The Los Angeles Times was ripped online after publishing a story saying a home had been “rebuilt” in the Pacific Palisades since the fire, despite records showing the permit was first submitted two months before the blaze broke out.
The Times ran the piece Saturday under the headline, “The first home has been rebuilt in the wake of the Palisades Fire.” The story reported that a two-story showcase home by developer Thomas James Homes (TJH) had received its certificate of occupancy from Los Angeles County. Shortly after the article went up, users on X accused the outlet of “lying.”
Former District Coalitions Director and U.S. House Communications Director Phil Hardy blasted the post, writing, “It’s not even true. It’s just all an absolute disgrace.”
“Plans were submitted on Nov 8 2024. Not a fire rebuild, just a developer spec from 2024,” former reality star and vocal advocate of the Pacific Palisades Spencer Pratt wrote.
Another user who fired back at the outlet was Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, who called the piece “pure propaganda.”
“If I carried water for the ruling party like this when I was Online Editor for the Daily49er, I would have been fired. It isn’t a rebuilt home, it is a totally different 3x larger development permitted a month before the fire. The fire saved demolition time,” Luckey added.
“This LA Times article is an example of writing to manipulate rather than inform. Interesting that @jflem9 wrote about people trying to rebuild after the fires, but this featured home was permitted before the fires. The promise of ‘Helping those affected [sic] by the fires is top priority’ still hasn’t led to a post-fire home being rebuilt. A curious journalist would ask questions that inevitably lead to one conclusion: regulations make it near impossible to build housing in LA,” author Andy Boenau wrote.
Democrat Loss Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Friday that the city officially been issued its Certificate of Occupancy to the TJH residency.
“The Palisades community has been through an unimaginable year, and my heart breaks for every family that won’t be able to be home this holiday season. But today is an important moment of hope,” Bass said. “With more and more projects nearing completion across Pacific Palisades, the City of Los Angeles remains committed to expediting every aspect of the rebuilding process, until every family is back home.”
The Times did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
TJH’s Chief Executive Officer Jamie Mead added a statement in the press release, saying that “rebuilding the Palisades has been a shared commitment from day one,” before noting that their six-month “rebuild” is ultimately about “helping families return home as quickly and safely as possible.”
Records from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) show the permit application was first submitted in November 2024. Throughout that month, the status history notes that corrections were issued, quality review was completed and building plans were picked up on Nov. 25, 2024.
A 2025 submission wasn’t filed until March, when the applicant returned to address corrections, and the plan check was officially approved by April.
TJH did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
The Palisades Fire, which broke out during the first week of January, quickly spread throughout the community on Jan. 7, ripping through 23,000 acres, destroying 6,837 structures, damaging another 973 and ultimately killing 12 people. Survivors told Republican senators during a Nov. 13 field hearing that many residents were essentially left to die.
While Democrats initially attempted to blame the fire on climate change, officials later arrested 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht on Oct. 8. A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California revealed the Palisades Fire was a continuation of the Lachman Fire, a smaller fire that had broken out roughly six days prior.
A week after the fire, on Jan. 13, Bass issued Emergency Executive Order 1 to aid rebuilding and recovery efforts. The order, later revised in March, aimed to “suspend other state laws applicable to rebuilding or restoring structures in the wildfire disaster areas” as an attempt to cut red tape.
But by Jan. 24, when President Donald Trump met with Palisades Fire victims, residents told him they were struggling to clear their lots and were being forced to wait for city approval. Trump was seen snapping at Bass, demanding she allow residents to handle their own property if they wished, instead of waiting on permits and sign-offs from the city or state.
According to Bass, more than 1,200 rebuilding plans have been approved for over 600 addresses in the Palisades, and more than 1,000 permits have been issued for roughly 515 addresses. However, residents decried the process’ slow pace and steep cost, with some previously stating total permit fees could run as high as $70,000, according to the Westside Current.
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