What does bulk mean in that test?

Section 30610(g)(2)(B) defines bulk as total interior cubic volume, measured from the exterior surface of the structure. It is a volume test, not an area test, which is why a design can pass on floor area and still fail on bulk — raising ceilings adds volume without adding square footage.

Is the 10 percent a combined allowance?

No, and this is the detail that catches designs out. The statute says the replacement shall not exceed either the floor area, height, or bulk by more than 10 percent. All three are independent ceilings. A rebuild that adds eight percent floor area and twelve percent bulk has failed the test.

Does the exemption cover moving the house to a better spot on the lot?

No. Section 30610(g)(1) requires the replacement to be sited in the same location on the affected property. Relocating the footprint — even for good reasons like defensible space or slope stability — takes the project outside the exemption and into a Coastal Development Permit.

What counts as a disaster?

Section 30610(g)(2)(A) defines it as any situation in which the force or forces that destroyed the structure were beyond the control of its owner. A wildfire plainly qualifies.

What did the Governor's executive order change?

According to the Governor's office, Executive Order N-4-25, signed 12 January 2025, suspends CEQA review and California Coastal Act permitting for reconstruction of properties substantially damaged or destroyed in the recent Southern California wildfires, and extended price-gouging protections in Los Angeles County. The order itself is published as a scanned document, so the specific thresholds and conditions it applies should be confirmed with your permitting agency rather than taken from any summary, including this one.

So do I still need a Coastal Development Permit?

That depends on your jurisdiction, the current status of the executive order relief, and whether your rebuild fits § 30610(g) on its own terms. The durable answer is the statute: a rebuild that stays same-use, same-location and within 10 percent on all three metrics sits inside a permanent statutory exemption that does not depend on an emergency order remaining in force. That is a materially safer position to design to.

What "like-for-like" actually means when you rebuild after a fire

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 10, 2026 · UPDATED SEPTEMBER 10, 2026 · REVIEWED BY MILAD KAZEMI

In the coastal zone, like-for-like has a precise statutory meaning. Public Resources Code § 30610(g) exempts the replacement of a structure destroyed by a disaster from needing a Coastal Development Permit, but only where the replacement conforms to applicable existing zoning, is for the same use, is sited in the same location, and does not exceed the floor area, height or bulk of the destroyed structure by more than 10 percent. Bulk is defined as total interior cubic volume measured from the exterior surface, and disaster means the forces that destroyed the structure were beyond the owner's control. Exceeding any one of the three metrics loses the exemption.

Law verified as of 10 September 2026 against the text published by the California Legislature. Where this page describes the Governor’s executive order it relies on the Governor’s own published summary, for the reason given below.

The phrase has a real definition, and people are guessing at it

“Like-for-like” gets used in fire rebuilds as though it means roughly the same house. In the coastal zone it is a defined legal test, and the definition is unforgiving in ways that matter at the drawing board.

Public Resources Code § 30610(g)(1) exempts from the Coastal Development Permit requirement:

The replacement of any structure, other than a public works facility, destroyed by a disaster. The replacement structure shall conform to applicable existing zoning requirements, shall be for the same use as the destroyed structure, shall not exceed either the floor area, height, or bulk of the destroyed structure by more than 10 percent, and shall be sited in the same location on the affected property as the destroyed structure.

Four conditions, all of which must hold.

Condition	What it requires
Existing zoning	The replacement conforms to applicable existing zoning requirements
Same use	Residential replaces residential
Not more than 10% over	Floor area or height or bulk — each an independent ceiling
Same location	Sited where the destroyed structure was, on the affected property

The three ceilings are separate

This is the detail that decides whether a design survives, and it is almost always reported as a single allowance.

The statute says the replacement “shall not exceed either the floor area, height, or bulk … by more than 10 percent.” Three independent tests. Pass two and fail one and you are outside the exemption.

Bulk is the one that catches people, because § 30610(g)(2)(B) defines it as total interior cubic volume, measured from the exterior surface of the structure. It is a volume measure. A rebuild that keeps the same footprint and the same ridge height but replaces eight-foot ceilings with ten-foot ceilings has added roughly a quarter to its interior volume while adding no floor area at all. On paper that reads like the same house. Against § 30610(g) it is not.

Same location means the same location

Section 30610(g)(1) requires siting “in the same location on the affected property as the destroyed structure.”

