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PACIFIC PALISADES, LOS ANGELES () — Residents of a condominium building burned by the Palisades Fire find themselves frustrated with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Several of the complex’s units were destroyed, and the condo owners want to rebuild it.
Palisades Fire victim Keri White said that a power line installed to help restore power to the community is creating a challenge.
“I want to go up to that power line and move it myself. I would get electrocuted to move that power line so that we can go home,” White said.
The power line’s new location – now closer to the foundation of her condo building – is preventing her and hundreds of other residents from being able to rebuild.
“We can’t rebuild because of these roadblocks,” White added.
Residents say they have struggled to get clear guidance.
“We get different answers every time. It’s like being in a maze with no exit,” said David Greifinger, a fire victim and president of the homeowners association.
“I do not think DWP realized the consequences of their actions when they changed the configuration of those overhead lines,” said Chad Comey, another resident affected by the fire. “I do not think they realized that it would block permits from being issued for a condo complex that burned down.”
Comey’s family has owned a unit in the condo building located at Via De La Paz and Sunset Boulevard since 1974. He’s lived there his entire life with his parents who are disabled.
“My mom suffers from a rare autoimmune disorder that has rendered her paralyzed and partially blind. My dad is also blind,” Comey said. “There’s a certain indignity to losing your home. There’s an indignity to living displaced without privacy and in a temporary situation that does not meet your accessibility needs.”
The Villa De La Paz HOA is made up of four condo buildings with 107 units, 66 of which were destroyed in the Palisades Fire. Coincidentally, this complex is located right across the street from LADWP’s Palisades substation.
“This condominium was really an island of affordable housing in the Palisades. We’re already at a stage where we’re losing people, where people are having to either sell or face foreclosure because they just can’t afford it any longer,” Greifinger said.
“Right now, there isn’t a lot to sell. You’re selling a hope and a dream,” Greifinger responded when asked what owners have to sell.
There’s another LADWP issue the condo building has to resolve. They need a new transformer.
“The transformer that’s behind me services 1,200 amps of power. Prior to the fire, this was not enough power to serve 107 homeowners,” Comey said. “It is so little power, DWP will not let us come back with that power.
“However, at the same time, DWP has said they cannot service the transformer in its current location because an alleyway behind us is not wide enough for their cranes to access, and over the course of 16 days in July, we were told four different instructions on where to place our transformer pad. That has led to architectural redesigns every step of the way that our board incurs through our architect.”
After months of back and forth, there’s some good news. LADWP has offered a solution for the transformer that requires the building to obtain an above-ground facilities permit from the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering.
DWP has also proposed an overhead-line solution that the HOA has accepted. DWP will install a pole that’s five feet taller and move the line in question. The only problem: the HOA has to pay for it.
“DWP has quoted us $50,000 to $60,000 to implement a solution for their mistake. That feels like DWP is taking advantage of fire victims,” Comey said. “People who have run out of insurance money, because it’s been 21 months since the fire, people who are living on fixed incomes. It’s not a drop in the bucket. That money could go toward many other things.”
In an interview with 7, LADWP Interim General Manager Dave Hanson was asked about rebuilding issues Palisades Fire victims have encountered.
“We’re very sympathetic to what they’re trying to rebuild, and we’re not going to be the reason why you can’t build that back,” Hanson said.
Residents interviewed say the timeline for implementing these solutions is unclear.
“I believe, had this DWP issue been resolved months ago, you’d see a frame here right now,” Greifinger said.
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