In the face of the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles that have leveled more than 12,000 buildings, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to temporarily suspend existing environmental building laws to allow victims to rebuild their homes and businesses more quickly. He also called on the state Building Department to examine and identify bureaucratic steps that can be “thinned.”
“California leads the nation in environmental stewardship. I’m not gonna give that up,” Newsom told Jacob Soboroff on NBC’s Meet the Press broadcast, defining the order as the California version of the post-World War II Marshall Plan. “But one thing I won’t give into is delay. Delay is denial for people: lives, traditions, places torn [apart], torn asunder. When the fires are extinguished, victims who have lost their homes and businesses must be able to rebuild quickly and without roadblocks. The executive order I signed today will help cut permitting delays, an important first step in allowing our communities to recover faster and stronger.”
The California Environmental Quality Act, signed by then-Governor Ronald Reagan in 1970, and the California Coastal Act, also passed by Reagan in 1972 after an oil tanker accident in Santa Barbara Bay, are the two laws that regulate the construction of homes and buildings in the Golden State, requiring high-quality, environmentally friendly materials.
The new legislation signed by Newsom applies only to the construction of structures that are “in the same location” as the ones before the fires and whose height and extension do not exceed 110 percent of their original dimensions. In addition, the governor established capped prices for materials and services needed at construction sites until Jan. 7, 2026 throughout Los Angeles County.
