LA County Board

17. Bridge Fire Disaster Recovery\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisor Barger: Instruct the Director of\nthe Office of Emergency Management to activate the Recovery Section of the\nCounty Emergency Operations Center, establish the following recovery task\nforces - Economic Recovery, Watershed Hazard Assessment, Health and\nSocial Services, Debris Removal and Rebuild, and Natural and Cultural\nResources, and coordinate with County Department Heads to take all\nnecessary actions to effectuate the recovery phase for the impacted\ncommunities; find that the actions, projects, and repairs needed to respond to\nthis emergency, as described, are exempt from the California Environmental\nQuality Act (CEQA); and instruct County Department Heads to take the\nfollowing actions, and any other specific actions necessary to recovery, within\nthe umbrella of the Recovery Section:\nInstruct the Directors of Public Health, Public Works, and the Office of\nEmergency Management, and the Fire Chief, to conduct an evaluation of\nthe ability to expedite the safe removal of fire debris, including Household\nHazardous Waste;\nInstruct the Directors of Public Health, Mental Health, and Public Social\nServices to conduct a needs assessment and evaluate the\nimplementation of public health, mental health, and eligible social service\nresources to mitigate the negative effects experienced by those affected\nby the Bridge Fire;\nInstruct the Executive Director of Los Angeles County Development\nAuthority, the Directors of Consumer and Business Affairs and Aging\nand Disabilities, to conduct an assessment on the ability to provide\neligible housing and community-based services to mitigate the loss\nexperienced by those impacted by the Bridge Fire;\nInstruct the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to suspend all fees for\ncopies of real property records recorded with the Registrar-Recorder/\nCounty Clerk for any individuals who lost such records as a result of the\nBridge Fire, and direct the Chief Executive Officer to reimburse the\nRegistrar-Recorder/County Clerk for said suspension of fees;\nRequest the Assessor and instruct the Treasurer and Tax Collector, to\ninform affected property owners of the importance of filing a Misfortune\nand Calamity Claim, including the impact to the deferral of the first\ninstallment of property taxes due December 10, 2024;\nInstruct the Treasurer and Tax Collector to ensure that payment is\ndeferred without penalty or interest for those affected by the Bridge Fire\nuntil the Assessor reassess property in accordance with State law;\nRequest the Assessor to report back to the Board in writing in 90 days on\nthe number of affected property owners who filed Misfortune and\nCalamity Claims, as well as the number of affected property owners that\nrequested a cancellation of late payment penalties from the Treasurer\nand Tax Collector;\nInstruct the Director of Consumer and Business Affairs to conduct\noutreach to residents impacted by the disaster and provide information\nregarding price gouging and consumer best practices, and tenant\nprotections;\nInstruct the Director of Regional Planning to identify solid waste disposal\nfacilities with active conditional use permits that allow for an expansion in\noperations, including modifications to permits and restrictions, which will\nallow for increased capacity and hours of operation, and authorize such\nexpansions, to the extent allowed by CEQA, in the County, to ensure that\nrecovery efforts are not constrained by existing pressures on solid waste\ndisposal, recovery, and rebuilding efforts in the County; and\nDirect the Chief Executive Officer, in conjunction with the Directors of\nPublic Works and Regional Planning, and the Fire Chief, to build online\nresources, specific to the impacted communities, that provide\nstep-by-step instructions on the recovery and rebuilding process;\nFind that public interest and necessity demand immediate action to respond to\nthe emergency conditions created by the Bridge Fire (Fire) including the repair\nand restoration of roads, bridges, roadway drainage, flood control facilities and\nother public infrastructure impacted by the Fire, the removal of sediment from\ndebris basins, debris dams, and major dams, including Morris, San Gabriel,\nSan Dimas, and any additional dams, which may be impacted by the fires, the\nconstruction of rail and timber structures, and other temporary and permanent\ndebris mitigation measures and structures, and any other directly related and\nimmediate action required to address those conditions for the public health and\nsafety, as determined by the Director of Public Works, and that the emergency\nconditions will not permit the delay that would result if such actions were\nperformed pursuant to a contract procured through a competitive solicitation for\nbids;\nAuthorize and instruct the Director of Public Works, on behalf of the County,\nand acting as the Road Commissioner, the Chief Engineer of the County Flood\nControl District, and County Engineer, to carry out the following emergency\nactivities:\nCoordinate with the National Forest Service, San Bernardino County,\nand any other property owner, as needed, to restore and modify\ndamaged infrastructure, including the construction of