Malibu rebuild experts answer more questions at informative meeting 

While the County of Los Angeles is reporting 157 building permits issued for rebuilds post-Palisades and post-Eaton fires, and the City of Los Angeles reports 54 permits issued, the City of Malibu has just announced its first rebuild permit has been issued for a home wiped out in the January fire. That news was announced by Yolanda Bundy, the city’s community development director, who answered questions along with Principal Planner Tyler Eaton while speaking at the second Own Your Rebuild workshop Aug. 12.

Bundy started the meeting with an acknowledgement of local architect Tom Torres, who gave many hours of his expertise to recent fire victims in their efforts to rebuild. Torres passed away last week, and Fire Rebuild Ambassador Abe Roy called for a quiet observance in honor of Torres’ steadfast commitment to rebuilding the community.

Bundy reported some important statistics on Malibu’s road to recovery, stating 480 residential properties have been cleared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). A total of 185 property owners cleared debris privately. The city is still working with 15 properties that did not qualify for government debris removal and eight properties that were nonresponsive. Those properties will be charged to have their lots cleared after missing the deadline.

Bundy explained rebuilding fee waivers are now available for Malibu’s last three fires — the Broad Fire of November 2024; the Franklin Fire of December 2024, and the Palisades Fire. Qualifications require that the residence was a primary residence at the time of the fire and was a single-family home or duplex. “Commercial properties, unfortunately are not eligible,” Bundy stated. Proof of residency may include voter registration, driver’s licenses, or government issued IDs.

Fee waivers are only for households for whom the destroyed house was their primary residence. It is not intended for investors, second homes, time shares, or developers. “The spirit and intent is to make sure that developers or speculators end up paying the fees and are not taking advantage of the program,” Roy commented. “Our city definitely needs the revenue as well.” The deadline to apply is June 30, 2028. The waivers only apply to permits obtained on or before Dec. 30, 2030.                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Bundy urged anyone in the rebuild process to “Please come and see us. We really want to hear from each one of you and put those red stamps of approval for you and get you there as soon as possible.” 

The rebuild executive mentioned that the latest governor’s order exempts rebuilders from installing rooftop solar panels and batteries otherwise required for new residential builds.

Planner Eaton explained the easiest way to get building permits is to rebuild at what’s known as “like for like” or “like for like plus 10%,” which can exempt homeowners from coastal and environmental reviews. “Your house has to basically be rebuilt on the same footprint,” he said. The extra 10% can be trickier, especially since that additional bulk is counted in total development square footage (TDSF) or cubic volume measurement. If a pitched roof is updated to a flat roof that adds extra bulk, it might block another neighbor’s view that wasn’t blocked under the old design. That would not likely be permitted under a fast track rebuild. 

“Views are very precious in Malibu and these laws were designed to help your neighbors kind of maintain some views in this processing,” according to Eaton. Still, he added, “Your 10% square footage, we’re going to give to you. Your design professional can really play with these and be creative and figure ways that meets the code but gives you the final product that you’re looking for.” 

Eaton spent time on the “hot topic” of ADUs (accessory dwelling units): “The governor’s order N2025 does allow ADUs with the rebuild of your home.”  Clarifying the city’s rules, however, he explained, “We allow to 1,000 square feet maximum. It must meet all the requirements of Malibu Municipal Code Section 1744 … the building code still applies.”       

Eaton added, “We (the city) review for federal, state, and local law compliance. Your design professional is going to design your home to fit within those rules and submit your project to the city… We are the reviewing body, reviewing the materials that are submitted to us and your design professional is the creative body. We issue permits and approvals, and the design professional will coordinate between all the private technical consultants, your geologists, your contractor, all those different technical consultants to get you to building.” 

The second half of the meeting was dedicated to innovative, new, state-of-the-art fire-resistant building materials.  To view the meeting and for more information, go to malibufirerebuilds.org