Malibu runs its own rebuild process
A Malibu rebuild needs two City approvals: a zoning approval from the Planning Department, which covers placement, square footage and height, and a building permit from the Building Safety Division. Under the City's certified Local Coastal Program, Malibu also issues coastal development permits, while the California Coastal Commission keeps appeal authority and original jurisdiction over some areas, such as the shoreline.
The City has done this before. The 2018 Woolsey Fire destroyed at least 488 single-family homes in Malibu, and several of today's rebuild tools began as Woolsey measures. For the 2025 recovery the City opened the Malibu Rebuild Center in March 2025 for owner appointments, and in September 2026 it reported issuing its 100th Palisades Fire rebuild permit and its first certificate of occupancy for a rebuilt home.
Coastal permits after the Palisades Fire
Governor's Executive Orders N-4-25 and N-20-25 suspended Coastal Act permit requirements and CEQA for Palisades Fire rebuilds that meet set limits. A primary structure qualifies when it sits in substantially the same location and does not exceed 110 percent of the footprint and height of what stood before. Accessory structures, new ADUs at least 10 feet from a canyon bluff or 25 feet from a coastal bluff on lots where the main house was lost, and supporting foundations, utilities and driveways are covered on similar terms.
There are firm limits. A rebuild may not encroach on a public access easement or deed restriction, or reach farther into a previously approved public view corridor, an open space deed restriction or seaward on the beach than the prior structure did. The City alone decides whether a project qualifies, and that decision cannot be appealed to the Coastal Commission. These orders are state emergency measures, so we confirm their current status for your project.
Planning Verification and the Rebuild Development Permit
In March 2025 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 524, and the Coastal Commission approved its coastal program changes that April. Owners rebuilding after the Palisades Fire use a Planning Verification to rebuild up to 110 percent of the prior structure. On non-beachfront lots, added height or bulk generally cannot exceed 18 feet without a site plan review. To rebuild with prior nonconforming setbacks, height or floor area, the planning application must be started within six years of the fire and a building permit obtained within eight, subject to limited extensions.
Work the old house did not need, such as a replacement septic system, foundations, utilities, water tanks or driveway changes the fire department requires, may call for a Rebuild Development Permit. The code directs the City to act on a complete application within 15 calendar days, and that decision is final at the City level. Retaining walls built for required driveway changes are capped at six feet each and twelve feet combined.
Franklin and Broad Fire properties
When the City drafted Ordinance No. 524, the Governor's orders did not cover the Franklin or Broad Fires, so the City treated those rebuilds as still subject to the Coastal Act. Confirm that status with the City for your address. The City's coastal program exempts a replacement from a coastal development permit when it keeps the same use, stays in substantially the same location, and does not exceed the prior floor area, height or bulk by more than 10 percent. These owners also use a Planning Verification.
Projects that fall just outside that exemption may qualify for a De Minimis Waiver instead of a full coastal permit. Examples include a septic upgrade outside the old development pad, raising a beachfront floor to meet FEMA flood requirements, and moving a house to a substantially safer spot on a hillside lot. The waiver is reported to the Planning Commission, and for certain projects in the Coastal Commission's appeal area it can still be appealed to the Commission.
Fire zone construction and landscaping
The entire City of Malibu lies in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, a designation the 2025 state map left unchanged, so new homes are built to California's wildland-urban interface construction standards. Ordinance No. 524 also tightened landscaping near structures: no vegetation within five feet of a building, restrictions on palm and eucalyptus trees, and no pine, cypress, cedar, ficus or tree of heaven within 50 feet.
Planting between five and 100 feet must be irrigated, except in geologic hazard areas, where the City and the project geotechnical consultant decide whether watering is safe. We plan the landscape, hardscape and exterior materials together so the house and the site pass review at the same time.
Fee waivers and temporary housing
Under Resolution No. 25-29, adopted in July 2025, the City waives its planning and building permit fees for like-for-like and like-for-like plus 10 percent rebuilds of a single-family home or duplex that was the owner's primary residence at the time of the Broad, Franklin or Palisades Fire. The owner records an affidavit, waived fees must be repaid if the property sells before a certificate of occupancy, and the waiver application and complete planning applications are due by June 30, 2028, with building permits by December 30, 2030.
Owners can also apply for a temporary housing permit for up to two structures totaling 1,000 square feet while they rebuild, supported by a limited geotechnical report and reserved for the owner or tenant who lived there at the time of the fire. Confirm current terms with the City before relying on either program.