Do I get my Coastal Development Permit from the city or the Coastal Commission?

From the local government, once it has a certified Local Coastal Program — § 30600(d). Malibu has one. Before certification, or where the site is on tidelands, submerged lands or public trust lands, the position is different under §§ 30600(b) and (c).

Can the Coastal Commission overturn the city's approval?

In defined circumstances, yes. Section 30603(a) makes a local CDP decision appealable to the Commission for developments between the sea and the first public road paralleling the sea, or within 300 feet of the inland extent of any beach or the mean high tideline; developments on tidelands, submerged or public trust lands, within 100 feet of any wetland, estuary or stream, or within 300 feet of the top of the seaward face of any coastal bluff; and for major public works or energy facilities. Grounds are limited under § 30603(b).

Are improvements to an existing house exempt?

Partly, and less than the wording first suggests. Section 30610(a) exempts improvements to existing single-family residences, but requires the Commission to specify by regulation those classes of development that involve a risk of adverse environmental effect and that therefore still need a permit. The exemption is real; its boundaries are set by regulation rather than by the statute, so it must be checked against the current rules for your specific work.

Section 30610(d) exempts repair or maintenance activities that do not result in an addition to, or enlargement or expansion of, the thing being repaired — with the caveat that the Commission may by regulation require a permit for extraordinary methods of repair that risk substantial adverse environmental impact. The test is enlargement. A like-for-like roof replacement reads differently from a re-roof that raises the ridge.

Does a demolition need a Coastal Development Permit?

Demolition is named expressly in the § 30106 definition of development. That is one of the more common surprises: an owner who intends to remove a structure before designing its replacement can find the removal is itself the permitted event.

Does the permit replace my building permit?

No. Section 30600(a) says the CDP is required in addition to any other permit required by law from any local, regional or state agency. It sits alongside your building permit, not instead of it, and the sequencing between the two matters to your programme.

Is all of Malibu in the coastal zone?

Effectively the whole city sits within it, which is why the question arises on nearly every Malibu project. Parts of Pacific Palisades and Venice are also inside the zone. The coastal zone boundary is a mapped line rather than a rule of thumb, so it is worth confirming against the official maps for a specific parcel.

When you need a Coastal Development Permit in Malibu

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

If your property is in the coastal zone, Public Resources Code § 30600(a) requires a Coastal Development Permit for any development, and § 30106 defines development far more broadly than ordinary usage: it includes grading, a change in the density or intensity of use of land, the construction, reconstruction, demolition or alteration of the size of any structure, and the removal of major vegetation. In Malibu, which has a certified Local Coastal Program, the permit comes from the city rather than the Coastal Commission under § 30600(d) — but under § 30603 the city's decision can still be appealed to the Commission where the site sits between the sea and the first public road, within 300 feet of a beach or the top of a coastal bluff, or within 100 feet of a wetland, estuary or stream.

Law verified as of 10 September 2026 against the text published by the California Legislature.

The word doing the work is “development”

Almost every surprise on a Malibu project traces back to one definition. Section 30106 of the Public Resources Code defines development to include:

the placement or erection of any solid material or structure;
grading, removing, dredging, mining or extraction of any materials;
a change in the density or intensity of use of land, including subdivision and any other division of land;
a change in the intensity of use of water, or of access to it;
the construction, reconstruction, demolition or alteration of the size of any structure; and
the removal or harvesting of major vegetation, other than for agriculture, kelp harvesting and timber operations under an approved plan.

Read that list against a normal residential project. Cutting a pad. Taking out mature trees to open a view. Demolishing the existing house. Adding to it. Each of those is development in the statutory sense, and § 30600(a) requires a Coastal Development Permit for development in the coastal zone — expressly in addition to any other permit required by law.

Who issues it

Situation	Where the CDP comes from	Statute
Local government has a certified Local Coastal Program (Malibu does)	The local government	§ 30600(d)
Before LCP certification, where the local government has established procedures	The local government	§ 30600(b)
Before certification, where it has not	The Commission, or a local government under § 30600(d)	§ 30600(c)
Tidelands, submerged lands, public trust lands	Not covered by the local-government route in § 30600(b)(2)	§ 30600(b)(2)

So in Malibu the application is a city application. That is not the end of the question.

The appeal geography

Under § 30603(a), a local CDP decision can be appealed to the Coastal Commission where the development is:

Between the sea and the first public road paralleling the sea, or within 300 feet of the inland extent of any beach or of the mean high tideline where there is no beach — whichever distance is greater.
On tidelands, submerged lands or public trust lands; within 100 feet of any wetland, estuary or stream; or within 300 feet of the top of the seaward face of any coastal bluff.
In a sensitive coastal resource area — though § 30603(a)(3)(B) excludes residential development projects from that paragraph.
Approved by a coastal county and not the principal permitted use — again excluding residential projects, under § 30603(a)(4)(B).
A major public works project or major energy facility.

