Community
LADWP apologizes for Palisades rebuild delays, adds local staff
The utility's interim general manager apologized to fire survivors and said LADWP has added inspectors and centralized oversight in Pacific Palisades.
Residents rebuilding after the Palisades Fire told ABC7 that utility permitting, inspections and power-restoration requirements have delayed their return. Interim LADWP General Manager Dave Hanson apologized for delays attributable to the department and said some information customers received from employees was troubling.
Staffing: Five or six additional inspectors assigned to the area
Local center: 16925 Marquez Avenue
Hours: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Utility says staffing and oversight have changed
Hanson told ABC7 that inspection requests increased faster than LADWP had staffed for and that inspectors had been dispatched from the San Fernando Valley. He said the utility has since added local inspectors and placed one person in charge of the Palisades operation.
LADWP's official rebuilding site confirms that representatives from the utility and four other city departments are working from the Palisades Inspections and Permitting Support Center. The center assists customers and contractors with service, meter, panel and rebuild-plan issues.
Condo project illustrates the delays
Earlier reporting focused on Villa De La Paz, a 107-unit complex where 66 units were destroyed. Residents said an overhead power line and changing transformer-placement instructions were holding up reconstruction permits.
The homeowners association has accepted an LADWP proposal to install a taller pole and relocate the line. Residents told ABC7 that the association was quoted $50,000 to $60,000 for the work and that the timing remains unclear.
The complex also needs a new transformer. ABC7 reported that LADWP proposed a solution requiring an above-ground facilities permit from the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering after residents received changing placement instructions.
Sources: ABC7 follow-up report — October 11 local time → · LADWP support-center information → · ABC7 original report — October 8 →