The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday directed staff to draft an ordinance raising fees for appealing developments, with the goal of increasing the flat rate from $229 to $1,145 for residents living near the project.
The city is proposing to double the flat rate fee to $2,289 for residents who don’t live near the project. The proposal would place additional surcharges on the non-neighbor rate for appeal applications over $2,800, according to city documents.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the City Council voted 13-0 to instruct city attorneys to draft an ordinance to effectuate the rate change. It will require a vote by the council and approval of the mayor before it can be implemented.
There was no discussion on the matter.
City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez introduced an amendment to keep the fee at $229 but only for tenants who would be displaced by a development project. The councilman agreed to send the amendment to committee for further discussion as long as it came back on the same day the proposed ordinance came up for a vote.
Residents of L.A. are able to appeal a development, and many do when they feel such a project would negatively impact their neighborhood.
For years, residents have been able to file appeals against city planning decisions and zoning regulations for $229, which represented 1% of what the city estimated the cost to appeal, according to a report from city planning. However, city officials lamented the rest of the fee was being paid through the city’s general fund, and it reached a point where LA was paying more money than they felt was necessary.
The proposed change would increase the rate fee to 5% of the expected cost for neighbors and 10% for non-neighbors who feel strongly enough to file an appeal. According to the Department of City Planning, the proposed rate change could save the city about $245,086.
Several neighborhood councils have opposed the rate change, including the United Neighborhoods of the Historic Arlington Heights, West Adams and Jefferson Park Communities Neighborhood Council, and the West L.A. Sawtelle Neighborhood Council, among others.
“Appeals are the primary method residents have to challenge government land use decisions they believe are flawed,” according to a letter from the United Neighborhoods to the city. “This fee increase may disproportionately impact lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color, including the neighborhoods within UNNC’s boundaries which are defined as `Lower Opportunity Neighborhoods,’ and the fee increase also impact non-profit organizations whose advocacy runs the gamut from social justice to environmental concerns to `Abundant’ housing issues, across the political spectrum.”
“A city which values residents’ opinions would not create a situation where the ability file an Appeal depends on a resident’s (or neighborhood’s) financial circumstances. Please reject this initiative,” the letter concluded.