Council votes to waive construction permit fees for Disney Hall expansion after heated debate

The Los Angeles City Council voted 9-4 to approve the Budget and Finance Committee’s recommendation to waive certain construction permit fees for the Disney Hall concert hall project, a measure council staff estimated at roughly $240,000.

Councilmember Janice Walters argued against waiving the fees, saying, “I argued against the waiving of these, fees ... it seems to me if we charge our own departments fees for things that they're building, we certainly ought to charge them, other, outside groups, fees that are similarly required.” Walters called the waiver a double standard and noted the city charges its departments for building projects.

Supporters of the waiver, including Councilmembers Mike Feuer, Henry Wax and others, said the project carries significant civic and cultural benefits and that county and state partners had contributed major sums. Feuer said the council recommendation matched the advice of the City Administrative Officer and Chief Legislative Analyst and limited the waiver to construction permit fees rather than business license fees.

The council first considered a procedural substitute and then the minority and majority reports before voting. A procedural substitute to change which report was before the body passed in an initial roll call but did not ultimately carry the minority report. After further motioning, the majority report was moved and approved 9-4. The council then ordered the fees waived forthwith and recorded the result as the city’s participation in the project’s financing.

Council discussion emphasized the benefits of the project as a cultural institution and the need to treat any fee-waiver policy consistently for future public-benefit developments.