Latest news with #neighborhoods
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
L.A. wildfire victims uncertain about returning to their burned neighborhoods
A new survey of victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires shows most would like to return to their old neighborhoods, but they're worried that government officials can't make it happen soon enough. The vast majority of burned-out homeowners surveyed said they intend to rebuild the homes destroyed in the devastating January fires — yet half say they are unwilling to wait more than three years to return. Urgency on all fronts is paramount to a successful revival of the lost neighborhoods, Los Angeles real estate developer Clare De Briere said. She helped oversee the survey conducted by Project Recovery, a group of public and private real estate experts who compiled a report in March on what steps can be taken to speed revival as displaced residents weigh their options to return to Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Malibu and other affected neighborhoods. The report was compiled by professors in the real estate graduate schools at USC and UCLA, along with the Los Angeles chapter of the Urban Land Institute, a real estate nonprofit education and research institute. Read more: After L.A. wildfires, experts offer a road map for how to speed up recovery For the follow-up survey, Project Recovery tracked down nearly 350 homeowners who experienced total loss or significant damage to their properties to determine their preferences for the future. Most would like to return, but are skeptical about their chances to get back in the near future and will only wait so long before settling in elsewhere. "For every year it takes to at least start the rebuilding, 20% of the population will find another another place to go," De Briere said. "If that statistic is right, then after five years, you're going to have a whole new community there, so it won't be the same. "You won't have the same people remembering the same parades and the same soccer teams, or the librarian who used to have story hour in the local library. All that sort of cultural memory gets, gets wiped out," she said. The Project Recovery report outlines a plan to get homes rebuilt within three years after the land is cleared for redevelopment, but it requires close, constant cooperation between builders and public officials overseeing construction approval and restoration of infrastructure such as water and power. In the recent survey, the top concern of displaced homeowners "was about the lack of leadership, both on the city and the county side to get it done," she said. That response came as a surprise to De Briere, who expected affordability to be the chief concern, since many homeowners are indeed worried that they won't have enough money to rebuild the way they want. But it typically takes up to 18 months to get a building permit in Los Angeles, a process that needs to be reduced to one to two months, Project Recovery said. Read more: 'The stress keeps you up at night': Emotional devastation lingers in L.A. fire zones That would require using an expedited process being explored by Los Angeles officials that would allow licensed architects, engineers and design professionals to 'self-certify' building plans and specifications as compliant with objective building code requirements. Artificial intelligence could crosscheck their assertions far faster than human staff would be able to do it. Other major concerns among homeowners surveyed was that rebuilding would take too long and that their communities may never be the same. Homeowners also worry about being in a fire zone or a landslide zone, she said. Read more: As L.A. rebuilds from the Palisades fire, residents ask: What's the plan? The report authors hope that the rebuilding process will bring better knowledge about managing the ways homes interact with the potentially combustible environment around them. "If we don't do it differently, we're going to have the same thing happen in Beverly Hills, and Bel Air, in Silver Lake, Los Feliz and Echo Park," De Briere said. "This is what happens when we're living this close to nature and we're not managing it right." Other findings of the survey included: Two-thirds of those affected by the Palisades fire say they are uncertain they will have sufficient resources to fully cover rebuilding expenses and additional living costs that are not covered by insurance. In the Eaton fire area, 82% either do not have or are uncertain they will have sufficient resources. In the Palisades area, 70% of homeowners may not return if it takes more than three years to rebuild. In the Eaton fire area, 63% may not return after three years. A "look-alike" rebuild within 110% of their prior home size is planned by 77% of people who want to return to the Palisades fire area, while 84% plan a similar rebuild in the Eaton fire area. On average, homeowners in both areas expect about 70% of their rebuilding costs to be covered by insurance. On the low end of anticipated insurance support, 13% from the Palisades fire area and 19% from the Eaton fire area expect that between zero and 50% of their rebuilding costs will be covered by insurance. Owners estimate it will cost about $800 per square foot to rebuild in the Palisades fire area and $570 per square foot in the Eaton fire area. Cost is the top concern for owners in the Palisades fire area with a net worth of less than $5 million, and quality is the No. 1 concern for those with a net worth of less than $1 million in the Eaton fire area. More than 60% of homeowners in both areas are willing to forgo customization of their new homes if financial compromises are necessary. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE We lived happily in our house for years... but a horrendous decision from our neighbour has cost us £50k - we've been forced out
