Question 1

Do you rebuild homes in Pacific Palisades?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Kasimov Construction is a licensed Class B general contractor (CSLB #1148319, verify on cslb.ca.gov) and treats a Palisades rebuild as new construction from the foundation up: survey and soils, plans, LADBS permits, construction to the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code and the certificate of occupancy, under one fixed-price contract as CSLB requires after a declared disaster.

Question 2

What are the City of Los Angeles rules for a Palisades rebuild?

Accepted Answer

Three Mayor's orders cover most lots. Executive Order 1 is the like-for-like path: the same use in substantially the same location, within 110% of the old footprint and height, with a 30-day review target. Executive Order 6 lets a licensed architect or civil engineer self-certify the plans for a qualifying EO 1 single-family rebuild, with LADBS still inspecting and auditing at least 10% of plans. Executive Order 8 covers zoning-compliant single-family homes in the Coastal Zone that do not fit the like-for-like box. EO 1 and EO 8 projects have no Coastal Act, CEQA or Mello Act review.

Question 3

Can I rebuild bigger than 110%?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if the house meets every objective zoning standard: in the Coastal Zone that is the Executive Order 8 path, and elsewhere the design goes through the standard LADBS review. Remember that EO 1's 110% is a footprint-and-height test, not a square-footage test, so a basement inside the footprint, or a second story that stays within the height allowance, can still count as like-for-like (City Planning rebuild FAQ).

Question 4

Can my architect self-certify the plans?

Accepted Answer

If the project is an EO 1 like-for-like single-family rebuild of up to three stories and the lot is outside the Geologically Sensitive Areas, yes. The architect or civil engineer needs at least three years of California registration and errors-and-omissions insurance, LADBS skips its own plan check, still inspects the construction and audits at least 10% of self-certified plans (LADBS self-certification guidelines).

Question 5

Can I use one of the City's pre-approved standard plans?

Accepted Answer

Yes, where one suits the lot. Executive Directive 13 of July 23, 2025 set up the Standard Plan Pilot Program, a public library of single-family designs submitted by architects and builders in answer to the City's open call (Executive Directive 13); the first approvals were announced on November 13, 2025 (Office of the Mayor), and designs are added on a rolling basis. LADBS approves a standard plan only after verifying it against the Building, Residential, Green Building and Energy Codes, which is what shortens plan check. Two things do not change: the plans are privately owned, so you license a copy from the designer, and every standard plan still gets a final LADBS review for site-specific conditions and clearances before the permit is issued; local soils may call for site-specific foundation or structural engineering (LADBS Standard Plan Program). The City has not published a count of approved plans. If you choose one, we check it against your parcel in ZIMAS and the geohazard map before you buy it, and build it under the same fixed price as a custom design.

Question 6

My house was built to the 2019 code. Can it be rebuilt from the old plans?

Accepted Answer

Possibly, and the decision is LADBS's. Paragraph 8 of the Governor's order N-20-25 of February 13, 2025 allows a home that was designed and built to the 2019 California Building Standards Code and destroyed in the fire to be rebuilt to the same design without additional plan review, at the discretion of the local enforcing agency; the flood elevation standards of the 2022 code and any required elevation certificate still apply (N-20-25). The City's rebuild FAQ puts it this way: the plans can be resubmitted without further plan check, provided they are re-stamped by the original architect of record, and a house designed under an earlier code is rebuilt to the current code. Getting the old plans is simpler than it was: N-20-25 also suspended the state rule that required the City to seek the designer's consent before releasing them, and LADBS releases a lost home's plans to the owner by email or at the One-Stop Rebuilding Center with a government ID, the recorded deed and the request form (City of LA rebuild FAQ). We pull the permit history at the lot visit, and if the design qualifies we ask the architect of record to re-stamp it before anything is redrawn.

Question 7

My lot is in the Coastal Zone. Does that slow the rebuild?

