Menifee | Permits and Fees

Menifee, California Permits and Fees: Approving Authorities, Review Deadlines, Hearings, Appeals, Permit Life, FY26/27 Application Fees and Impact Fees

This page covers how a Menifee housing project moves from application to approval, and what it costs. The procedures are in Chapter 9.30 and the permit chapters of Article 2 of the Development Code, read here from the Article 2 PDF with the changes of Municipal Code Amendment No. LR24-0135, adopted July 16, 2025. The fees come from two City documents for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2026: the Planning Division's Application Fees FY26/27 and the Development Impact Fees Schedule for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. Impact fees are one-time charges on new homes that pay for roads, parks and public safety; school, habitat and park fees are set by other agencies or programs. The Menifee overview has the summary.

Who Decides Each Permit

Table 9.30.090-1 names the "Designated Authority" for each permit. A ministerial action is a check against written rules with no hearing; a discretionary action involves judgment and often a hearing; a legislative action changes the rules themselves and goes to the City Council. Section 9.30.090 says "Generally, the Director and his/her designee will make non-discretionary and discretionary decisions at the administrative level, the Planning Commission will make discretionary decisions, and the City Council will make the legislative decisions."

Source: Table 9.30.090-1, Menifee Development Code Article 2, as amended by Ordinance LR24-0135, which removed the planned development overlay row; ADU review from Section 9.295.020.

When one project needs several permits with different deciders, "all project permits and approvals shall be processed concurrently and final action shall be taken by the highest-level designated authority." The Director may send any case to the Planning Commission, and the Commission may send a case to the City Council "by simple majority," without an appeal or appeal fee.

From Application to Decision

• Pre-application review. Optional. Its advice is "advisory only and shall not be binding," and the fee schedule lists it at $2,733.35.
• Who may apply. For the use of a specific property, the owner, all contract purchasers, or an agent with written permission from the owner.
• Fees first. "No application shall be considered complete for acceptance and processing until the required application fees are paid in full."
• Completeness. "Within 30 days of application acceptance, the Director shall determine whether the application is complete," and again within 30 days of each resubmittal. A denial of completeness may be appealed, and the City decides that appeal within 60 days.
• Housing consistency letter. For a housing project the City finds inconsistent with a rule, written notice is due within 30 days of a complete application for 150 or fewer homes, or 60 days for more; without it the project "shall be deemed consistent."
• Hearing notice. At least 10 days before a hearing, notice is published, mailed to owners within 300 feet or to 25 owners within up to one mile, whichever is greater, posted at City Hall, and posted on the site on signs "measuring four feet by four feet."
• Staff report. Given to the applicant "no later than three business days prior to the hearing."
• Decision. Within 35 days after the hearing closes; a Planning Commission notice of decision is mailed within 3 business days.

Appeals and Permit Life

Section 9.30.100 lets any discretionary action of the Director be appealed to the Planning Commission, and any Planning Commission action to the City Council. "Non-discretionary decisions by the Director may not be appealed," and "Decisions by the City Council are final and may not be appealed." The appeal procedure itself is in Section 2.20.150 of Title 2, which this guide did not read. The fee schedule lists an appeal at $4,123.45 for a first hearing and $3,603.00 for a second.

Permits expire if not used. Plot plans and conditional use permits "shall expire three years from the date the approval was granted," and variances one year. A permit is used, or "exercised," when, among other things, "A building permit is issued, construction commenced on the primary building on site," a certificate of occupancy is issued, or the site is occupied as approved. Extensions of "Up to three years" may be granted if requested in writing at least 30 days before expiration, and an extended permit may be made to meet standards adopted since approval. Approved planned developments "do not expire." The fee schedule lists a time extension for City-approved projects at $4,679.86 in total.

Planning Application Fees, FY26/27

The schedule has flat fees and deposit-based fees. "Flat fees cover three (3) plan checks: one review of the initial project submittal and two additional reviews for resubmittals," and each extra check costs a quarter of the flat fee. For deposit-based fees, the amount is "the minimum initial deposit," and complex projects or extra hearings may cost more. Many applications also need a separate check of "$597 to Riverside County Environmental Health." Card payments carry "A credit card transaction fee of 3.5%."

Source: Planning Division, Application Fees FY26/27, Tables 1 and 2. Totals include the 5.7 percent technology fee where the schedule charges it, and any initial deposit.

