February Newsbites

In This Issue—

* Wildfire Community Meeting
* New Fire Insurance Rules
* Moratorium on Home Insurance Cancellations
* Metro Sepulveda Transit Update
* Winter Lights Celebration
* Annual Membership Drive

***BAHA’s Annual Membership Drive***  BAHA is now in the midst of its annual membership drive, so please check your email inbox and your regular mailbox for the annual letter and membership form. BAHA membership letter contains information such as what BAHA does for our neighborhood, why it is important to join, and information regarding exclusive benefits for members. Strong membership numbers enable BAHA to provide more services, support, activities, and to be a louder voice for government services. We hope that you will see how important it is to support BAHA with your membership. Please check out more information about BAHA on our website at https://www.baha.la/. And while you are on our website, you can easily renew your membership or join BAHA by clicking “Join/Renew Membership.”  

***Wildfire Community Meeting***  BAHA is planning a community meeting with our LAFD Battalion Chief. You will be advised as soon as the date and time are set. Because our community presents unique challenges during fire season, it is important that the focus of the meeting be on Bel Air Hills, and how we can best protect our homes and work toward fire prevention. The community will have ample opportunity to ask questions during this meeting

***Moratorium on Cancellation of Homeowner Insurance Policies***  On January 9, the Insurance Commissioner issued a mandatory moratorium on the cancellation or non-renewal of policies of residential property insurance (homeowner policies), based solely on the fact that the insured structure is located in an area in which a wildfire has occurred. The moratorium applies to all policies of residential property insurance that was in effect at the time of the declared state of emergency (January 7, 2025).  On January 17, the Insurance Commissioner issued an update that specifies the Zip Codes that are included in the moratorium. Our Zip Code, 90077, is included. The Commissioner’s update can be read in full here:  Bulletin 2025-1 One-Year Moratorium for Palisades and Eaton Fires

***Wildlife Ordinance Update***  As noted in December Newsbites,  BAHA was planning a “town hall” meeting with Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky and residents of Bel Air Hills. The date has been set: Tuesday, February 25th at 7pm via Zoom. BAHA will host its own Town Hall with our Councilmember on the Wildlife Ordinance at that time. Since tough questions will be raised, that the City has so far refused to answer, BAHA hopes that our Councilmember will commit to being present during the entire time. BAHA has also requested our Councilmember’s office to arrange for a representative of the Planning Department to attend the Zoom meeting. 

***Construction Hours in Bel Air Hills***  Some residents have recently complained about construction noise on weekends and early mornings.  Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) Section: 13.20 provides that Construction activity shall be limited to Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Exterior construction work at any other time is strictly prohibited. However, interior construction work may be conducted on Saturdays between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Excess exterior illumination of the site through the use of floodlights and/or similar lighting devices is strictly prohibited after 6:00 p.m. on any day of the week.  LAMC Code section 13.20 is attached here:

Bel Air Construction Hours Overlay.pdf 

***Metro’s Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project Update***  As noted in December Newsbites, Metro has indicated that a series of short information modules about the project have been developed.  BAHA provided a link to the first module which included an overview of the project and current status.  In case you missed it, it can be viewed at  Sepulveda Transit Corridor Module #1 on Vimeo. Metro has now released the second module which includes a general overview of projected travel times to key destinations.  It can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/1038081331

For Complete information, visit Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project - LA Metro.

***Winter Lights Celebration—December 8***  On a Sunday afternoon last December, BAHA hosted a Winter Lights Celebration at Roscomare Circle Park. Members Charlie McAndrew provided the tables and chairs, Laila Husssin brought arts and crafts for the youngsters (of all ages), and Robin Greenberg planned for the refreshments. The good times arrived with the attending friends and neighbors. The opportunity to reunite with established neighbors and to meet new residents was not wasted! Seasonal ambiance was enhanced by both the cool weather and the trees lit with lots of white lights.  

BAHA hopes that residents in our neighborhood have enjoyed these evening winter lights at the Park. This seasonal light display is just one of the “fringe benefits” provided by, and maintained for the community with, BAHA membership dues. Thank you members.

***New Fire Insurance Rules***  Recently, the L.A. Times included an article entitled  “California has sweeping new rules for home insurance. What to Know.” Because of its importance to our community, we are including most of it here:

“A revolution is underway in California’s insurance market that could provide relief to homeowners in high-fire-risk neighborhoods who have found it difficult to find insurers to cover their homes, typically a household’s most valuable asset.

Under new rules, state insurers for the first time will be allowed to use so-called catastrophe models to help determine the cost of home insurance. The models, developed by firms such as Verisk Analytics and Moody’s, are complex computer programs that aim to better determine the risk a structure faces from wildfires amid a changing climate. Here are five things to know about the models:

How do these models work?

The programs, first developed in the 1980s because of hurricane losses and increasingly applied to wildfires, typically run thousands of possible scenarios that enable insurers to determine their potential financial exposure in a disaster. The models are proprietary but take into account many factors, including meteorological conditions, an area’s topography, the amount of brush and other nearby fuel, and a community’s building density.

When setting individual home premiums, California is requiring insurers to consider a building owner’s fire mitigation efforts, such as installing a Class A fire-rated roof, closing eaves or doing brush removal.

Will the models increase the availability of insurance?

The regulations are intended to sharply increase the availability of insurance in areas that have high fire risk as defined by Department of Insurance maps released this year, which are expected to be updated soon. Homeowners in those areas have been flocking to the FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, which sells bare-bones policies. Southern California neighborhoods in those maps include ZIP Codes in Malibu, Beverly Hills and other communities in mountainous areas.

In exchange, large insurers are supposed to write policies in those neighborhoods equivalent to 85% of their statewide market share, meaning an insurer with a 10% statewide share should cover 8.5% of homes. However, critics such as Consumer Watchdog in Los Angeles say that those regulations have loopholes and that insurers have leeway to not meet that benchmark.

How will the new regulations affect my property insurance rates?

That’s a matter of debate. Catastrophe models are not specifically intended to lower rates, but insurers and the insurance department maintain that catastrophe models, by allowing insurers to more accurately calculate their risk, should allow for more gradual rate increases over time rather than requests for large one-time rate hikes, such as the 30% increase sought by State Farm in the summer.

Consumer Watchdog, however, says the models will lead to sharp rate hikes because the regulations allow insurers to keep essential details about the models under wraps despite a public review process established by the insurance department. The department disagrees and is supporting the establishment of a “public” model being developed by Cal Poly Humboldt and others that could be used in the future as a benchmark to evaluate the private models.

When can I start seeing some relief?

The insurance department will start accepting applications from modeling companies Jan. 2 and expects that, after the public review process is completed, some could be approved in the first quarter. Insurers could then file for new rates based on those models. Those rate filings also must undergo a review that the department said could be completed for some as early as next summer, with more in 2026.”