$64,000 Appeal Fee Thwarts Playa Vista Foes : Development: Hayden calls new city law ‘immoral and anti-democratic.’ The state senator vows to fight it.

Opponents of the massive Playa Vista development near Marina del Rey were thwarted Friday in an attempt to appeal an initial city approval of the project when they learned that the appeal would cost them $64,000.

Apiece.

State Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), the city of Santa Monica and the homeowners group Friends of Sunset Park were told that the fees are required under a Los Angeles city ordinance approved this spring.

Hayden called the high fees “immoral and anti-democratic” and said he plans to go to court or before the City Council to have the law overturned.

The Los Angeles City Planning Commission last week approved the first quarter of the Playa Vista project, which is projected by developer Maguire Thomas Partners to eventually house 28,625 residents and provide workplaces for 20,000.

Hayden has vehemently objected to the project, saying it will worsen the congested traffic and polluted air in the busy corridor between Los Angeles International Airport and Santa Monica.

But when Hayden’s staff and other opponents went to City Hall to file their appeals, they were told of the little known ordinance that vastly increased fees for appeals.

Under the law, property owners within 500 feet of a proposed subdivision can file an appeal with the city for a nominal $65. But others are required to pay fees equivalent to 85% of the application charges paid by the developer. For Playa Vista, that comes to $64,000.

Only one homeowner who lives near Playa Vista was able to file an appeal Friday under the lower fee. The filing deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.

“It’s not just this one project now,” Hayden said. “It’s the whole process that is twisted.”

He pledged to fight the city law on several grounds. First, Hayden said the law is discriminatory because it allows the lower fee only for homeowners, not for renters. Second, he said it also violates a state government code requirement that planning fees not exceed the amount required to provide a specific service. Finally, Hayden argued, the exorbitant fees will discourage public debate on development projects that is required under the California Environmental Quality Act.