2 Costa Mesa residents who won City Hall appeals will get their filing fees refunded

Two residents who won appeals at Costa Mesa City Hall in 2015 will get refunds for the fees they paid to file the appeals, the City Council decided Tuesday.

On a unanimous vote, council members agreed to pay $690 to Ann Parker and $1,220 to Carrie Renfro.

“I felt that, under the circumstances for these two items, it was fair to refund their appeal fees,” Mayor Katrina Foley said, calling the situations “unique.”

The council previously considered the matter in September 2015, when it deadlocked on a motion from Foley to grant half of the refund amounts.

Parker’s appeal eventually resulted in the council denying a request from a sober-living operator, Solid Landings Behavioral Health, to hold group counseling sessions in an office building at 657 W. 19th St.

Renfro persuaded the council to reject a request from St. John the Divine Episcopal Church to host a weekend farmers market in its parking lot.

Parker and Renfro paid the city’s standard fees to file their appeals and formally requested refunds after the matters were resolved.

The amounts they paid were different because Parker appealed a decision from the city zoning administrator, while Renfro contested a Planning Commission action.

Appeal fees are intended to help cover the costs of city staff time and public noticing. The council considers refunds on a case-by-case basis.

“If we overturn something, we’re concluding that the body or the decision below wasn’t appropriate,” Councilman John Stephens said Tuesday. “If a resident brings that to our attention, that in itself is a public service, in my mind.”

Residents have the option of asking a planning commissioner or council member to file a review on their behalf. In those instances, no fee is charged.

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter @LukeMMoney