Accepted Answer

Not if the project qualifies under Executive Order 1 or Executive Order 8: those projects have no Coastal Act, CEQA or Mello Act review (EO 8 guidelines). Anything else goes through the standard coastal process: a Coastal Exemption with a 20-working-day Coastal Commission appeal period, a Categorical Exclusion with a 10-working-day review, the Palisades Highlands permit CDP A-381-78, or a full Coastal Development Permit (EO 8 Implementation Guidelines, section III.B). Whether your lot is in the Single or Dual Permit Jurisdiction is shown in ZIMAS, and we check it at the lot visit.

Question 8

Do I qualify for the City fee waiver?

Accepted Answer

If you held the property at the time of the fire, yes: Ordinance 188985, effective July 16, 2026, waives City permit and plan-check fees up to 110% of the original floor area (LADBS fee waiver guide). A lot bought after January 7, 2025 does not qualify (City of LA rebuild FAQ), and if the qualifying owner sells before the certificate of occupancy, the waived fees are repaid to the City (Council File 25-0006-S57). The charges that stay even for a qualifying owner are listed in the rules section above.

Question 9

Can my old foundation be reused?

Accepted Answer

Usually not. LADBS says fire-damaged footings and slabs are not typically permitted to be reused; a licensed structural engineer has to evaluate the foundation and LADBS has to approve it (City of LA rebuilding guide, P/BC 2026-157). We arrange the evaluation before we price the job and price a new foundation unless the engineer says otherwise.

Question 10

Can I build an ADU first?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Under EO 1 or EO 8 an ADU can be built with, before or after the house, and it does not count against the residential floor area. A detached ADU is by-right with no coastal permit when it sits at least 10 ft from a canyon bluff and 25 ft from a coastal bluff (City Planning rebuild FAQ, EO 8 guidelines, section I.C). Under the Governor's order N-9-25 the ADU can receive its certificate of occupancy before the main house (N-9-25), so a family can live on the lot while the house goes up. The units we build, on cleared lots and next to standing houses, are described on our Pacific Palisades ADU page.

Question 11

Can I live on the lot while the house is rebuilt?

Accepted Answer

Yes, one temporary unit per lot. LADBS bulletin P/BC 2026-156, effective January 1, 2026, allows a DMV-registered RV or movable tiny house, an HCD-approved mobile home or a HUD-approved manufactured home on a lot that is vacant, free of hazards and held a one- or two-family home destroyed or substantially damaged by the fire. The unit keeps a 5-ft setback from every property line; a unit on wheels sits on a grade of 5% or less, and anything else on an approved foundation system. No building permit is needed when an architect, contractor or engineer certifies through the LADBS online portal that the conditions are met, but the electrical, water and sewer connections need a permit and inspection, and a temporary sewage tank is emptied at least every five days. The unit may stay for up to three years, or as long as an active rebuild permit covers the lot, whichever is longer (P/BC 2026-156, City of LA rebuild FAQ). We plan the construction fence, the deliveries and the utility trenches around it so the two can share the lot.

Question 12

Is there a deadline?

Accepted Answer

The City's rebuild FAQ says the main-house permit has to be obtained within seven years of the effective date of the applicable order, EO 1 or EO 8, and the work completed within three years of permit issuance, subject to extension (City of LA rebuild FAQ, EO 8 guidelines). The two-year application window you may have read about is an LA County rule for unincorporated Altadena (County rebuild FAQ); it does not apply to City lots in the Palisades.

Question 13

What does LADWP require, and when is power reconnected?

Accepted Answer

LADWP's undergrounding spec asks for a combination overhead/underground service panel rated up to 400 A, one 3-inch conduit from the panel to the front property line, an early meter-spot request and a pre-construction meeting with an Electric Service Representative. Permanent power is released after the final LADBS and LADWP electrical approvals, which LADWP says can take a few days or a few weeks (LADWP requirements, Rev. 01/2026). We build to the spec and file early; the release date is LADWP's to set.

Question 14

How far along is the Palisades rebuild?

Accepted Answer

Only dated official figures: the first certificate of occupancy was issued on November 21, 2025 (Mayor); the state's recovery data feed, with metrics stamped June 5, 2026, listed 5,257 City of Los Angeles rebuild applications, 3,859 plans approved and 3,221 permits issued (state dashboard data feed, newer figures may appear on the dashboard page); and on July 7, 2026 FOX 11 reported LADBS figures of permits for 1,419 properties and 28 certificates of occupancy (FOX 11). We do not publish a percentage rebuilt.

