For Press / Media Kit — Altadena Recovery Watch

The story in one paragraph

A year and a half after the Eaton Fire, out-of-town developers are using California's lot-split law (SB 1123) to subdivide burned single-family lots into up to 10 units each — by right, with no public hearing. At least ten subdivisions are already in L.A. County records, together turning ten burned lots into more than 80. After the same fire, the Pacific Palisades received an emergency order suspending these density laws — but it was keyed to a fire-hazard map that left most of Altadena out. Altadena got a hand-me-down, not a protection written for it. Residents are asking the Governor to protect the whole disaster area now.

In the news

Recent coverage of post-fire lot-splitting in Altadena.

NBC4 Los Angeles

"Some Altadena residents push back against multi-unit rebuilds"

NBC4 reports on Eaton Fire survivors confronting speculative multi-unit rebuilds on burned Altadena lots — and the push to pass SB 1090.

▶ Watch the story

Pasadena Now · June 17, 2026 Bill to Shield Altadena From Developers Divides the Town It Aims to Protect Sen. Pérez presents SB 1090 to a packed June 16 town council meeting; affordable-housing nonprofits warn a blanket SB 9 / SB 1123 ban could also stall their projects, and the Jan. 1, 2027 start invites a developer rush. First Assembly Housing Committee hearing June 24.
CBS Los Angeles · June 16, 2026 Eaton Fire survivors sound off at Altadena council meeting to prevent invasion of home developers Survivors packed the June 16 town council meeting demanding restrictions on developers buying burned lots for multi-unit projects; Supervisor Barger backed tougher rules.
Voices from the Burn Zone · June 15, 2026 Speak Up, Altadena: Town Council Meets Tuesday Night A call to attend the June 16 Town Council meeting on SB 9 / SB 1090.
Pasadena Now · June 12, 2026 Local Electeds Seek Protections From Density Laws Already Suspended for Palisades Officials back an SB 1090 moratorium on SB 9 / SB 1123 for Altadena; investors bought 44% of 91001 lots sold in Q3 2025.

Downloads

Media Advisory (PDF)

The full advisory — what / when / where, visuals, background, and quotes.

Download PDF

Interactive Map

Every confirmed subdivision, each linked to its L.A. County permit record.

Open the map

Call Script & Committee Call List

A 30-second phone script plus every Assembly Housing & CD and Local Government member's Capitol phone (background for coverage).

Download (Word)

Fast facts (verified)

SB 1123 allows ministerial, no-hearing subdivision of burned single-family lots into up to 10 units.
10+ subdivisions already in L.A. County records — together 80+ new lots from ten burned parcels.
Investor/corporate purchases rose from about 5% of Altadena home sales before the fire to nearly 50% after (LAist).
The Palisades' relief (Executive Order N-32-25) was tied to the fire-hazard-severity-zone map; most of Altadena's burned neighborhoods aren't mapped that way, so it was left out.
SB 1090 (the Altadena protection bill) passed the State Senate and is now before the Assembly — first hearing in Housing & Community Development on June 24, 2026.

What residents are asking for

1. Pass SB 1090 — give Altadena the same protection the Pacific Palisades already received after the same fire. SB 1090 pauses SB 1123's by-right lot-splitting in the Eaton Fire disaster area during recovery. It is a narrow, one-time exception — not a statewide change and not a precedent.

2. As a backstop for projects already filed, an emergency executive order from the Governor covering the whole declared disaster area (not just the hazard map) — the only tool that can reach subdivisions already in process.

Press contact & interviews

Media contact: Noel Minor, Altadena Recovery Watch · noelhyun@gmail.com

Spokespeople available for interview on request (contact details provided to reporters directly):

Eaton Fire survivors rebuilding beside a developer's 10- and 9-home filings — available to be photographed at their lot.
An Altadena affordable-housing developer who can explain how the lot-split laws work and why a disaster-area carve-out is pro-recovery.
Altadena Recovery Watch organizers.