The Ordinance No. 188985 waives permitting and clearance fees associated with wildfire rebuild or repair projects up to 110 percent of the area of the damaged or destroyed  structure, including:

• LADBS building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permit fees.
• LADBS Plan-Check Fees.
• LAFD hydrant and access review fees, fire/life safety plan review fees, inspection and re-inspection fees, expedited or off-hour fire/life safety plan review and/or inspection fees.
• Arts development fee.
• Department of City Planning fees for sign-off and clearance requests, surcharges for automated systems, and General Plan Maintenance fees..
• Permit fees for tree replacements, relocations or removals and street tree inspection clearances.
• Industrial wastewater permit application fees.
• Low Impact Development plan check fees.
• Department of Public Works, Bureau of Engineering permit and clearance related fees.
• Tenant relocation assistance fees and related clearance fees.
• Fees for enforcement of housing covenants.
• Department of Transportation assessment, transportation demand management compliance and monitoring, condition clearance, and permit issuance fees.
• Park fees.

The following fees are not waived by Ordinance No. 188985:

• Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) School Impact/Developer Fees. In accordance with the CA Education Code, Section 17626 and 17620(a)(1)(C), School Impact/Developer fees will be assessed for reconstruction projects when the area of the structure is increased by more than 500 square feet.
• Earthquake Instrumentation Fee for the Strong Motion Instrumentation Program (SMIP) per California Public Resources Code Section 2705.
• California Building Standards Commission Surcharge (Green Building Fee) per California Health and Safety Code Section 18931.6.
• Fees charged by the City of Los Angeles for permits related to the rebuilding of structures above 110 percent of the area of the original damaged or destroyed structure.

Mayor Karen Bass issued Emergency Executive Order No. 7 to provide immediate financial relief by directing city departments to stop collecting plan-check and permit fees for residents rebuilding after the wildfires. The City Council and Mayor subsequently approved Ordinance No. 188985 to waive permitting and clearance fees associated with work performed to rebuild structures or buildings damaged or destroyed as a result of the Wildfires of January 2025. The waiver applies only to the person or party who owned the property at the time of the Wildfires of January 2025, and only the amount attributable to rebuild or repair up to 110 percent of the area of the damaged or destroyed structure, as measured by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. The Ordinance provides an aggregate cap of $90 million in fees waived for three years, and it does not waive non-City fees, so please check with your plan check engineer to confirm which fees are eligible for the waiver.

1. The City Clerk's office will assign a number, date stamp and log in your claim. They will then send it to Building and Safety, Financial Services for review.
2. Financial Services staff will also log it in. The refund will be forwarded to the applicable division for refund recommendation. For example, if the refund is for a building permit, requests will be sent to our Plan Check Engineers and our Building Inspectors. Our Department staff will review the refund requests and make appropriate recommendations. These recommendations will be sent back to Financial Services.
3. Financial Services staff will complete the audit on the claim, make the necessary calculations and set up either the refund or the denial letter. When completed, the refund or denial letter will be mailed to the claimant.

If you disagree on how the code is being applied to your specific situation, discuss the matter with the Inspector or the Inspector's immediate supervisor.

If the issue is not resolved, you have the right to Appeal to the Board of Building and Safety Commissioners. Further information on Appeal rights are on the Order.

Exceptions for products without proper approval are considered by the Structural Plan Check Division. See your plan checker and plan check supervisor regarding the process and fees required for an administrative approval.

The aim of LADBS Code Enforcement is to preserve and enhance the safety, appearance and economic stability of our community through the diligent enforcement of applicable ordinances and land use regulations. It maintains Los Angeles Municipal Codes (LAMC) by issuing an Order to Comply (OTC) to the property owner and any other person in control of a property who violates or causes or permits another person to violate any provision or requirement of the LAMC.

The OTC is essentially a warning letter with a time frame for voluntary compliance. The OTC describes the violation(s), instructions to remedy the violation(s) and warnings of possible penalty fees and criminal prosecution. Violation of the LAMC is a misdemeanor and code enforcement cases must therefore be prepared for the possibility of being resolved in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Read more about LADBS Code Enforcement.

“ASHRAE Guideline 0.2-2015 Commissioning Process for Existing Systems and Assemblies”
requires the following items as part of Retro-Commissioning:

• Define Owner’s EBCx goals and objectives.
• Select the Initial EBCx Team.
• Collect and analyze historical energy use.
• Study the building and its operational characteristics with regard to energy use, occupant health and productivity, and equipment and structural reliability and longevity.
• Develop CFR
• Review building documentation such as building plans, specifications, O&M manuals, and maintenance records.
• Perform diagnostic monitoring and establish trend logs to documents building performance for several weeks.
• Visually inspect systems for correct installation and operation.
• Perform simple repairs required to keep equipment operating, reduce energy use, and allow more accurate data gathering such as trend logging.
• Perform functional tests.
• Identify potential modifications that will reduce energy use and/or cost (includes a descriptions of the measure, estimated energy savings, cost estimate, and simple payback).
• Perform an engineering and economic analysis of potential modifications.
• Prepare a rank-ordered list of appropriate modifications.
• Implement recommended modifications.
• Prepare the draft EBCx Report, which includes the Implementation Report.
• Revise O&M procedures to improve efficiency and equipment longevity.
• Update facility personnel training programs for current and revised systems. Implement retraining of O&M staff as required.
• Transition to Ongoing Commissioning (OCx) with the OCx Plan. Ensure persistence of benefits with measurement and verification (M&V) strategies such as trend logging and monitoring.
• Prepare the final EBCx Report, including the Lessons Learned Report.

Definitions:
CFR: Current Facility Requirements
EBCx: Existing-Building Commissioning
M&V: Measurement and Verification
OCx: Ongoing Commissioning
O&M: Operation and Maintenance

”ASHRAE Guideline 0.2-2015 Commissioning Process for Existing Systems and Assemblies” requires the following items as part of the Audit:

• Convene kick-off meeting to form team. Develop a procedural plan.
• Collect and analyze historical energy use.
• Study the building and its operational characteristics with regard to energy use.
• Identify potential modifications that will reduce energy use and/or cost (includes a description of the measure, estimated energy savings, cost estimate, and simple payback).
• Perform an engineering and economic analysis of potential modifications.
• Prepare a rank-ordered list of appropriate modifications.
• Prepare a report to document the analysis process and results.

The BBSC consists of five citizens appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. The BBSC is granted the authority, by the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) and by the City Charter, to hear many kinds of appeals related to Building ordinances.

Read more about the BBSC.