Question 15

How long does a Palisades rebuild take?

Accepted Answer

Only your contract can answer that: it carries the written schedule, and your project manager reports against it every week. The published windows are these: City departments aim to review a complete Executive Order 1 application within 30 days (EO 1 guidelines); once the permit is issued, the City expects the work to be completed within three years, subject to extension (City of LA rebuild FAQ); and LADWP says permanent power is released a few days or a few weeks after the final electrical approvals (LADWP requirements). The time on site depends on the house, the soils reports and the plan-check round, and we tell you how long before you sign.

Question 16

What does a Palisades rebuild cost?

Accepted Answer

Kasimov Construction does not publish prices. You get one fixed price in writing after the lot visit and the plans, as CSLB requires for rebuilding after a declared disaster. The public figures, the insurance payouts reported by the California Department of Insurance, the City fee waiver with its caveats and the items that move the number on a Palisades lot, are in our Palisades rebuild cost guide.

Question 17

Do you help with the insurance claim?

Accepted Answer

We give you a detailed, line-item estimate and talk construction with your adjuster. We don't negotiate claims. That takes a licensed public adjuster or an attorney.

Question 18

How much is the deposit?

Accepted Answer

California law caps the down payment on a home improvement contract at $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less. After that, you pay as the work gets done, on the schedule written in your contract.

Path	Who qualifies	What it skips	What still applies	Source
Executive Order 1, like-for-like	Same use, substantially the same location, within 110% of the original footprint and height; houses, accessory structures and ADUs	Coastal Act, CEQA and Mello Act review; most City clearances	LADBS plan check (or EO 6 self-certification), the WUI code, soils rules and inspections	EO 1 guidelines
Executive Order 8, zoning-compliant single-family in the Coastal Zone	Single-family homes that meet every objective zoning standard; same unit count plus an optional ADU; 10 ft from a canyon bluff and 25 ft from a coastal bluff	Coastal Act, CEQA and Mello Act review	Full LADBS plan check, a bluff analysis where ZIMAS flags it, permit within seven years of the order and completion within three years of the permit	EO 8 guidelines
Everything else	Any Coastal Zone project that does not fit EO 1 or EO 8	No special path	A Coastal Exemption with a 20-working-day Coastal Commission appeal period, a Categorical Exclusion with a 10-working-day review, the Palisades Highlands permit CDP A-381-78, or a full Coastal Development Permit; Single vs Dual Permit Jurisdiction shown in ZIMAS	EO 8 guidelines, III.B

Fire Rebuild Contractor in Pacific Palisades, CA

Who rebuilds fire-lost homes in Pacific Palisades?

Which rules apply to a Pacific Palisades rebuild?

Which rebuild path applies?

Can the plans be self-certified?

What if the lot is in the Coastal Zone?

Are permit fees waived for owners?

Which code applies?

How long is the permit good for?

Two City paths and the standard route.

From a cleared Pacific Palisades lot to move-in.

Lot visit and records

Corner survey and soils

Plans, seen in 3D

Permits and utilities

Construction

Final inspections and keys

Built to the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (formerly Chapter 7A).

Soils, foundations, power and access.

Soils and geology

Foundations

Power

Hydrants, deliveries and the jobsite

Where the Palisades rebuild stands.

Working with your insurance.

What to verify before you sign.

What our clients say.

More for Pacific Palisades homeowners.

All services in Pacific Palisades

Kitchen remodeling in Pacific Palisades

Bathroom remodeling in Pacific Palisades

Whole-home remodeling in Pacific Palisades

ADU builder in Pacific Palisades

Fire rebuilds in all four burn areas

Related guides.

How to hire a contractor in Los Angeles

How to choose a Palisades rebuild contractor

Palisades fire rebuild cost

Palisades Fire rebuild questions, answered.

Tell us about your Pacific Palisades lot.