MALIBU, Kalifornia (PNN) - October 3, 2025 - The pace of rebuilding in Malibu, Kalifornia, is going very slowly. Ridiculously slowly. The fires were ten months ago, but in Malibu, only two rebuilding permits have been issued.
One local official, a volunteer Fire Rebuild Ambassador named Abe Roy resigned this week out of frustration.
Meanwhile, Kalifornia pretend Governor Gavin Newsom is wasting his time issuing insane and absurd posts trashing President Donald J. Trump, while Marxist outlaw Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spends all of her time complaining about President Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement on liberal cable news networks.
Is there any wonder why nothing is getting done?
Malibu’s volunteer Fire Rebuild Ambassador resigned this week and called on Mayor Marianne Riggins to step down, citing what he described as an untenable pace of reconstruction following January’s wildfires.
Abe Roy, appointed in late May as the city’s Fire Rebuild Ambassador, told the City Council at a Monday meeting that he was leaving the post and later urged Riggins to “gracefully step down,” saying the city is “prioritizing politics over permits.”
“Two permits (have been) issued in nearly 10 months, (which) is an abomination by any standard,” Roy said.
Roy’s resignation caps months of mounting frustration among homeowners who lost properties in the Palisades and Franklin fires and say they are facing costly studies, duplicative reviews, and shifting standards before they can rebuild.
City figures cited in news reports show roughly 720 structures were destroyed; 69 projects have initial planning approval, and only two have received building permits, allowing construction to start.
In an interview with Westside Current, Roy said Malibu’s process has been “intentionally made difficult” over decades to slow development - an approach he said is ill-suited to disaster recovery.
Malibu was also devastated by the Woolsey Fire in 2018 and by the Franklin Fire in December 2024, just weeks before the Palisades Fire.
Fewer than half of the homes destroyed in the Woolsey Fire have been rebuilt. As with the Palisades Fire, administrative fees and delays are part of the process. So, too, are fights with insurance companies about payouts for coverage.
Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass and the entire Los Angeles city council should resign. Their responses to the fires have been an utter disgrace.