LOS ANGELES — The City Council Tuesday advanced an effort to identify potential funding initiatives for new Los Angeles Fire Department stations and to repair existing facilities — a move that comes after January's wildfires highlighted the difficult conditions firefighters face.
In a unanimous vote, council members approved a motion introduced by Councilwomen Traci Park, Monica Rodriguez and Imelda Padilla one week after the wildfires erupted Jan. 7. During the crisis, LAFD officials highlighted the dilapidated conditions of some fire stations, broken-down vehicles and troubles with staffing.
A potential bond measure could help the department restore its facilities and add new stations, but that funding source would be limited to infrastructure. According to a representative from the City Administrative Office, the city could explore a bond measure or a sales tax, among other options, to aid the LAFD.
Yolanda Chavez, who leads the municipal facilities team of the CAO, said officials expect to run estimates on facility needs and explore potential taxes or bonds for a ballot measure — which would require voter approval.
According to Chavez, general obligation bonds are for public facilities to either "rehab or build," and can only be used for capital and acquisition, not for operations.
"We'd have to look at other types of measures that could fund staff and ongoing operations for those new stations," she added.
Chavez said part of the discussions will be to determine where stations are needed, the response time and potential service areas, and that other measures might be needed rather than new stations in certain areas.
On Tuesday, Rodriguez, who represents the Seventh District, which encompasses northeast San Fernando Valley communities, said the vote could help with the construction of a new fire station in Sylmar. In recent years, her district has been hit by fires such as the Sayre, La Tuna, Creek, Saddle Ridge and, most recently, the Hearst Fire.
Rodriguez called the future Sylmar fire station a "huge milestone" among all the projects that she has worked on since taking office.
Councilwoman Traci Park, who represents the 11th District, which includes the Pacific Palisades, noted that her communities have seen massive growth spurts but that has not been reflected in investments to infrastructure and fire stations.
"Simply put, we need a 21st century fire department that can tackle 21st century problems," Park said.
"Too many of our fire stations are past their original life spans ... we need to explore a ballot measure for 2026 that can be used exclusively to repair our neglected, outdated stations and to build new ones that will help our city meet the standards expected of us for the next 50 years," she added.
In a similar vote, council members also approved a study of infrastructure and maintenance needs that could benefit from a separate bond. This could produce funds to support libraries, street lights, recreation and parks facilities and the L.A. Zoo, among other things.
