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Neighbors urge City Council to review high planning appeal fees after discovery of $5,850 charge
Summary
At the June 23 meeting a group of neighbors asked the council to examine the Planning Commission's appeal fee policy after they found an appellant-paid fee totaling $5,850 (described as 75% of the application fee). They said the high cost discourages appeals and asked the council to require fee justifications and documentation of staff time.
A neighborhood group told the Lafayette City Council on June 23 that the city's fee structure for appealing Planning Commission decisions appears to charge appellants 75% of the project owner's application fee, which in one case amounted to $5,850.
The speaker, identified as Pam, said her group compared Lafayette's appeal fees to neighboring jurisdictions and found substantially lower charges: Walnut Creek (example cited as $210 hourly equivalent), Concord ($138 flat fee cited), Pleasant Hill ($441 cited) and another city (referenced as charging 25% with a $2,000 maximum). Pam said an attorney told them the 75% figure appears "illegal and exorbitant" and argued it discourages residents from exercising the right to appeal.
Pam asked the council to direct staff to review the legality and appropriateness of the current appeal-fee calculation, to require the Planning Commission and other bodies to justify fees prior to appeal deadlines and to provide documentation showing how staff time justifies high appeal charges. She referenced an ordinance she recorded as "6 56 adopted in 2018" that aimed to clarify appeal procedures and encourage community participation; she asked the council to align practice with that ordinance.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; the speaker requested a staff or council review of fee practices and legal compliance.