temporary and\npermanent debris mitigation measures, required as a result of the fire;\nTrim or remove fire-damaged trees adjacent to any County roads,\nbridges, flood control facilities and water supply facilities within the fire\narea, if any of the trees are within Significant Ecological Areas, work\nwith the Director of Regional Planning to secure permits or exemptions, if\napplicable, for said work, with particular emphasis on addressing\nimpacted Joshua Trees and Oak Trees;\nRestore and/or repair roads, bridges, roadway drainage, flood control\nfacilities and other public infrastructure impacted by the Fire, remove\nsediment from debris basins, debris dams, and major dams, including\nMorris, San Gabriel, San Dimas and any additional dams which may be\nimpacted by the Fire, construct rail and timber structures and other\ntemporary and permanent debris mitigation measures and structures,\nand take any other directly related and immediate action required to\naddress the conditions created by the fires for the public’s health and\nsafety as determined by the Director of Public Works;\nConduct outreach to impacted residents and provide engineering advice\non mitigation of impacts from potential debris flows;\nAnalyze and map debris flow hazards, and develop strategies and action\nplans for potential mudflow events, including maintenance and road\nclosure plans;\nAcquire necessary rights-of-way and permits, and enter into agreements\nincluding, but not limited to, cooperative agreements with the United\nStates Forest Service, as necessary to carry out the emergency actions\nin this motion;\nSubmit grant applications and conduct any necessary actions, including\nnegotiating and executing grant agreements and signing requests for\nreimbursements to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the\nFederal Emergency Management Agency, the California Department of\nTransportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and the California\nOffice of Emergency Services in order to secure Federal and State\nfunds for emergency infrastructure repairs and rehabilitation, and debris\nflow protection measures, as necessary;\nFully utilize existing resources, and apply increased resources as\nnecessary, to assist property owners in the same removal of Household\nHazardous Waste and the reconstruction of structures damaged or\ndestroyed by the Fire, and assistance by the Departments of Regional\nPlanning, Public Health, Fire, and Public Works shall include streamlined\ncoordination, plan review, and permit issuance for project compliance\nwith the County's building codes and all building requirements, with\nassistance to also include enhanced community outreach to affected\nproperty owners through local information workshops and one-on-one\nconsultation;\nAmend, supplement, and extend for up to two years, existing professional\nand support service contracts, such as geotechnical, design, inspection,\nenvironmental and survey, by up to an additional $5,000,000 each, not to\nexceed a maximum additional aggregate amount of $50,000,000 to\nsupport the Department of Public Works' emergency recovery activities,\nand up to an additional $5,000,000 each, with a not-to-exceed maximum\nadditional aggregate amount of $25,000,000 for other existing support\nservice contracts, such as field security, debris removal and disposal,\nhaul-truck services, and operated heavy equipment contracts, to support\nemergency repairs to County facilities and construction of temporary\nand permanent debris mitigation measures required as a result of the\nBridge Fire;\nAmend and supplement the existing road emergency repair contracts by\nup to an additional aggregate amount of $5,000,000 to support\nemergency repairs to County facilities and construction of temporary\nand permanent debris mitigation measures required as a result of the\nBridge Fire;\nPerform any of the actions described in this motion by force account,\nand negotiate and amend existing emergency and other\nas-needed/on-call contracts, in an amount not to exceed an aggregate\ntotal of $30,000,000, for the necessary equipment, services, and\nsupplies in order to carry out any of the actions by the Department of\nPublic Works described in this motion; and\nWork with Southern California Edison to expedite and establish a\nstreamlined permitting process to install temporary power solutions and\nassociated infrastructure within the public rights-of-way and on County\nproperties;\nAuthorize the Director of Public Works to perform force account work,\nnegotiate and amend existing emergency and as-needed contracts on behalf of\nthe County, in an amount not to exceed an aggregate total of $30,000,000 for\nthe necessary equipment, services, and supplies in order to repair road\nfacilities damaged by the Bridge Fire; and\nInstruct the Director of Public Works to report back to the Board in writing on a\nregular basis, as required by Section 22050 of the Public Contract Code on\nwhat actions have been taken and verify the need to continue these emergency\nactions, with such report backs taking place until such time that the undertaken\nactions have been terminated; and work with the Director of Public Health to\nidentify and streamline permitting for necessary actions to repair existing septic\nsystems and water wells. (24-4232)