Canyon Square Hosts Palisades Recovery Coalition and State Senator Ben Allen

By Doug Suisman

Director of The Canyon Alliance

State Sen. Ben Allen speaks to the Palisades Recovery Coalition in Canyon Square on Apr. 15. Photo: Doug Suisman

With the flames of the Palisades Fire having largely spared Rustic and Santa Monica Canyons, the Canyon Alliance and Canyon community were able to make good on the offer to help our Palisades neighbors by providing a gathering space and warm welcome in Canyon Square for the Palisades Recovery Coalition.

Led by the former chair of the Pacific Palisades Community Council Maryam Zar, the Coalition, comprised of community, business, and environmental organizations, has been meeting every one or two weeks for several months to share updates and to hear from elected officials. Yesterday’s meeting included State Sen. Ben Allen and his staff, who have been closely involved with all aspects of the recovery.

Canyon Square owner Frank Langen welcomed the nearly 60 attendees. Interviewed afterwards, he said, “Here in the Canyon, we have the desire and the gathering space to offer our friends, family, and neighbors in the Palisades so they can find community and begin to heal.”

The event provided an opportunity to welcome Palisadians and other officials to Canyon Square, many for the first time. Located at 169 West Channel, the intimate outdoor space is home to Gallery 169, In The Canyon real estate, Replenish clothing, Canyon Grocer, and Rusticoffee. All of the businesses were closed after the Jan. 7 fire, and like other Canyon businesses and restaurants on West Channel and Entrada, have struggled to reopen and then fully recover in the fire’s aftermath.

“We realized after the fire how many visitors we lost from the Palisades,” Langen said. “We’re down 50 percent in attendance…. The Canyon is a distinct history community, but we are also part of the Palisades, and we hope to be there for all those folks.”

Sen. Allen addressed the group and spoke about garnering bipartisan support in Sacramento to aid the Palisades and Malibu communities hit hard by the fire, and to ensure that “nothing in state law would prevent recovery.” Allen discussed initiatives such as the formation of a climate resilience redevelopment district, property tax relief, and the preservation of the Palisades mobile home parks.

Other issues that Allen discussed included requiring insurance companies to pay a policy’s full coverage instead of re-traumatizing victims by requiring detailed property itemization after a total loss. Laws for mortgage forbearance, commercial insurance renewal, and heightened building standards with more mindfulness of fire dangers are also being considered by the legislature. Unfortunately, Allen said “a lot of the bills will help the next generation of fire victims, rather than this one.”

The event welcomed not only Palisades organizations to the Canyon, but also provided attendees the opportunity to meet and ask questions of L.A. County Assessor Jeff Prang and top local members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Leaders of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers speak to residents in Canyon Square. Photo: Doug Suisman