A couple have been left distraught after their neighbours house started to be turned into an HMO - which left people defecating in an alleyway near their home and knocked £50k off their house. Roger Brown, 67, and his wife Gail, 64, have been plagued with weeks of builders leaving them feeling unsafe and at their wits' end. The couple, from Shepperton, Sunbury-on-Thames, have lived in their three-bedroom terraced house in a residential street for 45 years. Now they fear the neighbourhood of local families could be torn apart by outsiders moving into a house of multiple occupancy (HMO). As contractors work to transform their next door house, the couple are constantly fighting against disappearing tools, ruined views and even people defecating in the alleyway near their family home. Roger told MailOnline: 'They stole ladders from my garden to use. They have been going down in the alleyway and doing their business there, both ways. They are sh**ting out here.' He said he and his wife's lives have been turned upside down and hit out at the council for failing to protect them as they confessed they can barely work they're so worried. But there appears to be no easy way out for the couple, who claim they are being forced to sell up their much-loved home, losing a small fortune in the process. Roger, a health and safety trainer, added: 'Work started [but] we had been given no notification. It's being turned into a six-bedroom HMO. 'They have been working there [for] three weeks. They have extended the downstairs now it blocks out the light. And while the change of view is upsetting the 67-year-old, Roger revealed a more horrific reality that is upsetting both himself and his wife. Roger slammed the local authorities and said they have been unsupportive. He said: 'The council has been next to useless. We are very stressed over all this. We don't know who will be living here. It's horrendous.' Because of the disruption, Roger says he and Gail are considering moving but are concerned about the impact on their house price - another worry that is too much to take for the hexagenarians. The health and safety worker said: 'We are going to sell. We are being forced out. An estate agent said we will lose £50,000. 'My wife won't feel safe because we don't know who we will be living next to. 'We were in shock. We felt sick. My work is suffering because of the stress I'm going through. 'We have been totally let down. It's wrong. They cut through an expensive fence. All those things add up. It's too much to bear and we don't need it in our time of life.' A Spelthorne Borough Council spokeswoman said: 'The work is being overseen by an Approved Inspector not Spelthorne Borough Council's building control team. Unfortunately, this means the Council cannot intervene from a building control point of view. 'A planning enforcement officer visited the premises but based on the evidence his view was that it would fall within permitted development rights. 'The officer therefore advised that no action could be taken from a planning perspective and that this would also apply to a change of use to an HMO (planning permission is not required). 'The Council was later advised by an Approved Inspector of works that the enlarged property will be used for a six-unit HMO. 'This does not need planning permission but will need an HMO licence. The Council's Environmental Health team has sent out an application pack, but no application has been received yet. 'Unfortunately, the legislation does not allow for public consultation on HMO licence applications or for neighbours to comment or object. 'In January 2025, the Council's planning committee approved an Article 4 direction to withdraw permitted development rights for change of use to HMOs across all wards in the borough. 'However, this will not come into effect until at least the beginning of next year. Going forward this means planning permission will be needed for HMOs but will not prevent applications being submitted or being granted or allowed on appeal. 'The issue with regards the lack of toilet facilities for the workers has been addressed.'
CTV News
21-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
CMHA confronted by Stevenson's skepticism about supportive housing project
The CMHA says two new housing projects will fit into the neighbourhoods selected, but a councillor is skeptical. CTV London's Daryl Newcombe reports.
CTV News
21-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
‘We need the support of our city'
The CMHA says two new housing projects will fit into the neighbourhoods selected, but a councillor is skeptical. CTV London's Daryl Newcombe reports.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Not a safe situation,' Perry South residents concerned about abandoned boat
Neighbors in Pittsburgh's Perry South neighborhood are fed up with an abandoned boat. They say it's been sitting on East Burgess Street for a year. The previous owner died and contractors moved it from the driveway to the street. 'It's become a dumping ground now,' longtime East Burgess resident Stephen Whewell said. 'Somebody already tore the engine cover off. There's a TV in it, now. There were bags of garbage in it. We've taken it out because we didn't want rats,' he said. Whewell tells Channel 11 he's submitted a number of 311 requests to the city and reached out to the mayor directly, but the boat still sits there. 'We've had little kids coming and running up and they get balls stuck under there. It's not a safe situation,' Mac Galloway said. She lives in the home right next to the boat. 'I said, 'you can't park here.' My son is blind. He's in a wheelchair. We have ambulances come here because he has seizures. they can't get in here,' Galloway said. Neighbors are also concerned the boat may break loose and slide down the hill. The tires on the trailer holding it are flat, but neighbors say it moved about five feet this year. They've put bricks under the tires to try to prevent further movement. Both Galloway and Whewell say they've been told there isn't much that can be done. 'I'm not allowed to touch it. I'm not allowed to move it. They're not moving,' Galloway said. 'I want the city to tow it away,' Whewell said. We did reach out to city officials about the situation but have not heard back. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
