We are advising our clients who lost homes in the Palisades Fire to start the permitting process as quickly as they can to get ahead of what will be a rush of applications. While there are uncertainties ahead of us, being first in line, will have it’s advantages. Our clients for The Galloway project were loving being in their freshly completed home in late 2024. There project had replaced an existing home they tore down and they painstakingly worked over a multi-year construction to build the home of their dreams in it’s place. Tailored specifically for their professional and personal needs, the home represented a vision for how they would live their lives.

Protecting Homes in Wildfire-Prone Areas

The 2025 Palisades Fire and Eaton Fires devastated parts of Southern California. The magnitude of acres scorched and the quick spread of the fires, underscores the urgent need for reexamining how we build fire-resistant homes. Delays in access to emergency services, water being offline, and decades-old infrastructure problems, combined with the high winds and a low-rain, winter created the environment for these deadly wildfires. In wildfire-prone areas in California, homeowners must take proactive steps to protect their properties from future events. Whether building a new home or retrofitting an existing one, adopting fire-resistant construction techniques is key to safeguarding your family and property. From selecting the right materials to smart landscaping choices, these recommendations can help to create a more resilient and safer home.

The Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance on December 7^th requiring that all new buildings within the city limits be constructed as ‘all-electric.’ This means no more gas-powered heaters, stoves, or gas hookups for new construction. The requirement applies to all new buildings approved after April 1 and affordable housing projects approved after June 1, 2023. The Council stated that this action is creating the framework to decarbonize buildings, one of the largest emitters of carbon dioxide.  This move is intended to put an end to the expansion of local natural gas infrastructure and is believed to help Los Angeles reach its target of becoming carbon-free by 2035.  A similar, but separate ordinance, is being drafted to retrofit existing buildings for electrification.

Senate Bill 9 (SB9), also called the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency (“HOME”) Act was signed into law on September 16, 2021, and went into effect statewide on January 1, 2022.

Every year natural disasters and extreme weather take a devastating toll on homes, land, and people around the world. Heatwaves, wildfires, landslides, droughts, earthquakes, and tsunamis are a particular threat to Southern California. The aftermath can be devastating. Buildings and homes can be easily toppled or destroyed; lives ruined or worst, lost.