The city of Santa Monica will host a virtual town hall meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 26, to provide updates and answer questions from Santa Monica businesses and residents about Palisades Fire recovery.

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2025/02/25/palisades-fire-santa-monica-to-host-virtual-town-hall-on-recovery

Placed on the agenda by recently elected Councilmembers Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin and Natalya Zernitskaya, the discussion item proposes raising the local contribution cap from $410 to $1,500.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2025/February-2025/02_24_2025_Council_Set_to_Hike_Campaign_Contribution_Limits.html

Tenants who were just getting by before the fires now face a daunting housing search after the January fires leveled entire neighborhoods. The LA fires destroyed more than 16,000 homes, businesses and other structures in upscale Pacific Palisades and working-class Altadena, where the U.S. Census reports 22% of homes were occupied by renters.

Read More: https://smdp.com/business/real-estate-housing/how-la-wildfires-are-making-an-already-tough-rental-market-even-worse/

New policy grants six-month relief to tenants and small business owners impacted by January fires, with $10 million in rental assistance allocated

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2025/02/l-a-county-approves-eviction-protections-for-fire-affected-business-owners-and-workers/

The council voted 11-0 to continue the item to March 4.

Read More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/city-council-postpones-final-vote-on-eviction-protections-for-residents-impacted-by-l-a-wildfires/ar-AA1zjfld?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=1b52c1ae795942b094114e757e6625e9&ei=44

The request also asked for rate hikes of 15% for renters, 15% for condominium unit owners, and 38% for rental dwellings.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2025/02/state-farm-faces-scrutiny-over-emergency-rate-hike-request-from-state-official/

The L.A. County Board Supervisors voted Tuesday to increase the maximum fine from $10,000 to $50,000 for illegally raising prices and rents by more than 10% in the wake of last month’s fires.

Read More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/penalties-for-post-fire-price-gouging-in-la-county-just-got-a-lot-more-expensive/ar-AA1yRg7B?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=602ade1633334444be19a93ab7863491&ei=48

Marguleas and other experts warn homeowners against selling too soon. “We’re telling everyone: do not sell property now, because you’ll be losing equity,” he said. “Every month you wait, your property value is going to go back up to normal.”

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2025/02/how-much-have-palisades-property-values-slipped-after-the-fire/

Administered by AidKit in partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity and the City of Los Angeles Economic Workforce Development Department, the fund prioritizes workers who reside in LA County, are at least 18 years old, and have experienced employment disruption due to the emergency.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2025/02/worker-relief-fund-launched-for-those-impacted-by-palisades-fire/

The crisis exposed how aging infrastructure, designed for a different era, has left one of America’s most fire-prone cities vulnerable to modern mega-fires.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2025/02/sm-a-r-t-column-the-water-crisis-behind-las-fire-disaster-a-legacy-of-outdated-infrastructure/