COMPLAINTS COST MONEY AND TIME: APPEAL FEE ORDINANCE DISCUSSED IN TRINIDAD

TRINIDAD, CA- If you file a formal appeal with the City of Trinidad, it might cost you a pretty penny. The City council is discussing an appeal fee ordinance. Any resident can file a formal appeal against a decision made by the council, and then drop it off at city hall. But the work doesn’t stop there. City Manager Karen Suiker said, "Any effort or work provided by the cities contracted planner is an expense to the city. In this case time is money. If an appeal is filed it takes extra hours of discussion and review by the city. Suiker added, "The paper work and the response, and the research is conducted by an outside firm so it is over and above salary cost."That outside firm is called Streamline Planning. The City Planner Trever Parker is a contracted employee.  Currently there is no appeal fee in place, and the city is still discussing what they might charge. But parker tells us its more than saving money. Parker added, "also to discourage frivolous appeals or personal attacks against an applicant."If a fee was enacted there will be ways around it, because the City of Trinidad is a coastal zone. Instead of going to the City Council, under certain circumstances they can take their appeal to the Coastal Commission.