’s creation is the City Council’s adoption of a Resolution of Intention by Jan. 7, 2027, the two-year anniversary of the fire, according to Craig Bullock, Park’s planning director, who also spoke at the meeting. The resolution would not obligate the city to create the district, but it must be passed within two years in order for the district to be considered and eventually formed. 

After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, five Disaster Recovery Districts were created in different communities in order to aid in the city’s recovery, Bullock said. Those districts were created approximately a year after the earthquake.

In addition to city funds, county funds from incremental tax increases might be provided to essential double the revenue available to the Palisades, according to Park who recently met with Sup. Lindsey Horvath about the issue. The county has already set up such districts for Altadena and unincorporated areas affected by the Palisades Fire. 

Thus far, no FEMA money has come through to support the town’s recovery.

“We are basically running an unfunded recovery still at this point,” Park said. “Even assuming FEMA said ‘Yes,’ and paid for all the things that are FEMA reimbursable expenses, it doesn't cover the gap for what you all need to have a whole recovery. So, this [DRD] is something that I am supportive of.”

The adoption of a Disaster Recovery District requires multiple steps. The City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee for L.A. Recovery already considered the issue, and the Budget and Finance Committee will likely discuss the proposal at one of its November meetings, which are on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, according to Bullock. The full council would need to eventually vote to approve the district. 

At the upcoming budget meeting, some committee members will likely question the need for the district and also argue that 50 percent of the incremental tax is too much to give to the Palisades, Park said. In order to garner support for the district and the full 50 percent tax revenue, she recommended that Palisades residents attend the meeting to share their views. 

“I'm going to need your help and your advocacy at Budget Committee, and then when this full item comes to council,” Park said. “It continues to be really important for my colleagues on the council to hear from you and why this matters…. It's an incredible opportunity. I want to keep working with you to deliver this for you.”

Some Community Council members expressed concerns about the governance structure of the proposed Disaster Recovery District. 

By law, Bullock said that a minimum of five people would be required to oversee the public financing authority. Three of those board members would be elected and two would represent the community, although the board can include more members and probably would expand to more than five if county funds are included. 

“So, the law has a floor for the standards; it's not the ceiling,” Bullock said. “We need to … work on what that structure looks like. We obviously have to meet the minimum standards, but we can exceed those.”

Bullock also shared that the councilmember’s office had been meeting with other council offices to explain the district and its purpose. The people who worked on the five Northridge earthquake recovery districts have retired, but some are being asked to come out of retirement to aid this endeavor.

In meetings with the other council offices, Bullock discussed how the city lost $17 million in property tax revenue due to the Palisades Fire. A speedy recovery would be a boon for city coffers.

“I'm hoping that what we can do is collectively convince a majority of the council about the need for funding this recovery, not only for the needs of the Palisades, but also for the needs of the city,” Bullock said. “A quicker recovery in the Palisades will result in a quicker recovery for the general fund…. We can't afford to have a recovery that drags.”

(This article is provided courtesy of Circling the News.)