Rebuilding Malibu: City pushes reconstruction efforts
Photos by Kaelin Mendez | Podcast Producer
BY | VERNIE COVARRUBIAS & KAYIU WONG A Malibu resident who lost her home in the Woolsey Fire is nearly ready to move in, yet, this is not the case for most. When the Woolsey Fire jumped the 101 Freeway and headed toward Malibu the morning of Nov. 9, resident Laurie Brennan packed two suitcases, grabbed her two dogs and immediately left. Ten hours later, she learned flames completely destroyed her house. The other homes around her all survived. “I have four kids,” Brennan said. “All of their baby staff, all their memorabilia from grade school, all my family photos. I lost everything.” Brennan had moved to her home in Paseo Canyon in Malibu West just 10 months before Woolsey hit. “I just didn’t think the fire was gonna come this far,” Brennan said. Now, one year later, Brennan is on track to be the first resident to completely rebuild her home in Malibu. The Woolsey Fire destroyed 488 homes in the city last year. As residents heal and city leaders push recovery, rebuilding efforts have been a difficult and
23
time-consuming process. “This is generally a group of people that have never built a home before, didn’t plan on building a home,” Malibu Mayor Pro Tem Mikke Pierson said. “Even if you want to build a home and you embrace it, you’re exhausted by the end of it, and it’s really, really difficult.” According to the city’s rebuilding statistics, no homes have been completely rebuilt. The city’s Planning Committee has approved 169 projects and has issued 31 building permits for property owners to start construction. City leaders struck a deal with the California Coastal Commission in March to help residents quickly get building permits. Those who apply to build a home in Malibu typically have to get coastal development permits from the commission before being able to start construction. The commission’s decision in March exempts residents who lost their homes from having to get coastal development permits and allows them to receive expedited emergency permits instead to rebuild.
“To take a two to four year process of getting a permit to start building down to less than six months is huge progress,” Pierson said. Malibu’s Rebuilding Process The first step in the rebuilding process requires property owners to clear debris and contaminated material from burned structures. Brennan did not get her property cleared until January. “That was probably the hardest part of the whole process — ... waiting for that,” Brennan said. “If it wasn’t raining, I was over here almost every weekend trying to salvage. I’d get my hazmat suit on and pick through ashes trying to find stuff.” After debris removal, residents can then start meeting with city officials, architects, contractors and designers to prepare rebuilding plans. “Because every home is different, not everyone runs into the same situations at all,” Pierson said. “Different kinds of houses, different parts of Malibu, dif-
