Altadena Rebuilding Begins on Palm Street

Nearly four months after the devastating Eaton Fire swept through the hills of Altadena reducing entire neighborhoods to ash, Margot Steuber stood on her cleared lot on Palm Street Monday morning to mark a hopeful milestone: the groundbreaking of what may be the first home to begin reconstruction in the burn zone.

She stood on the cleared ground as bulldozers idled in the background, and then, alongside LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, friends, neighbors, and FEMA representatives, she cut the ribbon on her new future.

“The journey was painful,” Steuber said, recalling the night of the fire. “My friend Mark and I made it through that terrible night, checking in every half hour. He helped me pack my car. The next morning, he was the one who told me: everything on Palm had burned.”

Steuber lived in a modest home on West Palm Street for 18 years in an area known by locals as “Janes Village” — a “little old dance cottage,” as she described it, filled with memories and quiet beauty. Now, with the help of her architect and a self-described glass half-full attitude, she’s building a new chapter.

“Today is the first day of my new life,” she said.

Los Angeles County Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger joined Steuber at the site for the ceremonial groundbreaking. She praised Steuber’s initiative, describing her as a homeowner of “incredible tenacity” who acted quickly after the fire to begin the rebuilding process.

“The moment we cleared her property, she already had an architect developing plans,” Barger said. “What brought us here today is Margot herself… this achievement is truly for her, her resilience and initiative.”

While only four building permits have been pulled in the fire-affected zone to date, Barger said Steuber was the first to receive one — and likely the first to break ground.

“This milestone is significant to me because it demonstrates that by working together, we can indeed make progress happen,” Barger said. She added that the county is working to reduce permit turnaround times from 56 days to 30 or fewer.

For Steuber, the design of her new home is a vision realized. “I’m extremely happy,” she said. “I have a vision and [my architect] put it into design.” Though the footprint will be similar to her previous home, she called it “a small heart,” filled with hope for the future.

Despite the destruction surrounding her, Steuber is not rebuilding alone. “I’m really glad that I’ll not be alone back here in the neighborhood,” she said. “I’ll be with similar people who will still be my community.”

Community Support and Rebuilding

“We, here in the neighborhood, are already meeting once a month, and then we exchange whatever our ideas are, what our experiences are, we support each other,” Steuber said.

Originally from Germany and having faced multiple challenges throughout her life, Steuber emphasized the importance of community during difficult times.

“Try to get as much support as possible from the Public Works, from the politicians, but also from your neighbors and from your friends,” she advised. “So, you can bring the force every day to face the influences and face this and that and whatever. But it is possible, that’s what I want to say.”

As crews prepared the foundation behind her, Steuber looked ahead to the coming months with cautious optimism. “We hope to be ready in January,” she said.

County Support for Fire Victims

Supervisor Barger noted Steuber’s resilient spirit, saying that while she didn’t plan on starting over from scratch, she now sees this as a “new opportunity, a new chapter.”

“I’m celebrating this milestone, but there’s a lot of work ahead of us,” Barger said.

According to Barger, it took Steuber about 56 days to receive rebuilding permits from the start of the fire. Her office is actively monitoring permits to ensure they get issued to property owners efficiently and will work to address any roadblocks. The supervisor pointed to the county’s One-Stop Permit Centers, opened near the Eaton and Palisades fire burn areas to help guide residents through the rebuilding process.

“We are continuing to refine how to make the permitting process go more smoothly,” Barger added. She mentioned bringing forward a motion to allow self-certification, similar to an initiative Los Angeles officials announced last week.

Barger is not currently considering waiving fees related to rebuilding due to county budget concerns and ongoing labor negotiations with SEIU.

Expediting the Rebuilding Process

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cleared fire debris off of Steuber’s property before construction began Monday.

Ciara Barnett, assistant deputy director for L.A. County Public Works, said that Steuber moved particularly fast in her rebuilding process, noting that most people take time to make decisions about interim housing and whether to rebuild.

Steuber decided on a “like-for-like rebuild with the addition of an accessory dwelling unit.” Barnett noted that using pre-approved plans may help expedite the rebuilding process.

More information about rebuilding is available at recovery.lacounty.gov/rebuilding. As of April 28, the county received 328 zoning reviews, with 164 zoning reviews cleared, 63 building plan reviews in process, and a total of four building permits issued specifically for the Eaton Fire burn area, according to the website’s permit dashboard.