Rebuilding in Pacific Palisades and Malibu after the fire.

One fire burned through three jurisdictions. Pacific Palisades is in the City of Los Angeles, so permits go through the Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) and City Planning. Malibu is its own city, with its own planning and building departments and its own Rebuild Center. Unincorporated areas inside the fire perimeter go through Los Angeles County.

A mailing address does not settle it. Look up the parcel before you rely on any rule in this guide. For a Los Angeles parcel, the City’s ZIMAS map shows whether the lot is in the Coastal Zone and whether it is flagged for coastal bluff, canyon bluff or biological review. Malibu’s Rebuild Center will confirm the same things for a Malibu parcel.

Our shorter article on fire rebuild permits in the Palisades, Malibu and Altadena covers the records each authority asks for. This one covers the decisions.

Each jurisdiction offers a fast path for rebuilding roughly what stood there, and a slower path for something different. The limits are measured differently in each place. That is where owners get caught.

Pacific Palisades (City of Los Angeles)

The Mayor’s Emergency Executive Order 1 covers like-for-like rebuilds. The new structure sits in substantially the same location and does not exceed 110% of the footprint and height of what stood before the fire. The City states that square footage is not part of the 110% test. City departments must review a complete application within 30 days.

The like-for-like path lets you keep things current zoning would not allow, such as a setback that no longer conforms. A new basement can qualify if it stays within 110% of the old footprint. A second story usually does not, because it pushes past 110% of the old height.

Emergency Executive Order 8 covers single-family homes in the Coastal Zone that go beyond like-for-like but comply with current zoning. Those projects skip local Coastal Act and environmental (CEQA) review. They can still be reviewed for bluffs and biological resources where the lot is flagged for them.

A design that fits neither order goes through standard review. Inside the Coastal Zone, that means a coastal exemption or a Coastal Development Permit.

Malibu

Malibu’s Option 1 is like-for-like plus 10%. It applies to legally permitted structures rebuilt in substantially the same footprint, with up to 10% more height, square footage and volume. For the simple cases the City lists a $200 planning verification fee and about one week per review. Where the added area is above 18 feet, on land steeper than 3:1, or inside a required setback, the project needs an Administrative Plan Review or a Site Plan Review. The City puts those at three to six months.

Option 2 is a Coastal Development Permit, for a home more than 10% larger or in a new place on the lot. Malibu lists a base planning fee of $11,579 and a timeline of 12 to 24 months. Depending on where the lot sits, the decision can be appealed to the California Coastal Commission.

The state order behind both

The Governor’s Executive Order N-4-25 suspended Coastal Act permitting and CEQA review for rebuilds in substantially the same location that do not exceed 110% of the original footprint and height. That order is the reason a fast path exists in the coastal zone at all.

This decision sets the schedule. Make it with your architect before anything is drawn in detail.

Like-for-like moves faster through planning and costs less in fees. Los Angeles waives permit and clearance fees for rebuilds up to 110% of the area of the lost structure, for the person who owned the property at the time of the fire. If the property is sold before the Certificate of Occupancy, the waived fees must be repaid. Refund claims are accepted until the three-year eligibility period ends or the program’s $90 million cap is reached.

Malibu waives City planning and building fees for like-for-like rebuilds of an owner’s primary residence. Fee waiver applications are due by June 30, 2028, and building permits must be obtained by December 30, 2030.

A new design gets you a different plan, more area where zoning allows it, or a different position on the lot. In Pacific Palisades, a zoning-compliant single-family design in the Coastal Zone can still move quickly under Executive Order 8. In Malibu, a larger or relocated house means a Coastal Development Permit and a much longer planning stage.

Like-for-like does not mean the old house again. Only the envelope is limited. The plan inside it, the structure, the systems and the exterior materials are all new. Los Angeles states that a rebuild must meet the current building code, unless it reuses plans that were approved under the 2019 code or later.

Ask your architect to draw the allowed envelope first, then test the house you want against it. If it fits, take the fast path. If it does not, you will know what the difference costs in time before you commit to it.

Do not budget on reusing the old foundation. Los Angeles says footings and slabs in fire-damaged buildings are not typically permitted to be reused, and that the building official may require them to be removed at the owner’s expense. Malibu requires a feasibility report from a licensed civil or structural engineer, with core samples and anchor pull tests, before a foundation is even considered. It does not allow reuse of concrete that tests below 2,500 psi, or of timber piles.

A slope adds a second layer of review. In Pacific Palisades, lots in the City’s mapped geologically sensitive areas need geology and soils reports approved by the LADBS Grading Division. Those lots are not eligible for the architect self-certification program. Malibu requires full geotechnical review where there is slope instability, poor drainage or earlier slide activity.

On a hillside lot, the foundation is usually the largest unknown in the budget. Drilled caisson foundations, retaining walls and shoring are designed from the soils report and sequenced around the drill rig and the access road. That work is the core of our hillside construction practice. Order the geotechnical investigation early. Nothing below the house can be priced without it.

In Malibu, check the septic system at the same stage. Each onsite wastewater system has to be inspected by a City-registered inspector and approved before it is used again. Beachfront properties on a conventional system will need an advanced one.

Pacific Palisades has been a designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone since 1999. The State Fire Marshal released updated maps for locally governed areas in February and March 2025, and its website lets you look up any address.

New homes in these zones are built to the state’s wildfire construction standards. For years those sat in Chapter 7A of the California Building Code, and most builders still call them that. In the 2025 code cycle the state moved them into their own book, the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (Title 24, Part 7), which took effect on January 1, 2026.

