The Malibu City Council voted on Monday, June 22, 2020 to extend for six months the permit fee waivers that the City enacted to help homeowners who lost properties during the 2018 Woolsey Fire. The deadline to apply for fee waivers has now been extended to December 30, 2020.
The fee waiver includes all City planning and building permit fees for properties that are being rebuilt as a “like-for-like” or “like-for-like plus 10%” rebuild and were used as a primary residence by the property owner as of November 8, 2018.
Despite the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders, the City was able to use a combination of cost-cutting, using staff rather than consultants, and applying a large portion of the City’s Woolsey Fire settlement from Southern California Edison (SCE) to cover the cost.
To date, the City has waived or refunded $2.22 million in Woolsey Fire fees. Assuming the City approves 200 building permits in Fiscal Year 2020-2021, the total amount of fees waived in Fiscal Year 2020-2021 could exceed $3.6 million for a total waived over multiple years of $5.8 million. The staff report is posted on the website.
Council extended the fee waivers in response to concerns from homeowners whose efforts to rebuild and meet the fee waiver deadlines have been hindered by ongoing insurance claims, the COVID-19 pandemic and other circumstances beyond their control.
The City Council made Woolsey Fire rebuild work the City’s second priority after ensuring public safety in the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Budget and has continued again for Fiscal Year 2020-2021.
Applications must be received by December 30, 2020. For information and resources, visit www.MalibuRebuilds.org. To request help, contact the Fire Rebuild Team at ashah@malibucity.org or call 310-456-2489, ext. 385.