….Well, as predicted by every sane person, the politicians have failed to follow through with their promised expediting of the permitting process. Of the 720 structures destroyed, only two have gotten permits to rebuild. One suspects that Newsom's promise to rebuild the area better than ever actually means that he and the Democrats want to reshape it into their version of utopia.
The slow pace of reconstruction after January’s fire disaster has touched off a political tempest in Malibu, prompting the resignation of the city’s volunteer rebuilding “ambassador” and his suggestion — along with some other rebuilding activists — that Mayor Marianne Riggins “consider gracefully stepping down.”
The controversy brings to a boil a conflict that has been simmering for months over what Malibu residents say are overly onerous rebuilding requirements. Some 720 structures in the city burned down in January, but just 69 have received initial plan approval and only two have obtained building permits, allowing them to begin construction.
That painfully slow progress provided the backdrop Monday, as rebuilding ambassador Abe Roy told the City Council he was resigning. “Our work is far from done,” Roy told the City Council. “Two permits issued in nearly ten months is an abomination by any standard.”
Liberals believe that words trump reality on the ground, so it should surprise nobody that the torrent of comforting words and promises has resulted in no actual results. The Malibu reconstruction has been and will remain a version of the California High Speed Rail program, which has amounted to nothing but pretty words and promises and a whole lotta graft opportunities.
The end result will be a lot of wealthy Democratic Party donors getting wealthier, and citizens holding the bag.
The incongruity of both rich and poor areas struggling to rebuild after wildfires is nothing new. Just yesterday, The Times published a remarkable investigative series that showed how a middle-class neighborhood on flat land in Santa Rosa rebuilt many more homes than both rich and poor communities in other parts of the state.
In Malibu, some residents complain that they are afraid to even put their plans before the city’s building and safety department because of the demands for repeated fine tuning and expensive technical studies. Homeowners have been asked to address slope challenges, soil stability, septic system functionality, along with water flow and street access for fire prevention.
There are roughly 600 burnt properties, including the family ranch house where I grew up in Carbon Canyon, which we had planned to sell sometime this year. (We have no reconstruction plans pending before the city.)
…. Newsom has his own version of Build Back Better, and the results are likely to be similar. Biden famously committed tens of billions of dollars to building out EV infrastructure, but what Americans got was 7 charging stations. Grand plans were made to connect rural areas to high-speed internet, and not one home was connected. It is all vaporwave, with a lot of money funneled to friends of the Democrats.
It's striking, but not surprising, that middle-class regions have a far better record of rebuilding than either end of the Bell Curve of income. Poorer areas depend more on government aid, and wealthier areas are more inclined to utopian dreams that don't mesh with the reality on the ground. Middle-class individuals tend to be more practical and cautious of government promises, so they often take matters into their own hands.
That's one of the reasons why regional governments, which often set development policies, work tirelessly to spread around "affordable housing." It is an effective way to gain control over local governments. Since the US Department of Transportation ties highway funding to regional governance, big-government advocates have found a way to undermine many middle-class suburbs. If you hear some activist pushing "affordable housing" in your area, fight them as if your community's life depends on it, because it does.
