Industry Navigates Permitting Maze as Fire Rebuild Begins

Architect Marija Volkman said she and her peers are sifting through pictures and homeowner memories to piece together enough intel to draft a sketch as the nascent stages of rebuilding begin post-wildfires.

“Our job as architects is more like a detective,” said Volkman, who is co-founder of architecture firm Archicraft.

Mass environmental cleanups are taking place in the fire-damaged areas of L.A. County as some homeowners begin talks with architecture firms. It’s the first step in what will be a multi-year construction frenzy in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Malibu.

For Archicraft, it’s currently working on one rebuild in the Palisades’ El Medio Bluffs neighborhood and has additional proposals out for other projects.

The firm’s rebuild client had some drawings that helped Volkman and her team determine where on the site the house once stood. To keep things simple, from a permitting perspective, the homeowner will keep the original height and footprint, but will modernize the floorplan to include, among other things, better ocean views.

Volkman estimated the firm will be able to shuttle the project to the city’s plan-check phase in the summer.

Many homeowners are just beginning to wrap their heads around the permitting maze, even with efforts at the local and state level to reduce the red tape. Marmol Radziner managing partner Leo Marmol outlined Feb. 27 during the Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting the three paths for obtaining approvals.

It’s nuanced and not a one-size-fits-all template. Properties are categorized based on their proximity to the coast, with more red tape as real estate gets closer to the water.

Many industry experts are encouraging their clients to take advantage of the opportunity to rebuild their existing square footage, plus an additional 10 percent as allowed under the city’s current municipal code. Those that take the advice have the speediest path to building.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are homeowners in the coastal zone, who are interested in rebuilding more than 110 percent of their pre-fire footprint.

“Your permitting time is regular permitting time,” Marmol told the group of homes in the coastal zone. “And I’ll go to the punchline: you will be required to get a coastal development permit.”

That currently takes about two years of permit processing time through Los Angeles’ planning department.

“The [California] Coastal Commission] was backlogged even before [the fires] and it was difficult to deal with them,” said Volkman who echoed Marmol’s advice of staying within the expedited process of building back no more than 110 percent.

“L.A. County is about to embark on an unprecedented building boom in two major regions of this county: the Palisades and Altadena,” Marmol said. “That will put a tremendous burden on the construction industry.”

The impact of tariffs on building materials is a looming question. Much of the lumber used domestically, for example, comes from Canada. Additionally, the increased focus on immigration is adding pressure on labor in the construction industry, Marmol added.

“How will this all impact us?” Marmol said. “We don’t know.”

Most are bracing for ballooning construction budgets. In normal times, owners would set aside additional funds for any unplanned increase in construction costs, amounting to an additional 10 percent. Marmol said the unpredictability of the current environment now has many suggesting clients set aside 20 percent to 25 percent to offset price jumps.

Many recognize resources across the real estate industry, from architecture to construction, could soon be pushed to their limits.

“There’s only so much [resources] to go around,” said Archicraft’s U.S. partner Tyler Vaughn. “Eventually all these architects and general contractors are going to be busy in the years to come.”