Editorial: Regulatory thicket will dog victims of California fires

The Editorial Board, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Jan 16, 2025

Published in Op Eds

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom, desperate to appear as if he’s leading on the wildfire debacle, now tacitly admits that his state’s onerous regulatory apparatus represents an obstacle to blaze victims hoping to eventually reclaim their lives. Rather than a total overhaul, though, he prefers to nibble around the edges.

On Sunday, Newsom signed an executive order easing some permitting requirements for those who lost their homes or businesses in the fires that ravaged Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other areas near Los Angeles. The edict allows those hoping to rebuild to bypass certain requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act.

“California leads the nation in environmental stewardship. I’m not going to give that up,” Newsom said on “Meet the Press.” “But one thing I won’t give into is delay. Delay is denial for people: lives, traditions, places torn apart, torn asunder.”

That’s certainly a noble sentiment. But where was that ingenuity when it came to developers and entrepreneurs hoping to meet housing demand in the Golden State while trying to hack their way through the dense regulatory thicket that defines California’s administrative state?

In fact, the governor’s order has significant limitations. The Los Angeles Times reported that the Coastal Act already provides exceptions for fire rebuilds. At the same time, single-family homes are exempt under the Environmental Quality Act. A spokesman for the California Building Industry Association lauded the governor’s move but noted that local governments will also have to relax burdensome regulations if areas are to be rebuilt.

An attorney with one of California’s largest real estate firms told the Daily Journal, which covers the state’s legal profession, that, for many victims, “the problems will extend to remediation of contamination on the site, which is covered by state agencies like the Department of Toxic Substances Control.”

Other attorneys told the news outlet that victims probably will face new limits on what can be built thanks to changes in zoning laws that have been implemented since the homes were first constructed.

In fact, Newsom has not gone far enough — as those hoping to rebuild will soon discover. “It’s good optics,” one land use expert told the Daily Journal of the governor’s order. “It’s not clear how widespread a benefit” it will have.

Nevada and other states have generously sent manpower, equipment, financial and other assistance to California to help the state douse the fires and recover from the devastation. If Newsom wants to facilitate reconstruction, he might also request technical help from those running states and municipalities who actually know how to encourage development rather than relying on those experts in killing it.

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