The City Council agenda of June 17, 2026 lists the "2026 Citywide User Fee and Development Impact Fee (DIF) Annual Adjustments," with the recommended action to "Receive and file the 2026 updated Citywide User Fee Schedule and Development Impact Fee (DIF) Schedule based on 2026 automatic adjustments." The year before, the June 18, 2025 minutes record that the Council "Waived the automatic annual adjustment on certain deposit-based fees and/or Community Services fees, retaining at 2022 amounts." Building, engineering and fire fees are on separate schedules that this guide did not read.

Development Impact Fees

The impact fee schedule for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 lists City fees per dwelling unit, collected "PRIOR TO OCCUPANCY." The memo defines a single-family unit as "Detached and attached one-unit dwelling on individually owned lots" and a multi-family unit as "All attached multi-family dwellings including duplexes and condominiums."

Source: Development Impact Fees Schedule, July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, page 1, Tables 3 and 4. Storm drain fees depend on the drainage area, coded A_A to F_E.

As VanPlex arithmetic, a fourplex of multi-family homes pays 4 times $8,322, or $33,288, in City impact fees before storm drain, habitat and school fees, while four single-family homes would pay $54,240. Other charges listed in the memo, collected before permits:

• Habitat fee (MSHCP). The Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan fee is $4,632 per home where density is under 8 homes per acre, $1,931 at 8 to 14, and $854 above 14.
• Kangaroo rat fee. The kangaroo rat fee, listed as SKR, is "$500 per gross acre" for discretionary permits and "$250 per residential unit" for single-family permits on lots over half an acre, "Prior to grading permit or building permit issuance, whichever occurs first."
• School fees. Paid to the Romoland Unified, Menifee Union or Perris Union High school district; the memo gives each district's telephone number.
• Park fees (Quimby). Referred to the City's Community Services department.
• ADUs. "ADU's that are 749 square feet or smaller (livable space, garage not included) are not required to pay Development Impact Fees"; larger ADUs pay a share of the single-family fee in proportion to their size against the main home.

The regional Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee (TUMF) is separate. City Council agendas list an ordinance updating Menifee's participation in the program for adoption on February 19, 2025, and an ordinance adding construction cost index adjustments for adoption on April 15, 2026. The amounts were not read. City Council agendas through October 7, 2026 also list "QUIMBY Fee Amendment Options" as a future item, with a target date of "Winter 2027."

Rezoning and Other Legislative Changes

A project that does not fit its zone needs a legislative change, decided by the City Council. Under Chapter 9.115, a Zone Change or Zoning Code Amendment "is required for any amendment to a provision of this Title" or any change of a parcel's zone on the map. The Planning Commission holds a public hearing and makes a recommendation, the City Council holds its own hearing, and the Council's findings "shall be made by ordinance." For Ordinance LR24-0135 that meant an introduction on June 18, 2025 and adoption at a second reading on July 16, 2025. The four findings are consistency with the General Plan, reasonable controls for compatibility, reasonable development rights that protect sensitive land and species, and protection of public health, safety and welfare.

A General Plan Amendment follows Chapter 9.50, and Section 9.50.140 repeats the state rule that "no mandatory element of the General Plan may be amended more frequently than four times during any calendar year." The FY26/27 schedule lists deposits of $5,285 for a zone change, $10,570 each for a General Plan amendment, a specific plan amendment and a development agreement, and $21,140 for a new specific plan, each including the technology fee.

Where the Fee Documents Disagree

• Single-family impact fee total. Page 1 of the impact fee memo totals the single-family City fees at $13,560, which matches the six fees added together. Page 2, for ADUs, prints $13,561 for the same six fees. The pages here use $13,560.
• Totals lower than amounts. In the FY26/27 application fee table, the Minor Exception shows an amount of $568.25 and a "Total to City of Menifee" of $550.43, and the "Environmental Determination - Flat Fee" shows $341.20 and $330.52. Ask the cashier which figure is charged.
• Statute number in the code. Section 9.30.060(D) cites "California Government Code Section 65493 (Permit Streamlining Act)." Section 9.30.060(A) cites Government Code Section 65943 for the same Act, which is the completeness section.

Building and Occupancy

Every new home also needs a building permit through the City's Building and Safety Division, applied for through the Menifee Permit Portal. The City Council agenda of September 17, 2025 lists adoption of "the 2025 Editions of the California Building Code, the California Residential Code, the California Green Building Code" and the other state codes by reference. Under Section 9.175.040, before a certificate of occupancy for any building, the City Engineer confirms that required dedications are made and street improvements built or bonded. For an ADU, no certificate of occupancy "shall be issued before the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the primary dwelling."

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Menifee overview, the California impact fees page and the California ADU law page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)