Rebuilding Malibu: Experts tackle permits, insurance and the cost of recovery
By Barbara Burke · Mon Apr 20 2026
Urban Land Institute Los Angeles chapter’s summit hosted by Pepperdine focuses on Malibu rebuilding post-wildfire and insurance challenges for those rebuilding
Local experts in planning, policy, real estate, land use, finance, and development convened at Pepperdine’s Graziadio Business School on April 10 for two focused panel discussions exploring strategies to strengthen community resilience while addressing the complex realities of rebuilding in Malibu and other fire-prone areas after the Palisades Fire. From the logistics of acquiring permits to the enormous challenges that those who are rebuilding are facing with insurance claims and financing hurdles, the two panels discussed the current status of rebuilding in and near Malibu and long-term goals for the construction, insurance and real estate finance and development sectors.
Planning and policy for resilient communities
Dr. Gil Keinan, adjunct professor of real estate investment at Graziadio Business School and managing director of Local Equity, an economic development organization that creates commercial real estate and infrastructure public-private partnerships, launched a spirited and informative colloquy concerning progress Malibu has made in processing permit applications for fire rebuilds and the challenges the community has grappled with since the wildfire.
“Everything hit us at once — we had to deal with a cascade of disasters!”
Yolanda Bundy, the City of Malibu’s community development director, highlighted data points regarding rebuilding permits in Malibu. Bundy first noted that, “After suffering the wildfire in January 2025, in February, we had mudslides and our Pacific Coast Highway was closed for six months!” Bundy added. “Everything hit us at once! This was a cascade of disasters that reshaped the coastline and our city. It became an enormous task — it took six months in cooperation with the Army Corps of Engineers — to clear the debris. All of the septic systems that washed into the ocean became an environmental hazard.”
That said, Bundy reported, “In the wildfire, 597 single-family homes were destroyed, 67 multi-family units were also destroyed, as were nine commercial structures. Of course, there were many structures and parcels that suffered interior smoke damage. All of the families that were displaced are the ones we are trying to serve as we modify our permitting processes.”
As of this writing, 320 beach properties have geohazardous conditions and septic systems that need to be replaced, Bundy noted, adding, “the need for new sea walls and retaining walls that support Pacific Coast Highway are factors adding to the complexity. As we are rebuilding, homes will be rebuilt under the new current building code, which will make them more resilient. A lot of the 320 beachfront homes had timber pile foundation systems, which are not allowed under the current code — now they are required to have a concrete foundation system.”
Bundy also noted that 173 properties affected by the fire are on active landslides and almost all homes are on septic systems, rendering rebuilding on those parcels more complicated.
“The reality is that it is not when we’ll have a disastrous event. It’s when,” she noted. “Although we’ve had a lot of fires, we haven’t yet had to deal with a big earthquake, and we are also prone to tsunamis.”
Addressing Malibu’s permitting statistics for the rebuilding of single-family residences, Bundy noted that the city has reduced the application process from 12 steps to six steps to help accelerate permit processing.
“We have approved 45 permit applications and 41 of those are in construction," she said. "The majority of those are in the Big Rock neighborhood. 55 applications are under planning review.”
Bundy added that many projects are in the plan-check stages, and her staff is dedicated to providing feedback within 10 days of receiving an initial application in the plan check phase. “We continue to listen to those rebuilding and get feedback and the responsibility of restoring our community is shared by all of us,” she emphasized. “Many original owners are underinsured or don’t have insurance at all because their homes that were built long ago did not have a mortgage requiring insurance and the City Council is trying to address their needs by reducing permitting fees.”
For many in attendance, it was the first opportunity to meet Joe Irwin, Malibu’s new city manager, who said, “Serving local communities is a passion of mine — I have 22 years experience as a city manager solving problems and having honest conversations about what is working and how we can make things better. I like to get things done.”
He noted that the city is facing fiscal challenges and has tapped into its reserves as it has not yet been reimbursed by FEMA for all the costs incurred in responding to the fire and mudslides. “We need to ensure that we have the reserves in the event of other disasters,” he stated.
Irwin informed attendees that the city is doing all it can to strengthen Malibu’s water resilience and firefighting capacity, starting with the Carbon Canyon Water Main and Pump Station Improvements Project announced on March 26. That $14 million project will replace approximately 6,900 feet of undersized water mains and will upgrade a critical pump station.
“We are endeavoring to raise funding of approximately $140 million to build a water system that will provide waterneeded to fight fires in the future. That system will have sewer mains and lift stations from Carbon Beach south towards Coastline Drive and will end up hooking to the Hyperion Treatment Plant,” Irwin explained, noting that the city is endeavoring to set up financing for the project in part by seeking permission to allocate any increased property taxes to the project.
Irwin also added that the city has received all approvals to improve the Busch Drive water tank, which is very old. “The city is also evaluating onsite private cisterns, and the fire department is allowing private properties to use water tanks as well,” he said.
The Chamber of Commerce’s efforts
Chiming in, Maryam Zar, the CEO of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce, noted that she is the founder and president of the Palisades Recovery Coalition, an organization that aims to lead Pacific Palisades through a just, resilient, and community-driven recovery.
“The recovery of Malibu is inextricably tied to the recovery of Pacific Palisades,” Zar posited. “The big difference between our two communities is that most of the Palisades community burned down, which provides an opportunity to use the technologies and opportunities available in 2026 to build a new community, whereas with regard to Malibu’s extensive damage along the coast, in many areas there were no seawalls so that infrastructure must be built.”
