As the newly appointed chief recovery officer for the city of Los Angeles, real estate developer and civic leader Steve Soboroff is getting to work on rebuilding all that’s been lost from the fires.

In overseeing the city’s recovery efforts at the hands of the devastating wildfires which burned tens of thousands of acres, Soboroff’s job is “to maximize resources and minimize time,” Mayor Karen Bass said at a press conference in the Pacific Palisades last week.

Soboroff worked as a senior advisor to former Mayor Richard Riordan during the Northridge Earthquake and was also the former president of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. He was also responsible for the development of Playa Vista and the Park at Cross Creek in Malibu.

His top priority is getting residents back in their homes and people back to work, Soboroff said.

“I only have two clients,” Soboroff said at the press conference. “One is the people who live here … who lost their homes … and my other client is the people that work here.

“Every one of them has an individual path back, and there’s a lot of mental health issues that go on through that path back (and) there are financial issues and we want to help each one,” he added.

The path to recovery will begin with Phase I, which involves the Environmental Protection Agency going to affected areas and removing hazardous materials such as lithium batteries, asbestos, paints, cleaners and pesticides.

Phase II is debris removal and lot clearance.

Soboroff said these phases can be on individual timelines, so someone may be in phase two sooner than someone else.

“(For) some, (Phase I) is going to be done in a week and some of it may be done in up to three months,” he said.  

To access free debris removal services for Phase II, residents should fill out a “Right of Entry Form” with the city of Los Angeles. Residents can also opt out of this service and choose to hire their own approved contractor for the work.

Resources for those affected

The city will also be launching an app which will allow residents to input their addresses and see real-time, live imaging of their homes with environmental information, Soboroff said.

Awaiting city approval as of Thursday, the app will feature an FAQ page based on responses to surveys of the community. There will also be resources and guides to navigating things such as loan payments.

“We’re going to research for those people every possible opportunity and round table with the folks with insurance companies so (people) don’t have to worry,” Soboroff said.

In addition to this online platform, the city also opened a “one stop” center at the UCLA Research Park – a university research hub being developed where the Westside Pavilion shopping mall used to be located. The center provides resources for financial assistance, debris removal, rebuilding, housing, document replacement, locating pets, tax relief, mental health support and more.

Wraparound assistance is key when the scope of the devastation is so vast.

“The grief and the pain and the denial and the anger that everybody has been feeling is palpable as you go through the area and see the amount of loss,” Bass said. “(It) has been devastating.”

Bass remains confident that federal funding will come through to support these recovery initiatives, noting that she has been in close communication with President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.

Additionally, the mayor is grateful for the $2.5 billion in relief funding from Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Prevention and standards

Amid the rebuilding process, Soboroff made clear that diligence would be paramount.

“We are not going to rebuild to have this happen again. We are going to rebuild with materials dated 2030, even though it’s 2025. We’re going to make mandates of hardening landscape on different kinds of materials,” Soboroff said, adding that attics will not be allowed in reconstructed homes.

Mansionization and changing the character of a neighborhood will also be prohibited in the rebuilding process.

To ensure standards are met, Soboroff said the city will be looking at all possibilities for gap funding. For example, he wants to build underground utilities and noted that certain funds may only cover the cost of building out the utilities but not the additional costs for them being underground.

Soboroff is confident in his ability to speed the process along.

“It’s about bringing back a community…There will be a Fourth of July parade in Pacific Palisades this year. There will be a 5k. We’re not messing around here,” Soboroff said.