Altadena Not For Sale: Preserving Black Homeownership After The Eaton Fire

On Jan. 20—Martin Luther King Jr. Day—state lawmakers listened as Altadena residents impacted by the Eaton Fire shared their most pressing concerns.

Nearly 200 Altadena residents attended Equitable Recovery for Altadena—a listening session hosted by State Senators Sasha Pérez and Lola Smallwood-Cuevas. The public forum created space for an urgent discussion among residents, community leaders, and relief experts as they processed the widespread devastation impacting this cherished community.

MORE: The Black History Of Altadena And Pasadena

The goal of the forum was to ensure that “Altadena community members, regardless of their background, receive equitable access to relief and rebuilding efforts,” Senator Smallwood-Cuevas, whose district includes Culver City, Crenshaw, and Downtown Los Angeles, told NewsOne in an email.

Altadena was hardest hit by the Eaton Fire, which destroyed over 9,000 structures in the unincorporated community and surrounding areas including Pasadena. The loss of homes, businesses, houses of worship, schools, historic buildings, and the lives of 17 people has left a deep wound in the community. “Altadena is an incredibly tight-knit community,” Senator Sasha Pérez, whose district encompasses Altadena and Pasadena, told NewsOne. “You see that reflected so much in the volunteerism and the donation drives that have been set up. These folks are incredibly active and incredibly plugged in with one another.”

Rebuild or move on?

At the time of the listening session, the Eaton Fire continued to burn for more than a week before it was fully contained on Jan. 31. Among the most urgent challenges voiced by community members at the forum were finding housing, navigating insurance claims, and environmental concerns in the clean-up process.

But there’s another key concern shared by many residents that will impact the future of their beloved community—the decision to rebuild or move on.

Predatory speculators have begun targeting Altadena, eager to capitalize on the opportunity to purchase land from families in crisis at a steep discount. Senator Pérez’s constituents have reported the presence of these predatory investors “coming in and making lowball offers. We’ve heard all sorts of stories of folks coming in and offering people $100,000 cash, $200,000 cash,” she said. “If you’re familiar with Altadena, that’s nowhere near what the value of many of these properties are worth.”

Families who have called Altadena home for generations want to ensure that this historic community is preserved during the recovery process. “We must prevent house flippers from exploiting this crisis and altering the unique character of Altadena,” said Senator Smallwood-Cuevas. “It’s vital to preserve the community’s identity and support residents as they rebuild.”

It is now a misdemeanor to make “unsolicited undervalued offers to purchase property” according to a January executive order issued by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Violations can be reported to the Attorney General’s office at oag.ca.gov/report. “The residents have become very involved in trying to enforce this (rule),” said Senator Pérez. “We’re looking at a mechanism to better hold these people accountable who are involved in these predatory practices, and also to protect the community that’s there.”

Altadena Not For Sale

In response to these attempted buyouts, community members are voicing their determination to rebuild right where they are. A group of Altadena residents has come together to preserve their beloved community, making it clear to both their neighbors and predatory land-grabbers that they are here to stay.

“The community started up this grassroots effort called Altadena Not For Sale to send a message to these folks that they’re not going to be selling,” said Senator Pérez.

There’s a lot of history to preserve in Altadena, a beacon of racial and economic diversity and home to multigenerational Black homeowners. Nearly 75% of Black Altadena residents own their homes—surpassing both national and state rates. But that legacy is at risk, as residents fear the damage could erase this historic community. According to the latest estimates, nearly half of Black households in Altadena were destroyed or badly damaged by the Eaton Fire.

“We know that Black homeownership in California is incredibly low, it is unacceptably low. Altadena was one of those few places where Black homeownership was almost double the state percentage. We don’t just want to protect that, we want to make sure we’re growing that,” said Senator Pérez. “We want to make sure that those folks feel that they can come back and rebuild because that’s something really special and unique about the community.”

Helping Altadena families preserve homeownership

The issue around property ownership was another key theme that arose from the January listening session. California lawmakers are working to ease the burden on homeowners as they navigate the recovery process.

“In some cases, in multigenerational households, you will have the great-grandparent who originally bought the house pass away, and the (family) will continue living in the home but they have not done formal paperwork to transfer ownership,” said Senator Pérez. “And so what will happen is, if they are to do that paperwork now—especially as they go through the rebuilding process—they would be on the hook for up to eight years of back property taxes. That’s a problem. We obviously don’t want that to happen. The house has been paid off for years at this point.”

To address this issue, the senator has introduced legislation that would allow residents affected by the Los Angeles wildfires to resolve gaps in homeownership records without penalty.

“Property records can be difficult to navigate, and ownership changes aren’t always properly recorded—especially when a property is inherited but not officially reported to our office,” Jeff Prang, Los Angeles County Assessor, said in a statement. “This can lead to unexpected tax liabilities, including back taxes, for heirs who may not even realize there’s an issue. This legislation provides a solution to prevent these unintended financial burdens.”

The only path is forward

With time, Altadena is making steady strides toward recovery, reclaiming its strength with every step. Senator Pérez finds inspiration in the resilience of the residents. “What gives me hope is talking with the community and seeing how determined they are to rebuild and to move forward,” she said.

Just over a month after the Eaton Fire began, the Grocery Outlet on Lake Avenue reopened its doors. The local supermarket was within the Eaton Fire’s perimeter, but fortunately survived the blaze. As one of very few grocery stores in Altadena, its reopening was a major milestone. “That was a really exciting moment for the community. They had a huge celebration,” said the senator. “It’s moments like that where it’s like, okay, we’re moving towards getting back to normal.”

She remains hopeful that with each step forward, the community will continue to make progress on the road to recovery. “I think that’s what’s going to be required of us in government, to continue to move the needle a little bit every single day.”

SEE ALSO:

Healing From Collective Trauma After The Los Angeles Wildfires

As Altadena Recovers, Community Is The Bright Spot