Zar noted that neither the City of Los Angeles, on behalf of Pacific Palisades or the City of Malibu have created overlay districts to capture growth in tax revenues as recommended by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety to fund cities’ assistance to pay for enhancing wildfire resilience by updating building codes to require fire-resistant materials and ignition-resistant construction. “We need legislation at the state level and recovery monies from the state and federal governments to implement the tax growth revenue measures,” Zar added.
Both Zar and Irwin noted that in order for both Pacific Palisades and Malibu to rebound fiscally, the destroyed commercial corridors in both communities have to be rebuilt, and those businesses that survived must be supported.
“People must understand Malibu is an anti-development community!”
Don Schmitz, president and principal planner of Schmitz & Associates, who has extensive experience in Malibu construction projects, shared insights regarding communities and individual homeowners building back after wildfires.Citing an article published by the Los Angeles Times on Sept. 30, 2025, Schmitz noted that only 41% of the 1,195 homes destroyed in and near Malibu in the 2018 Woolsey Fire have been rebuilt. Further, only 35% of the 18,000 structures destroyed in the Paradise Camp Fire, which burned concurrently with the Woolsey Fire in Northern California’s Butte County, have been reconstructed.
“In 2018, I went and testified at the first City Council meeting after the fire, and I told the city there would be problems with regard to rebuilding. I identified problems with regard to septic systems and driveways being brought up to fire access standards,” he said. “To their credit, the city passed a local coastal program amendment, and it was passed by the Coastal Commission in three months’ time. It’s still not good enough — the governor’s executive orders after the Palisades Fire setting aside the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and of the Coastal Commission will be pivotal, he added.
“People have to understand that the City of Malibu has been an anti-development community since its cityhood,” Schmitz noted. Nevertheless, he complimented the city and said, “Overall, the City of Malibu has been proactive and is doing all it can to help people rebuild.”
“Insurance companies are much more proactive in assessing risk.”
Next, the event segued to addressing the realities of insurance coverage disputes for wildfire losses, as well as addressingchallenges homeowners are facing with regard to securing insurance for rebuilding homes, increased construction costs and financing options for builders.
Michael Cusumano, managing director of Cusumano Real Estate Company, moderated a detailed discussion concerninginsurance companies inspecting properties before writing policies, monetizing rebuild efforts, and available new fire-resilient building materials.
“Insurance companies are much more proactive with regard to inspecting properties before writing policies,” said Tim Kawahara, Executive Director of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate. “They are assessing risk a lot more.”
Doug Burdge, a Malibu-based architect who has participated for decades in rebuilding efforts after disasters in Malibu, noted, “There are a lot of great products around to help rebuilding with fire resiliency — but the insurance companies are contesting paying for fire upgrades beyond what the codes require.” Burdge discussed options to install sprinklers on theroofs of homes and automatic fire suppression rapid response systems.
Neighbors. Neighborhoods. Nature.
However, Burdge noted, ensuring one is as prepared as possible to fight fires involves more than isolated homeowners rebuilding smarter. “To ensure that homes are as fire resilient as possible, we have to focus on the 'Three N's': Neighbors must ensure that their homes are fire hardened. Neighborhoods must focus on having their entire area fire resilient and, trickiest of all, nature nearby must have brush and other potential fuel controlled.”
“Neighborhoods have to cooperate,” Burdge emphasized. “We absolutely have to underground power lines, which is happening in some areas. Finally, State Parks and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority have to control all of the brush clearance needed in the mountains.”
Following the money — financing and development in high-risk zones
Greg Econn, executive vice chairman at Venbrook, serves as the chair of the Insurance Board at Steadfast LA, a nonprofit launched by developer Rick Caruso to help rebuild after the Eaton and Palisades fires. He noted that 40 percent of those who suffered a loss in the fires were insured by the California Fair Plan, and they are woefully underinsured, both with regards to having coverage for alternate housing during a rebuild and paying to rebuild.
Kawahara and Richard Green, chair of the Smith Department of Real Estate Development at the University of Southern California, conversed about the recent history of insurance companies leaving California for a period of time due to disputes with the California Department of Insurance because the department did not allow them to increase their rates enough to account for escalating fire and disaster claims.
“You will now see more carriers entering into the California market because the California Department of Insurance is allowing their premium increase requests to include modeling data that accounts for fire losses as well as the cost of reinsurance, a practice that insurers participate in to spread their risk,” Green said. “That should mean that consumers in the burn area will see lower premiums soon.”
The availability of insurance for builders and developers
Green and Jan Brzeski, founder and managing Director of Sage Credit Investment Partners, explored the details ofinsurance options for builders and developers, as opposed to owner-occupant financing.
“Builders’ risk insurance is coming back to market because everything is being built back better to comply with the new fire codes and there is a much more insurable product,” Kawahara noted. “While being built, structures are no longer a frame stucco risk and are instead a fire-resilient risk.”
For many, the math doesn’t math
“Construction costs in California are very high, and for many, insurance may at best only cover 70 percent of the cost of rebuilding,” Kawahara said, noting that UCLA had participated with many other scholars and building professionals in authoring a comprehensive report entitled “Project Recovery,” an effort that culminated in the authors concluding that philanthropy must play a key role in helping those rebuilding fill in gaps between what insurance pays and what it costs to rebuild. The California Community Foundation Wildfire Recovery Fund has raised millions to support long-term rebuilding and recovery for fire survivors, he noted.
Concurring, Green said, “There is no market solution for the cost gap.”
Kawahara informed that the home building community has rolled out Builders Alliance, a consortium that offers vetted residential templates that will fit on rebuilding property owners’ properties and aims to help those rebuilding learn about rebuilding starting prices and builder options.