General Instructions

In order to appeal a City decision, the party must file a letter of appeal together with an appeal fee with the City Clerk within fifteen (15) calendar days of the decision.

Pursuant to Government Code Section 66452.5, appeals of a Planning Commission action on tentative maps must be filed with the City Clerk within ten (10) days of Planning Commission action.

Appealable Decisions

Any decision made by the staff, the Planning Commission, or the Hearing Officer are appealable.

Method of Appeal

File a letter or a copy of the attached Application for Appeal form, together with the required fee* within fifteen (15) calendar days of the action taken with the City Clerk for appeals to the City Council or the Board of Appeals, or with the Community Development Department for appeals to the Planning Commission. You should state your reason for appeal clearly and attach any material which you believe to be supportive to your appeal.

Who Hears the Appeal & Filing Filing Fee (not a complete list)

1. Appeal of the Zoning Administrator or staff decision is heard by the Planning Commission. ($100)
2. Appeal of Building Code interpretation by staff is heard by the Board of Appeals. ($100)
3. Appeal of a Planning Commission decision is heard by the City Council. ($100)
4. Denial of certain permits and licenses are heard by the Hearing Officer. ($50)
5. Denial of a Fireworks Sellers permit is heard by the City Council. ($100)

* This may not be applicable for some decisions; verify with the Community Development Department. Hardship waivers may be requested. This fee does not include billable staff or consultant time which is the responsibility of the project related to the appeal.

Download the Appeal Application

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Acrobat Reader Windows Media Player Word Viewer Excel Viewer PowerPoint Viewer