New Data Tool Maps Altadena’s Slow Rebuild as Forum Tackles Barriers to Recovery

Of the nearly 6,000 Altadena residential properties significantly damaged in the January 2025 Eaton Fire, only 23 had completed all rebuilding and repairs as of December 2025, according to a data dashboard that the racial justice research organization Catalyst California will present at a community forum Thursday evening in Pasadena.

The dashboard, called “Red Tape to Recovery,” was developed in partnership with Dena Rise Up!, a community coalition. It draws on data from the Los Angeles County Assessor and the county’s Electronic Permitting and Inspections Portal to track the repair status, sale status, and environmental hazards of damaged residential properties across Altadena.

The tool will anchor a panel discussion on permitting backlogs, environmental safety, tenants’ issues, and community land trusts at the Flintridge Center.

The forum is part of the Let’s Talk, Let’s Listen community series organized by Pasadenans Organizing for Progress, known as POP!, a Pasadena-based community organization, along with Catalyst California, Flintridge Center, and a coalition of partner organizations.

According to Catalyst California’s analysis, only four in 10 owners of significantly damaged properties — those with at least one structure sustaining 26% or more damage — had applied for or received permits to begin construction. More than half of both owner-occupied and renter-occupied damaged properties had no permit applications filed.

The data highlights stark disparities between West and East Altadena, divided by Lake Avenue. More than half of single-family homes in West Altadena were significantly damaged or destroyed, compared to about one-third in East Altadena, according to Catalyst California. Nearly half of multifamily properties in West Altadena — 47% — suffered significant damage, versus 14% in East Altadena. West Altadena had served for decades as a refuge for Black families shut out of other neighborhoods by redlining, according to Catalyst California’s report.

Insurance shortfalls compound the delays. Catalyst California estimates that replacing a destroyed 1,500-square-foot home would cost roughly $750,000 at current building rates of $500 per square foot. The average Altadena home insurance coverage was $607,000 as of 2023, according to data from the California Department of Insurance cited in the report — a gap of more than $140,000 before temporary housing costs.

Lead contamination poses another barrier. According to the dashboard’s environmental data, nearly half of significantly damaged single-family homes sit in high-lead areas, defined as locations with average lead concentrations at or above 80 milligrams per kilogram. In East Altadena, 79% of significantly damaged multifamily homes are in high-lead grids. Eaton Fire Residents United, a community-driven coalition, tested 50 intact homes that had been remediated; six in 10 remained uninhabitable due to elevated lead or asbestos, according to the group.

Thursday’s panel features three speakers. Nicole Buhles, a member of the SoCal NOMA Executive Board and the Altadena Earthseed Community Land Trust, will discuss community land trusts as a strategy to counter speculative displacement. The land trust had acquired nearly 20 properties, zoned for up to 40 units of affordable housing, by early 2026, according to the Architect’s Newspaper.

Dr. Katie Clark, co-founder of the Altadena Tenants Union, will address renters’ challenges. Clark, a historian with a doctorate from the University of Oxford and an elected trustee of the Altadena Library District, co-founded the union after her apartment was destroyed in the fire. The group organized to address displacement, rent hikes, and lease terminations affecting Altadena renters, according to the organization’s statements.

Dr. Nicole Maccalla, director of data science and educational outreach for Eaton Fire Residents United, will speak on environmental safety. Maccalla, a senior lecturer at USC’s Rossier School of Education who holds a doctorate from UCLA, has led citizen science initiatives documenting contamination in standing homes and presented findings at university seminars.

Speculative property purchases add urgency to the discussion. More than 56% of 241 Altadena lots sold through late September 2025 went to corporate entities, according to an analysis by the advocacy organization SAJE shared with LAist, compared to 10% during the same period the year before.

More recent data from the Los Angeles Times, published this week, found that 33 new homes had been completed in the Eaton Fire zone as of late March 2026, with more than 1,000 under construction. The average time from application to building permit in Altadena stretched to about five months, the Times reported. The county has set up a one-stop permit center on Woodbury Road in Altadena and deployed an AI-powered plan review tool to speed the process.

Additional forum sponsors include the NAACP Pasadena Branch, My Tribe Rise, the Pasadena Community Job Center, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and the Clergy Community Coalition, according to event materials.

The forum takes place Thursday, April 9, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Flintridge Center, 236 W. Mountain St., Suite 117, Pasadena. Admission is free. The next event in the series is planned for April 29 at 5:30 p.m. at the Altadena Main Library, 600 E. Mariposa St.

“POP! wants to hold spaces that allow the community to have hard conversations as we take this rebuilding journey to learn and educate us all,” the organization said in materials for the series.