In response to “Three years after 2018 Woolsey Fire, only 55 Malibu homes rebuilt” published Nov. 11
To date, about 10 percent of the damaged homes have been rebuilt, and a total of 209 construction permits issued. The article interviewed Yolanda Bundy, a Malibu city official, regarding why progress has been so slow. She mentioned several reasons for the delays, many of which may even be true. She mentioned that homeowners have to deal with insurance companies, contractors, supply chain issues, etc. Every home has different things to deal with. However, there is one thing that they all have in common: Each one needs a Malibu city permit! Our elected city council, their appointed planning commission, and indeed every citizen of Malibu should be demanding accountability.
The Malibu Times reporter should have followed up her questions by asking Ms. Bundy, “How much time is spent in the permitting process?” This should be easy to discover and should be disclosed immediately. We need to know the average, median, maximum and minimum number of days from permit application to construction permit granted. Period.
In the article, Ms. Bundy alluded to a lack of inspectors. If that is the case, why didn’t the city hire additional inspectors on a temporary basis to handle the expected deluge of permits? The city has multiple budget expenditures that are not as essential as the permit process and getting people back in their homes. Instead of blaming everybody else, it would be nice if the city, and our officials, actually took responsibility and provided the information so that we could actually judge their performance.
Gary Green