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Tea Fire Victims Rebuild

Christina Heller

Story Created: Dec 1, 2008 at 5:49 PM PDT

Story Updated: Dec 2, 2008 at 1:22 AM PDT

Santa Barbara, CA-- Property owners who lost their homes in the Tea Fire are now trying to rebuild without getting tangled up in red tape.

But is it possible?

Santa Barbara County and City have both said they don't want to place any unnecessary burdens on property owners who lost everything as they now try to dig out of the ashes. They are even helping some property owners get certain permits in record time.

One property owner Linda Godlis says her East Mountain Drive property is slowly getting cleared off. Three dumpsters of debris have been removed. They have not had any problems with the process.

Each homeowner has a special case manager for their needs to help them through the time consuming task of clearing, designing, and rebuilding what was destroyed by the fire.

The county also has an ombudsman to help property owners get through any snags that might delay their rebuilding efforts. Tony Nisich says he will personally answer calls or make site visits to talk to anyone who feels they have a conflict. He says he wants to resolve problems and will try to get stalled projects back on track. Nisich is the former Public Works Director for the City of Santa Barbara.

KEY News Reporter John Palminteri joins us from the fire zone with the story.

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