Grounds are limited by § 30603(b) to an allegation that the development does not conform to the standards of the certified Local Coastal Program, among other constraints.

The practical consequence for a homeowner: two properties in the same neighbourhood can have materially different risk profiles depending on where they sit relative to the first public road, a bluff top, or a stream. That geography is worth establishing before you commit to a design, not after the city approves it.

The exemptions, read carefully

Section 30610 lists categories for which no CDP is required. Three matter for houses.

Improvements to existing single-family residences — § 30610(a). The exemption is granted and then immediately qualified: the Commission “shall specify, by regulation, those classes of development which involve a risk of adverse environmental effect” and shall require a permit for them. So the statute creates the exemption and delegates its boundary to regulation. Anyone telling you an improvement is exempt without reference to those regulations is reading half the sentence.

Repair and maintenance — § 30610(d). Exempt where the activity does “not result in an addition to, or enlargement or expansion of” the thing being repaired. The dividing line is enlargement. Replacing a deck in kind reads very differently from replacing it slightly larger.

Replacement after a disaster — § 30610(g). A structure destroyed by disaster may be replaced without a CDP, subject to strict limits — same use, same location, conforming to existing zoning, and not exceeding the floor area, height or bulk of the destroyed structure by more than 10 percent. This is the provision that governs fire rebuilds in the coastal zone, and it is covered in rebuilding after a wildfire.

Where projects actually go wrong

Not usually at the permit itself. Usually earlier, in two ways.

The first is sequencing: treating the CDP as a formality to be handled once the design is finished, rather than a constraint that shapes the design. In the coastal zone, the siting, the height, the footprint and the vegetation you propose to remove are the permit.

The second is scope creep past an exemption. A project begins as a repair, grows into an enlargement, and crosses out of § 30610(d) without anyone noticing until a neighbour does. The exemptions are all defined by thresholds, and thresholds are easy to drift past on a drawing.

Both are avoidable, and both are cheaper to avoid at the sketch stage than to resolve at plan check.

Sources

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

Questions we get asked

What counts as development under the Coastal Act?: Far more than building. Public Resources Code § 30106 includes the placement or erection of any solid material or structure, grading, removing, dredging, mining or extraction of materials, a change in the density or intensity of use of land, the construction, reconstruction, demolition or alteration of the size of any structure, and the removal or harvesting of major vegetation. Landscaping work and site grading can require a permit even where no building does.
Do I get my Coastal Development Permit from the city or the Coastal Commission?: From the local government, once it has a certified Local Coastal Program — § 30600(d). Malibu has one. Before certification, or where the site is on tidelands, submerged lands or public trust lands, the position is different under §§ 30600(b) and (c).
Can the Coastal Commission overturn the city's approval?: In defined circumstances, yes. Section 30603(a) makes a local CDP decision appealable to the Commission for developments between the sea and the first public road paralleling the sea, or within 300 feet of the inland extent of any beach or the mean high tideline; developments on tidelands, submerged or public trust lands, within 100 feet of any wetland, estuary or stream, or within 300 feet of the top of the seaward face of any coastal bluff; and for major public works or energy facilities. Grounds are limited under § 30603(b).
Are improvements to an existing house exempt?: Partly, and less than the wording first suggests. Section 30610(a) exempts improvements to existing single-family residences, but requires the Commission to specify by regulation those classes of development that involve a risk of adverse environmental effect and that therefore still need a permit. The exemption is real; its boundaries are set by regulation rather than by the statute, so it must be checked against the current rules for your specific work.
What about repairs?: Section 30610(d) exempts repair or maintenance activities that do not result in an addition to, or enlargement or expansion of, the thing being repaired — with the caveat that the Commission may by regulation require a permit for extraordinary methods of repair that risk substantial adverse environmental impact. The test is enlargement. A like-for-like roof replacement reads differently from a re-roof that raises the ridge.
Does a demolition need a Coastal Development Permit?: Demolition is named expressly in the § 30106 definition of development. That is one of the more common surprises: an owner who intends to remove a structure before designing its replacement can find the removal is itself the permitted event.
Does the permit replace my building permit?: No. Section 30600(a) says the CDP is required in addition to any other permit required by law from any local, regional or state agency. It sits alongside your building permit, not instead of it, and the sequencing between the two matters to your programme.
Is all of Malibu in the coastal zone?: Effectively the whole city sits within it, which is why the question arises on nearly every Malibu project. Parts of Pacific Palisades and Venice are also inside the zone. The coastal zone boundary is a mapped line rather than a rule of thumb, so it is worth confirming against the official maps for a specific parcel.

Send us the address.

Tell us the property and roughly what you want to build. We come back with what the zoning allows, the likely permit path, and a fixed fee for the first phase.

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