Rebuilding in Pacific Palisades Is Unlike Any Other Fire Rebuild
The January 2025 Palisades Fire left more than 6,800 buildings destroyed in one of the most intricate rebuilding areas in the City of Los Angeles. Pacific Palisades is completely located within the City of LA, so permits are to be submitted through LADBS and LA City Planning, not Los Angeles County. It also means that your rebuild is subject to a few mayoral executive orders, geohazard overlay zones, Coastal Act suspensions and fire-hardening requirements, and their applicability is unique to your area of the country.
For the vast majority of homeowners in the Palisades, this type of construction project was something that they’ve never undertaken — not to mention one that was even more complicated by the geotechnical needs, post-fire hillside conditions, insurance coverage shortfalls or an explosion of contractors bidding for the few available skilled trades.
PaliPM is based in Pacific Palisades. This is our neighbourhood. We work on behalf of the homeowners and not the contractors or the insurance company, and your dedicated Owner’s Representative through the entire rebuild.
Who We Help
PaliPM has a focus on helping Pacific Palisades homeowners who:
- Completely lost their house in the Palisades Fire and are beginning to rebuild.
- Awarded a red or yellow tag and considering their options.
- Have coverage but are not sure about the settlement’s value for rebuild expenses.
- Have an architect or contractor already but in need of an independent check?
- Don’t know how to meet LADBS, executive order, PGRAZ zone, or Coastal Commission requirements?
- Need a person’s shoulder to lean on — responsible from start to finish.
From the initial stages all the way through the process, PaliPM takes the complexity off your shoulders so that you can concentrate on what’s important to you.
How PaliPM Manages Your Pacific Palisades Fire Rebuild
Damage Assessment and Documentation
First, we perform a comprehensive evaluation of the property and note all the structural issues, remaining improvements and lot-specific issues that will affect all of the decisions that follow. We keep all information in a format that will be helpful for your insurance records and permitting team.
Determining Your Rebuild Path
It’s difficult to give a definitive answer on what to do after the Palisades Fire. You can choose from an identical “like for like” EO1 rebuild, an expanded EO8 zoning-compliant rebuild or a completely custom design, which may take a longer permitting process. The requirements to take the different paths vary, as do the costs and the insurance implications. PaliPM provides you with all the facts, including the pros and cons, so you can choose what is best for you — not just your contractor.
Permit Navigation and Regulatory Compliance
The process of going through LADBS, PGRAZ, Coastal Zone suspensions, eligibility determinations under the executive order, and submitting geotechnical reports is a full-time job! It’s one we’re taking on for you. We draft and organize full permit applications, deal with city correspondence, and keep track of review progress and correct comments — avoiding the review round and round the clock. Are you looking for wildfire rebuild permit assistance and city approval?
Geotechnical and Engineering Coordination
Work closely with geotechnical engineers, structural engineers and civil engineers to identify site specific requirements at an early stage, to incorporate these into design and to record these in the permit submission. Hillside and bluff adjacent properties are not a matter of choice; this coordination is either there or it is not.
Contractor Vetting and Selection
Post-fire rebuilding boom has brought in contractors who are not experienced in building on hillsides in coastal high fire hazard areas. All contractors are checked for active CSLB license, general liability insurance (at a minimum $1 million per occurrence), relevant experience and references from similar projects that have been built under Chapter 7A. There will be no listing of contractors given. Our independent evaluation of each option will be presented to you and you will be walked through qualified options.
Construction Oversight and Quality Control
We are at site at each important construction stage from foundation, framing, rough MEP, insulation, to final inspections. Chapter 7A compliance is checked when selecting the materials – not at final inspection. Schedule tracking against milestone, and early call-out of issues before they turn into costly corrections due to change orders are all handled.
Insurance Coverage Review and Gap Analysis
Thousands of Pacific Palisades homeowners face a significant gap between their insurance payout and the actual cost to rebuild. In this rebuild environment, the most significant financial risk is under-insurance. Extended replacement cost endorsements are becoming increasingly important (usually between 25% and 50% above the policy limit) and many homeowners are finding their policy limits don’t cover the cost of replacing their home.
We will call in licensed experts to review your policy and determine the extent of coverage you have and the coverage gaps, especially regarding Ordinance and Law coverage for Chapter 7A upgrades, code-required improvements and increased construction costs caused by the post-fire market. We then work with licensed experts to ensure your policy is applied correctly to the full cost of your rebuild.
Budget Management and Cost Control
Construction costs at Pacific Palisades currently range from $550 to $950 per square foot for hard costs, which can increase or decrease based on finish level, site challenges, and architectural complexity. Hillside lots with caisson foundations and underground garages come with an additional $75-$200 per square foot. From the beginning of construction, PaliPM has realistic budgets, monitors and controls costs against budgets, and guards against scope creep and the change order inflation that can deplete rebuild funds.
The Advantages and Why Pacific Palisades Homeowners Choose PaliPM?
We’re from here. For years, PaliPM’s principals have resided and operated in Pacific Palisades. The community directly felt the impacts of the January 2025 fire. We are not a disaster-chasing crew that “arrived at the Palisades” following the fire. It’s not like we are the first to be here.
We work on your behalf, not your contractor’s, not your insurer’s! Each vendor, architect, engineer, and contractor that is part of your rebuild is in it for himself. Nothing more than your interests are of concern to PaliPM. If the work is not done according to the specifications, we need some correction. If the change order doesn’t stand up to questioning, we stand our ground. If the insurance estimate is less than what is costed, we’ll note the difference and speak on your behalf.
We understand this particular regulatory setting. We walk the talk on PGRAZ zones, eligibility for EO1 vs. EO8, Coastal Zone suspensions, the Pre-Approved Standard Plan Pilot, the One-Stop Rebuilding Center — we do all of these things on a day-to-day basis. The addition of a project manager who is not familiar with the requirements in Pacific Palisades can be a cost and time expenditure.
A combination of 70+ years of experience. We have a wealth of combined real estate, construction and development experience for your project. We have successfully worked on projects of all levels of complexity in the rebuild environment in Palisades.
Check our → Wildfire rebuild management service help
Ready to Start Your Pacific Palisades Fire Rebuild?
You are not required to be given a checklist. You need an Owner’s Representative who understands every level of the Pacific Palisades regulatory landscape—from the executive orders, the PGRAZ zones, the Coastal Zone requirements, to the Chapter 7A mandates—and keeps contractors, architects and insurers on their toes all the way.
PaliPM does just that. It’s this community that I’m in.
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