SEC. 19.05. FILING FEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCES.

(Amended by Ord. No. 188,796, Eff. 2/23/26.)

A. Fees, Costs, and Deposits. For the preparation and processing of required studies, analysis, reports, findings, mitigation measures, certifications, and notices under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), all fees, deposits, and costs required in Subsections 1. and 2. below, shall be paid. All monies required to be paid in this Section, shall be paid to the City Planning Department at the time the permit application is filed, unless otherwise indicated in this Section. The determination of the necessary actions or clearance to comply with CEQA is at the City’s discretion acting as the lead or responsible agency. Upon the applicant’s failure to pay the fee, deposit, or cost when required in this Section, the City may stop or suspend work on any environmental review, or other work for which the fee, deposit, or cost is collected under this Section.

For any CEQA clearance that requires publication, as set forth in either the California Public Resources Code or this Code, the applicant is responsible for and shall pay all pass-through costs associated with publication, in addition to any other fees paid.

Categorical Exemptions (CEs), Statutory Exemptions (SEs), Negative Declarations (NDs) / Mitigated Negative Declarations (MNDs), Environmental Assessment Forms (EAFs), Housing Element EIR Project Clearance (HE Clearances), Sustainable Communities Project Exemption (SCPE), Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment (SCEA), and Addenda for ND / MND. All Applicants requiring any type of CEQA clearance expressly listed in Table 1-A shall pay the “Initial Intake Fee” and any corresponding fee identified for any of the CEQA clearances listed under the “Type of Application” column in Table 1-A.

Table 1-A. CEs, EAFs, NDs, MNDs, HE CLEARANCES, SCPEs, & SCEAs FEES

(Initial Intake Fee With Corresponding Fee Based on Applicable CEQA Clearance)

Type of Application

Base Fee

Initial Intake Fee (Environmental Application Form Intake Fee for All Categorical and Statutory Exemptions, Non-EIR Initial Studies (ND/MND), SCPEs, SCEAs, and Housing Element Project Streamlining Clearances)	$1,214
Corresponding Fee Based on Applicable CEQA Clearance In Addition to Initial Intake Fee:
Categorical Exemption (Classes 1 - 31, 33)	$0
Class 32 Categorical Exemption or Hillside Class 3	$5,020
EAF / Initial Study Resulting in ND, MND, or Statutory Exemptions (unless specifically listed elsewhere in this Table 1-A	$12,600
Subsequent Approval Review (CEQA Guidelines Section 15162) or Addendum to ND, MND, or SCEA	$6,675
Infill Housing Project Statutory Exemption - Cal. Pub. Res. Code Section 21080.66	$1,986
Housing Element EIR Project Clearance	$16,108
SCPE or SCEA	$14,122

In cases where revisions to the CEQA clearances identified in Table 1-A above, the fees listed in Table 1-B shall also apply.

Table 1-B. Additional CEQA Fees

Type of Application	Base Fee
CEQA Clearance Revisions Fee (Limited to CEQA Clearances listed in Table 1-A, excluding Categorical Exemptions)	$2,207
Revised Categorical Exemption	$1,269

Environmental Impact Reports and Other CEQA Clearances. For any environmental impact report (EIR) (including but not limited to Supplemental, Subsequent, Tiered, and Focused) a subsequent approval clearance relying on a Certified EIR (that does not include the preparation of an EIR), and any CEQA clearance that is neither of the above or a clearance expressly listed in Tables 1-A or 1-B in Subdivision 1. (which shall be referred to as “Other CEQA Clearance”), the applicant shall pay an initial deposit and the hourly review fees provided in Table 2, below, in the “Base Fee” column for the applicable “Type of Application”.

(a) Deposit. Any required deposit shall be paid at the time the applicant applies for the preparation of an EAF or applies for the particular CEQA clearance requiring the deposit, or at the time the City provides notice that the particular CEQA clearance requiring a deposit is required for the project. Payment of any hourly review fee required in this Subdivision shall be paid.

Table 2. DEPOSITS AND FEES FOR EIRS AND OTHER CEQA CLEARANCES

Type of Application	Base Fee
EIRs (this includes any type of EIR, including Focused, Tiered, Supplemental, and Subsequent) - Initial Deposit	$15,000
Other CEQA Clearance - Initial Deposit	$10,000

Review for Subsequent Approval Under Certified EIR (CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162, 15163, 15164, and 15168) - Initial Deposit	$7,500
EIR (Any type including Supplemental, Subsequent, Tiered, or Focused) Review Services (hourly)	$221
Other CEQA Clearance Review Services (hourly)	$221
Review Services (hourly)	$221

(b) Full Cost Recovery. Notwithstanding the fees identified in Subsections 1. and 2. above, the applicant is responsible to pay for the City’s actual costs associated with the City’s actions to comply with CEQA in the processing of applications under Chapter I, Chapter 1A, and Chapter IX, and processing of all associated discretionary applications. To the extent the City’s actual costs to comply with CEQA exceed the fees required to be paid above in Subsection 1. and Subsection 2.(a), the applicant shall pay the City for its actual costs at the hourly rate set for “Review Services” in Table 2, with the total amount of costs at the hourly rate to be offset by the fees collected pursuant to this Section. The City Planning Department shall calculate the actual costs and resultant fee and shall maintain appropriate accounting records of the actual costs. The Director of Planning shall resolve any dispute related to the fee. The Director shall include any cost incurred or attributed to the processing of appeals.

of costs at the hourly rate to be offset by the fees collected pursuant to this Section. The City Planning Department shall calculate the actual costs and resultant fee and shall maintain appropriate accounting records of the actual costs. The Director of Planning shall resolve any dispute related to the fee. The Director shall include any cost incurred or attributed to the processing of appeals.

B. Child Care Fees. No fee shall be charged in connection with the processing of an initial study or filing of an EIR for any child care facility or nursery school which is determined to be nonprofit, including, but not limited to, parent cooperatives and facilities funded by a governmental agency or owned or operated by a philanthropic institution, church, or similar institution. A facility funded by a governmental agency shall indicate the primary current and anticipated source of funds.

Where any uncertainty exists as to the nonprofit status of the facility, the applicant shall file a copy of the articles of incorporation or an affidavit showing, to the satisfaction of a Zoning Administrator, that the child care facility will be nonprofit.