The short version
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Mayor Karen Bass and developer Rick Caruso held a press conference at Caruso's Palisades Village shopping center to promote progress on Executive Directive 19, the mayor's April order to speed up permits for homes and businesses. The headline item was Power Ready LA, a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) effort that the mayor's office says will lower upfront utility costs for eligible housing and commercial projects. The city also highlighted that pre-approved single-family home plans, first created for fire rebuilding, are now available citywide.
For LA agents, the practical question is simple: will a lot, teardown or new-construction deal inside city limits move faster than it did a year ago? Parts of the answer are yes. Other parts are still unproven.
The backstory: why permits and power hookups became the bottleneck
Building a home in Los Angeles means passing through several city departments. Building and Safety (LADBS) checks the plans against building codes, City Planning checks zoning, the Fire Department checks fire rules, and LADWP has to design and install the electrical service before anyone can move in. Each step has its own queue.
The January 2025 Palisades fire put that system under pressure. Cal Fire counted more than 6,800 structures damaged, as reported by Calo News. In July 2025, Bass signed Executive Directive 13, which created a pre-approved standard plan pilot for fire rebuilds: a library of home designs the city reviews once, so owners can skip most of the design and plan check work.
The power side was a separate problem. In July 2025, Councilmember Nithya Raman, seconded by Bob Blumenfield, introduced a motion asking LADWP to report on how long new developments wait for service. The council adopted it in September 2025, and the file, Council File 25-0751, is still pending in committee as LADWP sends updates.
What Executive Directive 19 does
An executive directive is an order from the mayor to city departments. It does not change city law the way a council ordinance does; it tells departments what to prioritize and when to report back. Bass signed Executive Directive 19 on April 27, 2026, standing outside LADWP headquarters with Los Angeles Business Council president Mary Leslie, according to the mayor's April announcement. It covers three areas:
- Technology. LADBS was told to start buying AI tools that check a plan set for completeness and code problems before it is filed, so applicants fix mistakes before the first round of city corrections instead of after.
- Procedures. The standard plans approved for fire rebuilds under Directive 13 became available citywide, with one online portal for all standard plans, including ADU designs. The order also expanded self-certification for some commercial interior remodels, which lets licensed professionals certify code compliance instead of waiting for full city review.
- Customer service. LADBS was asked to study cutting the departments that must stamp final plans down to City Planning and the Fire Department, and to give applicants a 15-minute meeting with their plan checker before the first corrections come back. LADWP was told to map every step needed to get water and power to a housing project, build a project status portal, and study "financial mechanisms, such as amortization" so projects are not held up by large upfront fees for temporary power.
That last point matters because utility fees often come due early, before a project earns any money. Spreading them over time (amortization) is meant to make it easier for a builder to keep going.
How standard plans work in practice
LADBS's standard plan page explains the mechanics. A licensed architect submits a design, and LADBS checks it once against the building, residential, green building and energy codes. Because the design itself is already approved, later plan check focuses on how the house fits a specific lot, which is why permits can be issued faster.
There are limits. The plans are privately owned, so an owner must contact the designer and pay to use one. A permit is still required, along with site plans showing how the house sits on the property. Hillsides, odd lot shapes and other site conditions can rule a design out or add review.
What LADWP says has changed
LADWP's August 2026 update to Raman gives the clearest numbers. The average time from application to energization fell from about 667 days for projects created in 2022 to about 430 days for projects created in 2024, roughly 237 days shorter. The utility says it has hired 32 new service representatives, launched an online Customer Project Tracker on July 13, and now assigns meter locations when LADBS issues a permit rather than when a project is 90% complete.
In August, LADWP also released pre-engineered design templates and new construction work area standards under the Power Ready LA name. The utility says the templates can cut approval timelines by several months because builders start from a design LADWP has already accepted, and that dropping a required on-site servicing area frees space for other uses.
What Tuesday added is the promise of lower upfront costs. The mayor's office did not publish eligibility rules, dollar amounts or a start date in the release, so those details are not yet known.
Who is behind it and why
Bass framed the directive as structural reform. She said the city's permitting process had been "fragmented, unpredictable, and uncoordinated across departments" for decades, according to the mayor's Oct. 20 release.
Caruso, who lost to Bass in 2022 and criticized her fire response, called the order "a good start" and credited her office with helping his nonprofit's Palisades Recreation Center rebuild, according to LA Magazine. Circling the News reported that the stated purpose of the event was for Caruso to thank Bass for the directive.
Critics, politics and limits
The event came two weeks before the Nov. 3 mayoral runoff between Bass and Raman. Caruso again declined to endorse either candidate, the Los Angeles Times reported. The same day, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath endorsed Raman and accused Bass of failing on homelessness and the economy, per LA Magazine.
Faster permits are not a political dividing line here. Raman wrote the council motion that forced LADWP's timeline reports. The open question is results. LADWP's own August report says incoming work has outpaced completed work in recent periods, adding to the backlog, and that project timelines still vary widely.
Permits are also only one cost. At an Oct. 14 industry event, LA apartment developers said they are aiming for new groundbreakings in 2029 and 2030 because interest rates and material costs remain high, The American Developer reported.
Where it applies
Executive Directive 19 is a City of Los Angeles order, so it covers projects inside city limits, from the Palisades to the San Fernando Valley. It does not apply in separate cities such as Santa Monica, Beverly Hills or Pasadena, or in unincorporated county areas such as Altadena, which have their own permit offices and, in many cases, a different electric utility.
What happens next
LADWP interim general manager David Hanson is scheduled to present Power Ready LA's templates, process mapping and project portal at the ENR LA Infrastructure Forum on Nov. 10. Council File 25-0751 remains in the Energy and Environment and Planning and Land Use Management committees, with no hearing date set. The upfront cost program has no published start date. The Nov. 3 election will decide who carries the directive forward.
What it means for LA agents
- Lot and teardown buyers inside the city: point them to the LADBS standard plan catalog early. Remind them the plans cost money, still need a permit and may not fit a steep or irregular lot.
- New construction and spec listings: ask the builder whether the LADWP application is filed and check the Customer Project Tracker. Energization is one of the final steps before anyone can move in, so build that into closing dates.
- Do not promise speed. Average LADWP timelines improved, but the utility says its backlog grew. Use project-specific status, not city averages, when you set expectations.
- Palisades clients: the standard plans that started as a fire rebuild tool remain available to Palisades owners, and LADWP's new templates apply there too. Fire-specific programs have their own eligibility rules, so confirm them directly with LADBS before you market a lot.
- Watch for the fee details. When LADWP publishes who qualifies for Power Ready LA cost relief, it could change the math for small builders and ADU projects. Check the official LADWP and mayor's office pages before you quote anything to a client.