Malibu Homebuilding Stalls as Just Two Permits Given After Fires

Of the thousands of residents needing to rebuild after this year’s California wildfires, Andy Weyman would seem especially well positioned. The TV and stage director had remodeled his Malibu home just five years earlier and had city-approved blueprints in hand, with the same architect set to oversee reconstruction.

Yet eight months after the Palisades Fire destroyed almost 600 Malibu houses, the city has issued only two rebuilding permits. Weyman needed geological tests to ensure the stability of his bluff-top lot. Construction costs are roughly double his insurance coverage. In August, his architect died.

“We’re flailing to figure out the solution,” ...