Community Development Department, Building Safety DIVISION

Malibu Wins Prestigious building department of the year award

The City of Malibu Building Safety Division has been honored by California Building Officials (CALBO) with the prestigious Building Department of the Year Award. CALBO is a professional association with more than 500 city and county building department members throughout California. CALBO’s mission is to promote public health and safety in building construction through responsible legislation, education, and building code development. 

The Department of the Year award recognizes cities that have made significant strides in promoting building safety, innovation, and community engagement. The award is presented annually to a Building Department that has demonstrated exceptional work in six categories. 

View the Press Release.

Malibu's Development Portal

Planning and Building Safety staff have designed the Malibu Development Portal to submit projects, view status updates, and manage documents and fees. Applicants or owners will have access to individual projects, real time updates, departments' revisions, required documents, and fee information. Other features include managing inspection requests and researching public documents. Find instructions on how to use the Portal.

Counter Hours

Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The public counter is closed on Wednesdays from 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM.

The public will need an appointment for in-person assistance for all other times. Schedule an appointment via email Mbuilding@malibucity.org or sign in at City Hall to get in the queue. 

  1. Plan Check
  2. Permits

Plan Check Process

After receiving Planning Division green-stamp approval, the project can move forward to Building Safety plan check.

  1. Login to the Development Portal. Click on New Application under the Building Safety tile. Submit a Plan Check Application. 
  2. Follow the intake progress, upload documents, review fees, and track department reviews by clicking on Review Projects under the Projects tile. 
  3. Staff will route the uploaded documents to all necessary internal departments. Note: The applicant is responsible for submitting to any outside agencies, such as Los Angeles County Fire Department, Los Angeles County Water District 29, and Los Angeles County Health Department (commercial projects).
  4. After each review is completed, the applicant will receive corrections (step #5), or approval (skip to step #6).
  5. Corrections: Staff will send an email. When ready to resubmit, click on Plan Check Resubmittal under the Building Safety tile. Resubmit all requested documents. Do not resubmit until all department corrections have been addressed. 
  6. Approvals: The Building Safety Division will stamp approved first. Staff will forward these stamped plans to all necessary departments for their final stamps. Planning Division stamps last.
  7. After all departments have stamped approved, click on New Application under the Building Safety tile. Submit a Permit Application. 
  1. Construction Recycling
  2. Forms

CALGreen and the City requires Construction and Demolition (C&D) project managers to recycle or reuse a minimum 65% of the waste generated. Download the C&D Debris Recycling Packet to get started. At the end of your project, complete a Recycling Report. Owner/Builders and Project Managers must provide haul tickets and diversion information.

Your project manager/builder and City permitted hauler should be informed of C&D reporting requirements. Any hauler not on the permitted hauler list is working in Malibu illegally and will be referred to Code Enforcement.

Assembly Bill 2234

Effective January 1, 2024, AB 2234 requires posting examples of completed building permits for specific housing types, time limits for permit review, and online permitting requirements for larger jurisdictions. The bill added two new sections to the Government Code, Sections 65913.3 and 65913.5.

  • For “Post-Entitlement Phase” permits AB 2234 provides timelines for local agencies to approve or disapprove permits for projects where at least two-thirds of the project is designated for residential use.
  • This bill does not apply to discretionary and ministerial planning permits, entitlements, and specific other permits and reviews.

Per AB 2234, the City has posted approved and completed post-entitlement phase permits (or building permits) for the following five housing types: single family, multi-family, duplex, townhome, and accessory dwelling unit (ADU). 

Assembly Bill 3002 

Effective Jan 1, 2019, AB 3002 requires cities to provide information to applicants on disability access requirements and resources. The Notice to Applicants for Commercial Building Permits is also available in Spanish, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean, as required by the bill.

Applicants for commercial building permits are encouraged to take advantage of California access specialists (CASp) inspection services, state and federal programs for assistance with access compliance and access expenditures, federal and state legal requirements on accessibility for individuals with disabilities.