The standards cover the parts of a house that embers and heat attack first: the roof, the vents, the eaves, the exterior walls, the windows and the decks. In practice that means ignition-resistant exterior assemblies, ember-resistant vents and tempered glazing, as your approved plans specify. Your architect’s permit set names each assembly.

The code is the minimum. Owners who want to go past it tend to look at the same short list: noncombustible cladding on every side, enclosed eaves, no wood fence or gate where it meets the house, and nothing that burns in the first five feet.

The first five feet is its own subject. The state Board of Forestry has been writing a rule for an ember-resistant zone around buildings, called Zone 0. As of November 11, 2026, the Board’s page says the rule package is still in final review with the Office of Administrative Law. Plan the planting and paving next to the house as if it will apply, and confirm the current text before the landscape drawings are final.

In Los Angeles, the Fire Department also checks that the property is within 300 feet of a hydrant. Where it is not, the City lists alternatives to a new hydrant, such as an upgraded sprinkler system or an upgraded construction type. Los Angeles also no longer requires new buildings to be all-electric, so gas is a choice again.

The insurance clock matters as much as the permit clock. Under California law, after a declared state of emergency you have at least 36 months from the first actual cash value payment to collect full replacement cost, with six-month extensions for good cause. Living expense coverage runs at least 24 months, with up to 12 more if delays are outside your control. The dollar limits in your policy still apply.

Read your policy for building code upgrade coverage, sometimes called ordinance or law coverage. It pays toward the difference between the house you had and the house current code requires. The amount varies by policy, so ask your insurer for it in writing. State law also lets you combine the dwelling and other-structures limits toward rebuilding the house if the dwelling limit falls short.

We are builders, not insurance advisers. Confirm what applies to your claim with your insurer or the California Department of Insurance.

Budget in the order the information arrives. First the site: survey, geotechnical report, foundation and retaining design. Then the structure and the exterior. Then interiors and systems. A number given before the soils report is a guess, and we would rather tell you that than quote a figure per square foot.

So you have it up front: our minimum for a fire rebuild is $1,500,000, excluding land, design fees and furnishings.

A fire rebuild is a new custom home, and it should be designed like one. Hire the architect first, or the architect and the builder together. The architect decides which path the design takes. The builder tells you what the ground, the access and the assemblies will cost while the drawings can still change.

Los Angeles publishes help for vetting. Its Bureau of Contract Administration lists general contractors and architects with active licenses, and LADBS lists the architects registered for self-certification. Check any contractor’s license with the Contractors State License Board. Ours is CSLB #1112649.

Energize Builders is an owner-led Los Angeles builder for custom homes, hillside construction and fire rebuilds. We build from your architect’s and designer’s drawings. We do not replace them. Founder Alik Konovalenko is on every project. Our new construction page explains how we work with design teams, and our Pacific Palisades and Malibu pages cover what applies locally.

For a simple rebuild, the permit is no longer the longest part. Los Angeles reviews complete like-for-like applications within 30 days and inspects the day after an inspection is requested. Once a rebuild permit is issued, the City gives three years to complete the work.

One public data point: the first rebuilt home in Malibu to receive a Certificate of Occupancy got its permit in October 2025 and finished in 11 months, according to the City of Malibu. That is one house. It is not a promise.

Most of what stretches a schedule is decided before construction starts.

The path

A Coastal Development Permit in Malibu adds 12 to 24 months, by the City’s own estimate.

The ground

Geology review, grading and caissons come before framing. They depend on the weather and on getting the drill rig up the street.

Utilities

Los Angeles asks owners to start utility coordination during design. The Department of Water and Power has electrical requirements tied to its plan to move power lines underground in the Palisades.

Long-lead items

Windows, exterior doors and fire-rated assemblies should be ordered early, from approved drawings.

Access

Many streets carry several rebuilds at once. The City’s transportation department recommends scheduling truck deliveries in the Palisades between 9 AM and 3 PM on weekdays.

Altadena follows Los Angeles County’s process, which is different again. Our Altadena page covers it.

Can I rebuild a bigger house after the Palisades Fire?

Yes, within limits. In Pacific Palisades, a like-for-like rebuild can reach 110% of the old footprint and height. A larger single-family design that complies with zoning can use the City’s Executive Order 8 path in the Coastal Zone. In Malibu, the fast path allows up to 10% more height, square footage and volume. Anything larger needs a Coastal Development Permit.

Do I need a Coastal Development Permit to rebuild in Malibu?

Not for a like-for-like rebuild within 10%. You need one if the new home is more than 10% larger or sits in a new place on the lot. The City of Malibu estimates 12 to 24 months for that permit.

Can I reuse my foundation after the fire?

Usually not. Los Angeles says footings and slabs in fire-damaged buildings are not typically permitted to be reused. Malibu requires an engineer’s feasibility report with core samples before reuse is considered, and does not allow reuse of concrete that tests below 2,500 psi.

Are permit fees waived for fire rebuilds?

In Los Angeles, permit and clearance fees are waived for rebuilds up to 110% of the area of the lost structure, for the person who owned the property at the time of the fire. In Malibu, City planning and building fees are waived for like-for-like rebuilds of an owner’s primary residence, with fee waiver applications due by June 30, 2028.

How long does a fire rebuild take?

It depends on the path, the ground and the design. Los Angeles reviews complete like-for-like applications within 30 days. The first rebuilt home in Malibu to receive a Certificate of Occupancy finished 11 months after its permit, according to the City of Malibu. A Coastal Development Permit, hillside geology and utility work each add time.

What does a fire rebuild cost?

It depends on the lot, the design and the foundation work, so we price from the drawings rather than quoting a figure per square foot. Our minimum for a fire rebuild is $1,500,000, excluding land, design fees and furnishings.