The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, to lay the groundwork for sweeping new powers to clear homeless encampments from private hillside properties that the city labels at extreme wildfire risk. In an 11-3 vote, council members told the city attorney to prepare changes to the municipal code that could let city crews remove what officials deem hazardous materials, including tents and other camping gear, from areas mapped as "Very High Fire Severity Zones" without first getting permission from property owners. The proposal zeroes in on brushy corridors in and around parts of the Santa Monica and Verdugo mountains and comes as the city has documented a steady climb in rubbish and brush fires.
What the council asked the city to draft
By an 11-3 margin, the council instructed the city attorney to return with specific code language authorizing removals in those high-risk zones, according to the Los Angeles Times. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who authored the motion, told the paper that "Prevention [of fires] is the most cost-effective tool we have" when hillsides are facing imminent danger. The effort is logged as Council File 25-1511 and instructs city departments to return with implementation steps and draft ordinance text. That council file is posted on the city clerk's website.
Fire department figures behind the push
Supporters are leaning heavily on Los Angeles Fire Department statistics that show a sharp increase in rubbish and brush fires in recent years and a significant share of incidents tied to people living outdoors. A summary of an internal department memo found that roughly one-third of the city's fires between 2018 and 2024 involved people experiencing homelessness, and that unhoused Angelenos were associated with a large portion of rubbish fires, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. Fire officials argue that time spent confirming who owns a parcel and securing permission to enter private land can give a small blaze a dangerous head start and increase the odds it turns into a fast-moving hillside fire.
Council split and displacement concerns
The move did not sail through without pushback. Councilmembers Ysabel Jurado, Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martínez cast the three no votes, warning that the policy could simply push unhoused Angelenos from one risky area to another instead of connecting them with housing and services, the Times reports. Opponents said the council should nail down clear, narrow definitions of what counts as "hazardous" and spell out guaranteed outreach and shelter placements before rewriting the code. Supporters countered that any new authority would be tightly focused on officially mapped high-risk fire zones where a single ignition source can quickly threaten nearby homes and key infrastructure.
Legal context and next steps
For now, the council's action is a request, not a green light to start sweeping hillside camps. The city attorney has been asked to return with draft ordinance language, and a separate council vote will be needed before any new enforcement can begin. The cautious pacing is notable because a judge recently ruled that the city broke California's open-meeting law when it approved a broad encampment plan in a closed-door session, a decision that advocates say highlights the need for transparent policymaking, according to Mar Vista Voice. Departments will face close scrutiny over how they build outreach, notice and genuine offers of shelter into any eventual enforcement strategy.
What this could mean on the ground
The council has asked city departments to return later this year with specific code language and operational playbooks that will go before the full council for another vote. Community groups and legal advocates say they will be watching to see whether any draft ordinance requires clear notice, documented outreach and concrete shelter options, and whether it protects property and civil rights for people living outside. For firefighters and hillside neighbors, the focus is cutting down on ignition sources before the next Santa Ana winds kick up. For homeless advocates, the real test will be whether any new rules lower wildfire risk without pushing vulnerable residents into even greater danger somewhere else.
