By Stacy Shure

I’m writing to alert you and your neighbors to a dangerous new bill moving through the State Legislature that would be extremely harmful to every homeowner in the Hillside areas, potentially limiting every homeowner’s ability to renovate, expand or rebuild any existing home in the hillside areas. (Scott Wiener is voting in FAVOR of this bill, I believe it’s just so he can continue his never ending attack on those that own single family residences!) Under the guise of wildfire protection, the bill – SB 12 – would impose sweeping new long-term restrictions on homeowners’ ability to make improvements to their own property. The bill would require any new building (from homes, to garages, to gazebos, any building) in virtually any hillside fire-prone area to go through an elaborate new government review process to meet ill-defined new building standards. That means a home addition, a new gazebo, an accessory dwelling unit, even a new backyard shed would potentially face significant new scrutiny, costs and delays. This bill does not just apply to new homes, it applies to existing homes. And it can prevent the issuance of ministerial building permits for new homes.  SB12 wouldn’t apply just to my neighborhood (which has hillside areas). It covers wide areas of Pacific Palisades, Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, Mount Washington, Eagle Rock, Brentwood, Bel Air, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Encino, Beverly Hills, Palos Verdes, Studio City, Cahuenga Pass, Hollywood Hills, Silverlake, Glendale, Burbank, La Canada and La Crescenta, Alta Dena and more. It would apply to any area designated a “high fire” zone in the State of California – and it applies to every kind of new building and certain expansions, meaning it could impact every home, business, religious institution, museum or school across huge stretches of Los Angeles. These new standards are subjective and open to varying interpretation.  We all agree that wildfires are an issue we must address as a state. But this bill would add redundant regulations that will do much more to harm property values than to prevent fires. This legislation will result in untold costs and loss of property value to homeowners. And it is not clear what the impact will be on fire insurance for your home since rebuilding may not be possible.  This bill is moving quickly through the State Legislature, but it’s not too late to fight it. Please ask your members to contact their elected representatives and tell them that SB 12 is a terrible idea.   Thank you for standing up for homeowners and protecting our communities!

Please feel free to share with your neighbors.

Stacy Shure is Zone 1 Director of the Mar Vista Community Council, First Vice-Chair; Executive and Finance 1st Vice-Chair; PLUM Chair; WRAC Alternate, Sustainability Alliance Primary – contact her at shurefamilyca@gmail.com