There are frequently good reasons to want to move — better defensible space, a more stable part of the slope, distance from a drainage course, a safer access route. None of them are exceptions. Moving the footprint takes the rebuild out of the exemption and into a Coastal Development Permit, which is a legitimate choice but a different and longer path. It should be made deliberately, with the cost of the permit route understood, rather than discovered after the site plan is drawn.

What “disaster” and “structure” cover

Disaster is defined broadly and favourably: § 30610(g)(2)(A) means any situation in which the forces that destroyed the structure were beyond the owner’s control. A wildfire is squarely within it.

Structure is defined to include landscaping and any erosion control structure or device “similar to that which existed prior to the occurrence of the disaster” — § 30610(g)(2)(C). That helps with restoring what was lost. The operative word is similar, so it supports putting back rather than redesigning.

About the executive order

Executive Order N-4-25 was signed on 12 January 2025. According to the Governor’s office, it suspends CEQA review and California Coastal Act permitting for reconstruction of properties substantially damaged or destroyed in the recent Southern California wildfires, directs state agencies to identify further permitting requirements that can safely be suspended or streamlined, and extended price-gouging protections in Los Angeles County.

A note on sourcing, because it affects how much weight to put on any summary you read — including this one. The order is published on the Governor’s site as a scanned document rather than as machine-readable text. Specific numeric thresholds attributed to it circulate widely in secondary coverage. This page does not repeat them, because we have not been able to verify them against the order itself. Confirm any threshold with your permitting agency, and ask for it in writing.

Why the statute is the safer thing to design to

Emergency relief is real and useful, and where it applies it can remove a permitting step entirely. It is also, by nature, temporary and subject to change.

Section 30610(g) is not. It is a permanent statutory exemption with a fixed test. A rebuild designed to stay same-use, same-location, and inside 10 percent on floor area, height and bulk sits within that exemption regardless of what happens to an executive order.

That does not mean every rebuild should be constrained to 110 percent of what burned. It means the decision to exceed it should be a deliberate one, taken with the alternative permitting path priced and programmed — rather than a drift that happens on the drawings and is discovered at submittal.

If your property is in the coastal zone, the wider picture of what triggers a permit at all is in when you need a Coastal Development Permit in Malibu.

Sources

Rules change. Confirm anything you are relying on against the agency directly.

Questions we get asked

What is the legal definition of like-for-like in a coastal fire rebuild?: Public Resources Code § 30610(g)(1) sets it out: the replacement structure shall conform to applicable existing zoning requirements, shall be for the same use as the destroyed structure, shall not exceed either the floor area, height or bulk of the destroyed structure by more than 10 percent, and shall be sited in the same location on the affected property.
What does bulk mean in that test?: Section 30610(g)(2)(B) defines bulk as total interior cubic volume, measured from the exterior surface of the structure. It is a volume test, not an area test, which is why a design can pass on floor area and still fail on bulk — raising ceilings adds volume without adding square footage.
Is the 10 percent a combined allowance?: No, and this is the detail that catches designs out. The statute says the replacement shall not exceed either the floor area, height, or bulk by more than 10 percent. All three are independent ceilings. A rebuild that adds eight percent floor area and twelve percent bulk has failed the test.
Does the exemption cover moving the house to a better spot on the lot?: No. Section 30610(g)(1) requires the replacement to be sited in the same location on the affected property. Relocating the footprint — even for good reasons like defensible space or slope stability — takes the project outside the exemption and into a Coastal Development Permit.
What counts as a disaster?: Section 30610(g)(2)(A) defines it as any situation in which the force or forces that destroyed the structure were beyond the control of its owner. A wildfire plainly qualifies.
Does the exemption cover landscaping and erosion control?: Within limits. Section 30610(g)(2)(C) provides that structure includes landscaping and any erosion control structure or device similar to that which existed prior to the disaster. The word doing the work is similar — this supports restoration, not redesign.
What did the Governor's executive order change?: According to the Governor's office, Executive Order N-4-25, signed 12 January 2025, suspends CEQA review and California Coastal Act permitting for reconstruction of properties substantially damaged or destroyed in the recent Southern California wildfires, and extended price-gouging protections in Los Angeles County. The order itself is published as a scanned document, so the specific thresholds and conditions it applies should be confirmed with your permitting agency rather than taken from any summary, including this one.
So do I still need a Coastal Development Permit?: That depends on your jurisdiction, the current status of the executive order relief, and whether your rebuild fits § 30610(g) on its own terms. The durable answer is the statute: a rebuild that stays same-use, same-location and within 10 percent on all three metrics sits inside a permanent statutory exemption that does not depend on an emergency order remaining in force. That is a materially safer position to design to.

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