Michelle Edgar, Strategy Lead at Venbrook Insurance Services, shares the following updates and provocative perspectives with Purgula, from a recent industry panel on LA’s fire recovery efforts, held at Bisnow’s CRE State of the Market Conference.

NOTE: Community Collective is hosting a Wildfire Recovery & Economic Resilience Event for small businesses and workers impacted by the LA Fires on November 12, 2025 in Santa Monica. Click here for more information.

At Bisnow’s recent CRE State of the Market Conference, the panel titled From Ashes to Opportunity: Rebuilding Communities, Restoring Housing & Strengthening Resilience After Wildfires, featured some of California’s most influential leaders in development, policy, sustainability, and insurance (shown in the photo above, left to right):

  • Ben Stapleton, Executive Director, U.S. Green Building Council, California
  • Jason Keller, Managing Director & Assistant Portfolio Manager, Oaktree Capital Management
  • Devang Shah, Principal, Genesis Builders and Managing Director, Cityview
  • Rick Cole, Councilmember, District 2, City of Pasadena
  • Nicole Mihalka, Senior Vice President, CBRE (Moderator)

Most noteworthy, these leaders convened with the following shared conviction:

The traditional approach to wildfire recovery is no longer viable—and the future of California depends on a complete paradigm shift.

Moderated by Nicole Mihalka, Senior Vice President, CBRE, the panel spotlighted a stark truth:

California is facing not just a construction challenge, but a governance crisis.

“Rebuilding like-for-like is a delusion,” said Rick Cole, Councilmember, City of Pasadena, drawing the audience into a moment of collective realization. “Our economic realities, our insurance market, our permitting system…make it impossible to replicate the past. We must build differently, or we will not rebuild at all.”

Also see:

In communities like Altadena and Pacific Palisades, where thousands lost homes, it is estimated that up to 75 percent of residents may never return under current building codes and policies.

Without change, displacement becomes destiny.

The Shift to Scalable, Predictable Rebuilding

Jason Keller, also Co-Chairman of Thomas James Homes, articulated a bold alternative:

A production-based rebuild strategy that delivers speed, certainty, and affordability.

“We already have 40 deposits from wildfire survivors in the Palisades,” Keller said. “Our first rebuild will be completed in six weeks. Fixed price, fixed timeline. That’s the only way we restore confidence and keep people in their communities.”

These production homes—pre-approved with standardized floor plans—cost roughly half that of custom construction, which often exceeds $1,000 per square foot and takes years to navigate.

Devang Shah, Principal of Genesis Builders and Managing Director at Cityview, further emphasized the importance of certainty for families facing trauma and financial strain.

“We’re offering guaranteed timelines, no architectural fees, and pricing between $300 and $500 per square foot,” Shah said. “This is not just about building homes—it’s about preserving generational stability and preventing economic exile.”

Prefab, ADUs, and Multifamily: A New Housing Equation

Ben Stapleton, Executive Director of the U.S. Green Building Council, California, elevated the role of prefab and modular innovation as a vital part of the state’s recovery strategy.

“Prefab won’t replace traditional building, but it will be a critical percentage of wildfire recovery,” Stapleton said. “It’s faster, more resilient, and aligned with California’s climate objectives. Our biggest challenge isn’t the technology—it’s perception, policy, and permitting.”

Stapleton announced the forthcoming Prefab Showcase, being held at Greenbuild this November at the LA Convention Center, where wildfire-resilient models will be demonstrated to the public and municipal leaders.

Multifamily housing was also at the forefront—not just as a solution for long-term affordability, but as part of an urgent response to displaced residents who need housing now, not years from now.

Policy Reform: The Deciding Factor

While the necessary technology and solutions already exist, the panelists agreed that the future of recovery hinges on dismantling outdated regulatory processes.

Rick Cole was direct:

“Our current system was designed to slow down growth—not rebuild homes after disaster. It’s fundamentally misaligned with the crisis we’re in.”

Key reforms discussed included:

  • Executive Order 8, issued by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, which temporarily removes the California Coastal Commission from wildfire rebuild approvals in the Pacific Palisades—potentially reducing timelines by up to 60 percent.
  • AI-driven plan checks, already in pilot programs, capable of cutting permitting from 15 months to just 15 days.
  • Form-based zoning and missing-middle housing to enable duplexes, ADUs, and multifamily solutions aligned with modern demographics and fire resilience.
  • Statewide codification of emergency-enabled rebuild pathways as permanent policy, not temporary exceptions.

“If we want recovery, we need to treat rebuilding as a right, not a negotiation,” Keller added.

Insurance: Breaking Point

Every member of the panel agreed with the following statement:

The insurance system is collapsing faster than homes can be rebuilt.

“We cannot ask families to rebuild homes they cannot insure,” Keller said. “That’s not recovery—that’s abandonment.”

Stapleton urged policymakers to adopt property-level risk assessment and mandate insurance discounts for homes built to IBHS’ Wildfire Prepared and California’s Chapter 7A standards, allowing families who invest in resilience to see meaningful financial relief.

“We already know how to build homes that don’t burn,” he said. “Now we need an insurance system that rewards survival, not punishes location.”

Environmental Testing: The Hidden Crisis

Devang Shah warned that in many affected areas, lots were not automatically certified clean—forcing homeowners to pay for CAM-17 toxic testing and remediation.

“This should not be a private burden,” Shah said. “We must establish public funding or community facilities districts to ensure environmental safety is equitable and immediate.”

A Defining Moment for California

In closing, Rick Cole issued a challenge to policymakers, developers, and civic leaders alike:

“This is our New Deal moment,” Cole said. “We can either lead and build a new model of climate resilience and housing recovery—or we can watch our communities disappear. The choice will be made this year, through policy and collective will.”

California is not just rebuilding homes. It is rebuilding the rules of what is possible.

About the Author

Michelle Edgar is Strategy Lead at Venbrook Insurance Services, where she is partnering with Steadfast LA to develop a builder’s risk insurance program supporting wildfire-impacted homeowners through the rebuild. As a Steadfast LA Ambassador, she is working with Greg Econn to drive long-term resilience and insurance reform across California communities. She is also Founder of Edgar Talent Agency marketing consultancy and Community Collective, a civic and business coalition advancing economic opportunity and innovation across Los Angeles. 

 

Wildfire Recovery & Economic Resilience Event

Join Community Collective in Santa Monica at the Viceroy on November 12, 2025 for a powerful conversation focused on recovery, and rebuilding stronger together. This Community Collective event will feature resources for businesses and workers—including resources for access to capital, relief programs, and recovery tools—supporting those impacted by recent wildfires across the Palisades and surrounding communities.

  • Sponsored by Verizon, powered by LAEDC and Community Collective.
  • Location: Viceroy Santa Monica 1819 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401
  • Date: November 12th, 2025 6PM-8PM
  • Register here.

Additional Fire Resilience & Rebuilding Resources

 

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