If you’re considering a burned lot in Ventura, or still working toward a Thomas Fire rebuild, an earlier set of plans can leave you with a practical question: which rules apply now?
As reported in December 2025, the Overlay Zone’s provisions ended December 31, 2025. New applications starting January 1, 2026 follow current zoning and standard review. Expired applications or permits must be resubmitted without overlay benefits.
This is educational information, not legal or tax advice.
Those rules come from the City of Ventura, as reported by the Ventura Breeze. The city’s release is from December 2025, and the ordinance itself was not read, so ask the Planning Division whether anything has changed.
What changed, and what had to be filed by the deadline?
The overlay ended a special route for new rebuild applications, and owners needed a complete and substantial building permit application, with all required plans, submitted before December 31, 2025 to use its provisions.
Established in 2018, the Thomas Fire Rebuild Overlay Zone reduced fees, simplified development standards and allowed more design flexibility. Starting January 1, 2026, all new applications follow current zoning and standard review.
The filing requirement matters when you’re looking at plans prepared during the overlay period. Having drawings doesn’t establish that the required application was submitted. A submission date alone also doesn’t answer whether the application was complete and substantial or included all required plans.
The Breeze’s report does not explain what happens to an application submitted before the deadline that was incomplete. Leave that question for the Planning Division to answer for the specific file.
Expiration has an explicit consequence: expired applications or permits must be resubmitted without overlay benefits. Don’t assume an earlier proposal carries those benefits into a new submission simply because its design began while the overlay existed.
What should a buyer, owner or seller collect and ask?
Collect the plans, application record and permit information, then ask the Planning Division which provisions and review process apply to the proposed work.
Request the application or permit number and make sure the documents you’re reviewing belong to that file. For a buyer, this means asking for the records behind a seller’s rebuild proposal. For an owner preparing to sell, it means having support for statements about the plans and permit.
Use a focused set of questions:
- Does the record show a complete and substantial application, with all required plans, submitted before December 31, 2025?
- Is the application or permit active or expired?
- Which provisions apply to the work now proposed, and what review is needed next?
Ask for an explanation tied to the actual file. A general description of the former overlay doesn’t resolve a particular property’s application status.
The guide to buying land offers related reading as you organize a purchase. If you’re preparing a sale, the California seller disclosure guide provides additional context for reviewing property information.
A Ventura owner asked us whether the end of the Thomas Fire rebuild overlay meant he had lost every option connected to rebuilding. We explained that expiration of the special overlay changed the rules available under that program, but it did not answer what could be permitted under the property’s regular zoning. We separated those two questions before discussing his next step.
Are there still empty lots?
The Ventura County Star reported in December 2025 that a handful of lots on Colina Vista remained empty.
Its account described more than 150 homes burned in Ondulando and said most had been rebuilt. That gives context for the remaining lots without answering what can be built on any particular parcel.
The Star also cited insurance payout timing and permitting as major factors in how quickly people could rebuild. Those points help explain why recovery involves more than a set of development rules. The overlay’s fee and design provisions were part of the process, while the timing of insurance payments and permit work also mattered.
For a purchase discussion, keep that distinction concrete. An empty lot is a property condition; it isn’t an explanation of the owner’s rebuilding timeline. The Star’s account doesn’t establish why a specific lot remains empty.
If you’re looking at one of these properties, use its documents to discuss the proposed rebuild. The neighborhood’s broader recovery history cannot establish the status of that lot’s plans or permit.
Which fee and design questions need an answer?
Ask the city for the fees and development standards that apply to your proposed submission.
The former overlay included fee reductions, but the Breeze’s report gives no dollar amounts. There is no stated saving to carry into a purchase estimate or rebuild budget. Request the applicable charges for the work you’re considering.
The same care applies to design flexibility. The report describes the overlay’s purpose without giving specific heights, setbacks or detailed design allowances. It doesn’t provide a basis for comparing an earlier drawing against today’s requirements.
Bring the proposed plans into that discussion and ask whether revisions are needed under the applicable zoning and review process. This makes the question specific enough to address the work you intend to pursue.
For related reading on construction choices, see the wildfire hardening guide. Use the city’s response to address the development standards for the Ventura proposal itself.
What does the recovery count tell you?
The recovery count shows citywide rebuilding stages as of November 2025.
At that time, the city counted 404 homes fully rebuilt and approved for occupancy, 31 permits under active construction, and 18 more under plan review. Keep that date attached to the figures.
Each category describes a different stage. Approval for occupancy is distinct from active construction, and plan review is distinct from both. The figures provide a broader recovery picture; they don’t establish the next step for an individual property.
A 2025 University of California, Berkeley Goldman School report ranked Ventura among the strongest-performing communities in post-fire recovery. It praised public data, streamlined permitting and consistent homeowner support. The report highlighted the Thomas Fire Recovery Map as a transparency model and credited early policies including expedited plan checks, fee reductions and dedicated staff.
The city’s Thomas Fire Rebuild page is the location identified for the full recovery report and map.
What preparedness work did the city report?
The city reported changes to emergency planning, fire hazard programs, equipment and staffing alongside its rebuilding update.
Its listed steps included a full-time Emergency Services Manager and an updated Emergency Evacuation Plan. It also reported revised Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps and an expanded Fire Hazard Reduction Program for high-concern areas.
These are distinct parts of the city’s preparedness work. When reviewing a property, identify which document or program you want to understand: the evacuation plan, the revised maps or the hazard reduction program. Naming the item makes a request for further information clearer than asking generally about recovery.
The December 2025 release described Fire Station 7 as under construction to improve response times. It gave no completion date. Treat that as the construction status reported at the time.
The department also uses fast-attack Type VI engines and a Utility Task Vehicle for hard-to-reach areas, and adds dedicated staffing during every Red Flag Warning. These reported operational steps provide context for the city’s preparedness work without establishing conditions at a particular lot.
The short version
New applications follow current zoning and standard review, and expired applications or permits require resubmission without overlay benefits.
If a property comes with earlier rebuild plans, base your decision on the application record and the Planning Division’s answers about the proposed work. Treat the dated recovery figures and neighborhood reporting as context for that review.
For a separate look at your property’s value, use the home value tool.
Common questions
When did Ventura's Thomas Fire Rebuild Overlay Zone end?
As reported in December 2025, the Overlay Zone's provisions ended December 31, 2025.
What was required to use the Overlay Zone's provisions?
Owners had to submit a complete and substantial building permit application, with all required plans, before December 31, 2025.
What rules apply to new applications and expired permits?
Starting January 1, 2026, all new applications follow current zoning and standard review. Expired applications or permits must be resubmitted without Overlay Zone benefits.
Are there still empty lots in Ondulando?
The Ventura County Star reported in December 2025 that most homes burned in Ondulando had been rebuilt, while a handful of lots on Colina Vista remained empty.
How much were the Overlay Zone's fee reductions?
The Ventura Breeze's report gives no dollar amounts. Ask the city for the fees that apply to your proposed application.
