PSA: Low- and Middle-Income Housing was Lost in the Palisades Fire Too
Losing one’s home, particularly in a devastating fire, is a tragedy I wouldn’t wish on anyone (not even my $*%#^@& stalker).
It’s well known that many of the people who made their homes in Altadena did so at least in part for affordability reasons (and that the Altadena fire was badly mishandled, but that’s beyond the scope of this entry).
What some Angelenos fail to realize, or refuse to admit to themselves, is that despite the Palisades’ wealthy reputation and high property values, low and middle income Angelenos lived there too.
Lived. Past tense. And I am worried that the lost RSO housing may or may not be replaced.
You see, NOT EVERYONE IN THE PALISADES WAS RICH.
There was a time when the Palisades wasn’t a wealthy enclave per se. Once upon a time, lower-income families could afford to buy small, modest houses in several different neighborhoods on the Westside. (One of my parents comes from one of those families.)
One of the celebrity-owned homes that burned to the ground was previously owned by relatives of mine who bought it as a fixer long ago and put a lot of work into restoring it. They were NOT rich. (I’ve decided not to disclose who the celebrity homeowner was. For the purposes of this blog, it shouldn’t matter.)
Older homeowners in particular generally bought in the Palisades before property values skyrocketed. Coincidentally, this includes two of my former landlords. But it also includes people like Louvenia Jenkins, a retired teacher and school principal who bought her Palisades home as a single woman in 1967.
We don’t think of the Palisades as a renter’s neighborhood because there are so many multimillion-dollar homes. But a surprising number of renters were living there.
The Tahitian Terrace was a mobile home park with 158 mobile or prefabricated homes. All but one was destroyed. Next door was the Palisades Bowl, home to roughly 170 similar units.
That’s over 320 displaced households.
Speaking of rent stabilization, did you know the Palisades had a 75-unit RSO apartment building? I didn’t!
Palisades Caltempo, which ironically stood less than 400 feet from LAFD Station 23, burned to the ground. It’s now listed for sale.
Now, I can’t fault the owners for selling. Rebuilding may very well be too expensive or too much work for them to take on, and I don’t know what their insurance situation was. But I have a concern about the listing.
As of this writing, the listing reads:
The previous 75 unit multi-residential Property burned during the January 2025 fi re. Presently the Property is vacant land. Proposed Project :According to City of Los Angeles Mayor's Executive order, a new luxury 75-unit multi-family property may be built with 70,778+/- S.F. FAR. The architectural rendering shown here of a potential future development has been created by Artificial Intelligence. Pacific Palisades is on the road to recovery as the rebuilding process is now underway. The property provides a prime opportunity for a developer to be a part of bringing modern, luxury housing to this very affluent, resilient, and coveted community. Ideally located on iconic Sunset Boulevard, the parcel is well-located between Santa Monica and Malibu. It is just minutes from the beach and a short distance from Palisades Village. Under the Los Angeles Mayor's executive order, this site is eligible for a 110% FAR (floor area ratio)and will need to be the same use as the pre-wildfire structure. There has been a concerted eff ort from residents as well as government officials to work together to rebuild the community and reduce obstacles in the way of rebuilding.
The bolding is mine.
Notice that the listing mentions “luxury” housing TWICE and says absolutely nothing about the property’s RSO status or about displaced tenants’ right of return.
For more on right of return, consult SB330, section 66300. I’ve confirmed the property’s RSO status with ZIMAS.
Who is more likely to shell out $20 million for this property - a developer who may not care about RSO or tenant rights, or a developer who will honor the law?
As always, I hope it’ll be the latter, but I know that the former is far more likely.
16321 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades.