Posted on 06/18/2026 5:48:58 AM PDT by Libloather
Anger and anxiety filled a packed town hall Tuesday as hundreds of Altadena residents pushed back against proposals that could transform single-family neighborhoods devastated by the Eaton Fire.
Nearly 450 people attended the meeting, where residents learned that 49% of properties sold in the burn zone since the wildfire have been purchased by developers, a revelation that drew an audible gasp from the crowd.
The debate centers on California housing laws, including SB 9 and SB 1123, which can allow developers to build up to 10 housing units, as high as three stories, on a single residential lot.
Residents warned that increased density could strain water supplies, electrical infrastructure, parking and evacuation routes while permanently changing the character of Altadena.
“We are a single-family residential community who lost everything and now we’re losing our community,” one resident said during public testimony.
Another speaker called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to intervene.
“You got to push Newsom to do something,” the resident said. “We need more from him.”
The meeting’s primary focus was Senate Bill 1090, known as the “Keep Altadena Land in Altadena Hands Act,” introduced by State Sen. Sasha Renee Perez.
The proposal would create a five-year moratorium on state density laws such as SB 9 and SB 1123 in designated Altadena ZIP codes, aiming to protect fire-damaged properties from outside corporate real estate speculators.
Despite the intense discussion, the Altadena Town Council did not vote on the measure or take an official position during the Tuesday meeting.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
More fire news -
Accused Palisades Fire starter’s attorney says client is ‘a scapegoat’ as Angelenos blame Karen Bass for blaze
Fury erupts as Karen Bass avoids the witness stand in Palisades Fire trial
https://nypost.com/2026/06/08/us-news/karen-bass-wont-testify-in-pacific-palisades-fire-trial/
Yeah, vote them out. That’ll do it.
/sarcasm
You get the government you deserve.
So how did we get to this point?
Did a lot of homeowners sell their properties to developers? Did they decide not to rebuild? Was their insurance coverage inadequate? So they couldn’t rebuild as it was before? So they decided to sell it?
Gee, ya think this is some sort of a conspiracy? /s
Great questions.
Probably had inadequate coverage and didn’t have the money to rebuild. Takes too much time, money, and effort to rebuild. They took the easy way out.
Apparently they keep the people who did this in office, or at the very least, allow those people to cheat their way into remaining in office.
No use being furious when you won’t stand up and fight these political criminals.
Spencer unavailable?
The answers to all these questions would of course be Yes.
In the world we THOUGHT we lived in, our homeowners insurance would adequately cover reconstruction, and there would not be an artificially created market for sale of the properties to ‘developers’ of grotesque, high density ‘housing’ that is destroying just about every community in California. Further, the processes by which one would go about securing a permit to rebuild would not be so wildly byzantine. The state laws regarding ‘affordable housing’ were never actually intended to help people, save for a few who found a way to make obscene amounts of money with the slobbering help of compromised politicians and bureaucrats (and our tax dollars, which are used to underwrite financing costs). I’ve worked in the belly of the beast in both the private and public sectors for over 40 years, and know most of what I talk about on this subject. It’s a huge scam, from top to bottom.
And how many of these people will march right back to the polls and vote DEMORAT?
We all said this is exactly what would happen. The fools kept on voting Democrat right up to the point that the Democrats let their homes burn down and then prevented them from rebuilding so they could stuff a million Mexicans into the same land. I wonder if they’ll figure it out now. Suckers.
....YOU MEAN “decided” after being stonewalled on rebuilding for over a year with mortgage payments still due... MAYBE that had something to do with having to sell to even survive and save a slice of equity after having to clear and clean up post fire or be fined by that “efficient” govt bagman.... ymmv
“They took the easy way out.”
Unless they were independently wealthy or had no mortgage obligations remaining they took the only way out...
Most of the burned out Altadena residents were middle class and did not have piles of cash to burn waiting for their homes to be rebuilt.
They’ll be lucky to get Mexicans. More likely Chinese, Somalians, Haitians or muslims.
Well, then BRIBE him, like the developers do.
That's how our Republic works!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.