Resident alleges city staff demanded $8,000 fee, urges public hearing on conduct

Daniel Hale, a St. Helena resident who identified himself during the Feb. 25 public forum, told the City Council he was asked to pay an additional $8,000 to process an application that he said was first submitted in October.

Hale said the city’s demand ‘‘applies even if the application is withdrawn or not approved’’ and said he and his client have already paid ‘‘$77,100 to process this project.’’ He asked the council to schedule a public hearing so the underlying issues could be aired.

The complaint was directed primarily at two staff members, whom Hale named in his remarks. ‘‘My my beef here is with the conduct of Anil Canelo and Maya de Rosa,’’ Hale said, adding that what he described as a city culture that allows such conduct to continue has discouraged complaints from being addressed up the chain.

Why it matters: multiple residents who spoke after Hale said his allegations raised wider…