Mayor Nithya Raman unveiled a plan Wednesday to support the rebuilding of Pacific Palisades and reduce the risk of the wildfires that are devastating Los Angeles.
The plan includes financial proposals and procedures strongly supported by revitalization organizations in the Palisades, including creating a “revitalization district” led by city officials and Palisades residents to oversee redevelopment and redirect Palisades-specific property taxes to local infrastructure projects. Those funds could install power lines underground, support local businesses or help residents rebuild their homes to fire-resistant standards.
Raman, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, has called for a continued rollback of the redevelopment approval process, including creating a comprehensive set of pre-approved, fireproof building plans.
Raman announced his plans amid a burned lot north of Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades. A few inquisitive residents gathered in the empty dirt lot where the home used to sit, now adorned with “Nithya Raman for Mayor” signs.
“The fire that happened here last January, the devastation to our city and the Palisades community was unimaginable,” Raman said. Now, residents are faced with “insurance companies pushing families to the point of despair, permits taking months to clear, homes stained with ash and leading families to feel like they are being forced to return …
His plan includes many of the demands that Palisades residents have repeated for months at public events and social media, such as keeping the city's reservoirs full during fires and clearing burning brush from surrounding wildlands.
To prepare for future fires, Raman plans to build a more reliable emergency communications system and hold the Los Angeles Fire Department accountable by publishing neighborhood-level performance data.
For Raman, the wildfire program is an effort to get out into the open on an issue that has defined his two leading rivals: Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who launched a campaign after his home burned in the 2025 Palisades fire, and incumbent Karen Bass, whose handling of the disaster has become a political scandal.
With many fire survivors still struggling to find money to rebuild and maintain their home insurance, Raman called on the city to reverse the denial of insurance claims for survivors and implement clear standards to help homeowners reduce the chances of their homes burning and, as a result, remaining unable to pay for insurance. These insurance standards, the plan says, should include best practices defined by insurance industry research.
That industry study notably includes a recommendation to remove all flammable materials within the first five meters of homes in high-risk areas, including trees, plants, lawns and wooden fences.
Raman has joined his colleagues in an effort to roll back these guideline requirements in areas that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection deems to be at high fire risk.
During a recent televised debate, Raman sat largely on the sidelines as Bass and Pratt traded wildfire scenarios. But he has faced criticism in the council in recent days for the wildfire safety measures he proposed last year.
One of Raman's measures, introduced shortly after the January 2025 fire, proposed shutting down outdoor grills during fire emergencies. Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, who voted with the rest of the council to vet the proposal last year, called the policy a “carne asada” ban and said it unfairly targets “certain communities” at a council meeting last week.
Raman voted with other council members at the meeting to strike the measure.
It did not stop the wave of criticism against Raman, however. Developer and 2022 mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, who has yet to endorse a mayoral race, called the shutdown “probably the most circular idea I've ever heard.” Pratt teased the proposal by posting a video of his X cooking outside, with the caption “COME GET YOU.”
“I'm not trying to ban backyard grills,” Raman said at his event on Wednesday. “But I think, yes, in the areas with the highest fire severity, on red flag days — high risk days, which happen about seven days a year — I think there should be a conversation about how we can reduce the risk of wildfires in Los Angeles.”
