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The city may have improperly raised the fee for historical landmark review by as much as 10 times the amount prescribed by a city ordinance. 

The Planning and Development Department currently charges $500 to review a structure as a potential historical landmark and $650 to review a district, such as the Berkeley Shellmound.  

According to a city ordinance written in 1974 and modified in 1985, the fee for review should be $50 for a structure and $100 for a district.  

According to the City Attorney’s Office, the fees, if written in the ordinance, can only be increased by an amendment to the ordinance, which in this case has not occurred. 

The City Council adopted the higher fees as part of a Consolidated Fee Schedule in June. The schedule included all the application fees the Planning Department charges except those related to seismic upgrades.  

The department, which oversees all the development in the city, from a residential bathroom addition to seven story office buildings, charges fees according to the amount of work planners must do to review the project. 

For example, the department charges $650 for an application to add a bedroom to an existing home. The fee to significantly change the use of an existing property, such as building a 20-unit residential building on the site of a former gas station is $2,258, according to the Current Planning Fees Schedule. 

Deputy City Attorney Zack Cowen said the fee for historical landmark review stands apart from other fees, in that the fee amount was written into the actual ordinance.  

“If the fee is part of the ordinance it should not be raised,” he said. 

Vivian Kahn, deputy directory of planning, said the fees were raised by a City Council vote after a public hearing was held. 

“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “Every year when we raise fees we do it in accordance with state law. We did hold a public hearing and the City Council did adopt the raises.” 

It remains unclear if the fee hikes are legal, because the City Council never adopted an amendment to the ordinance, specifically raising the landmark review fees. 

Prior to the August fee hike, the landmark review fees were already higher than the amounts specified in the ordinance. The cost of a structural review was $80 and district review was $180. Kahn said she did not know when the previous increases were implemented or if they were made by an amendment to the ordinance. 

Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association member Becky O’Malley said the fee hikes seem excessive. “Even if they could raise the fee from $50 to $500, there’s no justification for charging so much,” she said. “The fee was intentionally kept low because the city wanted to encourage the landmarking of the city’s architectural resources.” 

Kahn said the landmark review fee is still lower than other planning fees, considering the amount of staff time that goes into the review of the applications. “The average time spent on a district review is 13 hours and 10 hours for structures,” Kahn said. “That begins to add up at $100 per hour.” 

Berkeley resident Richard Wessell wanted to submit an application for a north Berkeley residential building to be reviewed as a potential landmark, but changed his mind when he learned of the high fees. He said high application fees for adding a bathroom is different because such a project adds value to a home but landmarking often doesn’t. 

“I was surprised by the fee,” he said. “$500 is real money and I think it would discourage most people from participating in the landmark process.” 

Kahn said the department does not charge a fee when the application is submitted by a commissioner on the Landmarks Preservation Commission or by a Planning and Development employee. 

THE RATES 

• $500 to review a  

structure as a potential  

historical landmark  

• $650 to review a district, such as the Berkeley  

Shellmound.  

• According to a city  

ordinance written in 1974 and modified in 1985, the fee for review should be $50 for a structure and $100 for a district.  

• The City Council adopted the higher fees as part of a Consolidated Fee Schedule in June. The schedule included all the application fees the Planning  

Department charges except those related to seismic upgrades.