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LOS ANGELES — Mayor Karen Bass is catching heat for her claims that new homes are springing up across the Pacific Palisades just months after wildfires leveled the neighborhood.

“Karen Bass is full of crap,” Pacific Palisades resident Sara Trepanier, a physician and single mom of four who lost her home to the devastating blaze in January, told The Post Tuesday.

Trepanier’s candid words come just a day after Bass proclaimed on X that “homes are under construction throughout the Palisades,” lauding her efforts to “cut red tape” on building permits and “get families home.”


  Mayor Karen Bass has characterized her efforts to rebuild Los Angeles as historic, but some residents say otherwise. ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA Mayor Karen Bass has characterized her efforts to rebuild Los Angeles as historic, but some residents say otherwise. ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA

And just a week earlier, the mayor stood outside a Palisades construction site to say that an April executive order to fast-track floorplan approvals had made historic progress towards rebuilding.

So far, 68 building permits have been issued for 52 addresses, the city says.

But that represents less than 1% of the 6,800 properties damaged or destroyed in the area – and just 20% of the building applications the city says its received.

When The Post visited the Palisades on Tuesday, significantly more properties had been cleared of debris than in previous weeks. But, roughly half of lots were still covered in burned-out ruins.

And the home Bass spoke out front of last week was the only construction standing in roughly 15 square blocks.


  Sarah Trepanier, a single mother of four who lost her Palisades home in the fire, says Mayor Bass is “full of crap.” Jared Downing/NY Post Sarah Trepanier, a single mother of four who lost her Palisades home in the fire, says Mayor Bass is “full of crap.” Jared Downing/NY Post

At an empty lot just a few blocks away, Trepanier looked over the non-remains of her home and blasted Bass for her rosy assessment of the city’s progress.

“She’s self-serving. She doesn’t really care about the Palisades,” the mother said.

Trepanier is pulling out all the stops to get her home rebuilt as fast as possible. She’s even considering putting up a stripped-down modular home that can be assembled offsite while her permits process. She still expects to wait at least six months before construction even begins.

Bass’ executive order might expedite one aspect of the permitting process, Trepanier said, but homeowners have many more hurdles to jump through before any ground is broken – including clearing debris, resurveying property, and a 39-day process of testing soil for toxins left behind by the fire fighters.

Once all that is done, property owners can then get their building plan approved with the help of the mayor’s executive order.


  Though more properties have been cleared across Pacific Palisades, much of the neighborhood remains in ruins. Jared Downing/NY Post Though more properties have been cleared across Pacific Palisades, much of the neighborhood remains in ruins. Jared Downing/NY Post

Trepanier estimates she’s on track to be the first on her block to be back in a home, and says most of her neighbors are livid about how long they have to wait to begin building again.

“Nobody has seen their permitting go through quickly except people who already started the permit process before the fire,” she said.

Around 17,000 buildings were destroyed across Southern California by a series of fires that started on Jan. 7 and burned largely unchecked across the region throughout the month.

Bass’ office has characterized its rebuilding response as historic – touting the first building permit being issued 57 days after the fires started, roughly half the time it took the first permits to be issued after the city’s last major wildfires in 2018.

“The decision to rebuild is deeply personal, and we respect every survivor’s timeline in the wake of this unprecedented disaster. When residents are ready to move forward, the City is ready to support them,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.

“Mayor Bass is committed to doing everything possible to rebuild the Palisades and get families home.”

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