The Malibu City Council has unanimously approved a comprehensive fee waiver program to help residents rebuild homes destroyed in the recent Broad, Franklin and Palisades fires, committing an estimated $25 to $32 million in municipal revenue to support recovery efforts.
The 5-0 vote establishes a program that will waive city planning and building permit fees for more than 1,000 structures damaged or destroyed in the three fires, with staff estimating average waivers of $50,000 for single-family homes and up to $80,000 for multi-family developments.
However, the new program includes significantly stricter requirements than the city's previous Woolsey Fire fee waiver program, incorporating lessons learned from that six-year initiative that some officials said “got out of hand.”
"We really tightened it up compared to the Woolsey fire," said Yolanda Bundy, Community Development Director. "We heavily considered the fiscal impact of the program so we really tightened it up compared to the Woolsey fire."
The most significant change requires property owners to record a notarized affidavit with Los Angeles County rather than simply signing one for city staff. This creates a legal covenant that runs with the property, ensuring enforcement if homes are sold before completion.
"If they sell it then they have to refund all the fees and certificate occupancy will not be issued until that refund happens," Bundy explained to council members.
"The only thing that I really have concern of is the waiving of the fees for the time extensions," Conrad said. "That would be my only consideration is to remove to strike the time extensions."
The council agreed, viewing the change as an incentive for timely completion of rebuilding projects.
The program sparked debate during public comment, with speakers offering contrasting views on the substantial financial commitment.
Ryan, a public commenter, raised constitutional concerns about the fee waivers, arguing the city lacked adequate projections.
"You don't know what amount of gift of public funds is being contemplated and that's what it is," Ryan said. "What happened with Woolsey got out of hand it's been six years and you were still waiving fees and there's no motivating factor involved."
However, Danny Smith, another public speaker, defended the program's economic benefits. "I think the economic benefit of getting these houses rebuilt quicker will outweigh by many factors the revenue lost to the fee waivers," Smith said.
City Attorney Trevor Rusin addressed the constitutional concerns, outlining multiple public purposes that justify the fee waivers under state law.
"A huge portion of the city was wiped out by this and the rebuilding of that would provide a public benefit to the city it also increases the city's tax base," Rusin said. He added that the program serves to preserve the "character of the city the rural nature of it and the residents that have been living here rather than turning it over to outside developers."
The fee waiver program applies to properties that were primary residences at the time of the fires and are being rebuilt as "like-for-like" or "like-for-like plus 10%" structures. Single-family homes and duplexes are eligible, but commercial properties are excluded.
Key deadlines include June 30, 2028, for submitting applications and obtaining planning approvals, and December 30, 2030, for pulling building permits.
The program includes special provisions for properties owned by limited liability companies and corporations, requiring additional documentation and affidavits from managing members.
For duplexes, both owners must have occupied their respective units as primary residences at the time of the fires and must jointly record affidavits to qualify for the program.
The Broad Fire occurred on November 6, 2024, the Franklin Fire on December 9, 2024, and the Palisades Fire on January 7, 2025, collectively destroying or damaging more than 1,000 structures in Malibu.
The program represents one of the largest municipal fee waiver initiatives in the city's history, reflecting the scale of destruction from the three fires and the city's commitment to supporting residents through the rebuilding process.