County Supervisors to Vote on $4 Billion Settlement, Urgent Fire Debris Removal

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will consider a historic $4 billion (plus administrative costs) settlement for childhood sexual abuse claims and take action on urgent fire debris removal measures during their public hearing meeting Tuesday, April 29, at 9:30 a.m. in Board Hearing Room 381B at Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.

The settlement recommendation, listed as item 11 on the agenda, would resolve approximately 6,800 cases alleging childhood sexual abuse against several County departments, including Probation, Children and Family Services, Parks and Recreation, Health Services, Sheriff’s and Fire departments.

A recommendation submitted by Supervisors Lindsey P. Horvath (Third District) and Kathryn Barger (Chair, Fifth District) seeks adoption of an urgency ordinance to address uncleared fire properties. The Board is asked to “Find that, as reflected in the County Health Officer’s order, dated January 15, 2025, as subsequently amended, uncontained fire ash and debris on residential properties impacted by the January 2025 Fires constitutes a present health hazard, which requires speedy nuisance abatement to address this emergency situation.”

The measure would give property owners until June 1, 2025, to obtain debris removal permits and until June 30, 2025, to complete cleanup before the County intervenes. The urgency ordinance requires a four-fifths vote for approval and covers areas affected by the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Hurst Fire, Kenneth Fire, and multiple other fires.

The Board will also receive bi-weekly emergency contracts reports related to the January 2025 Windstorm and Critical Fire Events from both the Internal Services Department and Department of Public Works, highlighting ongoing recovery efforts.

The Board will hold several public hearings, including a proposed water rate adjustment for Waterworks Districts and the Marina del Rey Water System, effective May 1, 2025. The adjustment would allow for annual rate changes over five years to account for inflation and wholesale water costs. This item requires four votes.

Other public hearings include a proposed assessment rate increase for landscape maintenance in the Sunset Pointe area (Fifth District) and the potential vacation of alleys in Florence-Firestone (Second District). The Board will also hear an appeal from the Regional Planning Commission’s denial of Project No. R2014-00461-(3) for construction of a single-family residence in the Santa Monica Mountains Planning Area.

For item 4, the Fire Chief requests that the Junior Lifeguard Program fee increase from $635 to $695 be referred back to the Department.

The Department of Public Health will seek approval to accept a $520,000 grant agreement from the California Office of Traffic Safety for the Child Passenger Safety Program, effective through September 30, 2025.

The meeting will feature presentations honoring Pope Francis with a moment of silence, Delta Airlines for their 100th anniversary, and presentation of scrolls to Dr. Garni Barkhoudarian, Dr. Frieda Jordan, and Vahe Karapetian, in honor of “Armenian History Month.”

Closed session topics include existing litigation, anticipated litigation, public employee performance evaluations, and labor negotiations.

The Board of Supervisors includes Kathryn Barger (Chair, Fifth District), Hilda L. Solis (Chair Pro Tem, First District), Holly J. Mitchell (Second District), Lindsey P. Horvath (Third District), and Janice Hahn (Fourth District).

The public can participate by telephone by calling (877) 692-8955 and entering Participant Code 4433663 starting at 9:00 a.m. Spanish speakers can listen by calling (877) 873-8017 and entering Access Code 222222. Written comments can be submitted at https://publiccomment.bos.lacounty.gov.

The meeting will be televised Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at 11:00 p.m. on KLCS. Recordings of Board meetings are available within 24-48 hours at:

http://bosvideoap.co.la.ca.us/mgasp/lacounty/homepage.asp.