Pasadena, California | Permits and Fees

Pasadena, California Permits and Fees: Impact Fees, Construction Tax, Deadlines and Appeals

A new home in Pasadena, California pays three kinds of City charges: application fees for planning and building review, development impact fees for parks and transportation, and a construction tax. The City Council sets most amounts by resolution each fiscal year, which runs July 1 to June 30, and the code sections in Title 4 say who pays and when. This page gives the FY 2027 amounts the City has published, the deadlines in the Zoning Code, and how appeals work. The California impact fees page explains the state rules that limit these fees.

Who Decides What

Most housing in Pasadena needs only staff approval. A use marked P in the zoning tables needs a Code Compliance Certificate, which is staff sign-off that the plans meet the code. ADUs are approved by the Planning Director as ministerial permits, and SB 9 Two-Unit Developments go through plan check. Other approvals and their deciders:

• Design review of new multifamily housing: the Planning Director up to 10 units, the Design Commission above 10 (Tables 6-3 and 6-4). New single-family homes and duplexes are exempt.
• Maps: the advisory agency, a hearing officer appointed by the Planning Director (Section 16.08.020).
• Historic work: the Planning Director for minor projects and the Historic Preservation Commission for major ones outside the Central District (Table 6-6).
• Single-Family Compatibility Permits and Hillside Development Permits: processed under the Conditional Use Permit procedures (Sections 17.22.090 and 17.29.080).
• Zone changes: the City Council, after a public hearing and a written recommendation from the Planning Commission (Sections 17.74.050 and 17.74.060).

Before applying, an owner can ask for a Predevelopment Plan Review or a preliminary zoning plan check. The City's Zoning Code and Map Amendments page says the purpose of Predevelopment Plan Review "is to familiarize you with City regulations and concerns of City departments." Their fees are in the planning fee table below.

Deadlines and Appeals

Section 17.64.020 says a decision of the Director, Zoning Administrator, Hearing Officer, Board of Zoning Appeals, Design Commission or Historic Preservation Commission "shall become effective on the 11th day following the date of decision," unless an appeal or call for review is filed first. A call for review is a request by a commission or the Council to review a decision itself. The Council's own action on an appeal is final the day it is made, and an ordinance it adopts takes effect on the 31st day.

Section 17.72.050 sets the form of an appeal: filed before the effective date, while City offices are open, "In person only. No mailed appeal applications will be accepted," in writing, with the facts and reasons, and with the fee. Any person affected by a decision may appeal. Section 17.72.020 names the Board of Zoning Appeals as the body that hears appeals of the Director, Zoning Administrator, Hearing Officer and Advisory Agency, and the Council for appeals of the commissions. The FY 2027 planning fees set most appeal fees at 50 percent of the original application fee, and the City's fee notes give non-profit community groups a 50 percent waiver of the appeal fee.

Section 17.64.040 makes a permit under Chapter 17.61 valid "for 36 months from the effective date of approval." A permit counts as used once a building permit has been issued and construction is "diligently pursued to completion." Concept Design Review approval lasts 12 months unless a Final Design Review application is filed and found complete first. The Director may grant two one-year extensions, if the written request is filed before the permit expires. Maps follow the Subdivision Map Act periods, and other subdivision permits last 2 years, as the lot size and subdivisions page explains.

The code disagrees with itself on map appeals. Section 16.18.080 sends appeals of the advisory agency's map decisions to the City Council within 10 days, while Section 17.72.020 lists the Advisory Agency among the bodies whose decisions the Board of Zoning Appeals reviews. Section 16.18.080 is the specific rule for maps, so this guide follows it; ask the City Clerk where to file before the 10 days run out.

Residential Impact Fee

The Residential Impact Fee pays for parks. Section 4.17.050 charges it on new residential development, and the FY 2027 schedule sets it by bedroom count. It is paid "upon issuance of certificate of occupancy or the final inspection, whichever occurs last." A certificate of occupancy is the City's approval to move in. The fee may rise each year by the Consumer Price Index.

Source: City of Pasadena, FY 2027 Schedule of Taxes, Fees, and Charges, row 4.17.050, adopted rate.

• Affordable units under the inclusionary rules, skilled nursing units and student housing pay $1,271.18 per unit in FY 2027. The code text prints this as $756 per unit, which "may annually escalate at the same percentage as the consumer price index."
• When all of a project's inclusionary units are built on site, the other homes get a 30 percent discount, shown in the third column.
• Workforce units, priced for households at 121 to 150 percent of area median income, get a 50 percent rebate when they make up 15 percent of the project; at 151 to 180 percent, 35 percent.
• ADUs of 900 square feet or less, including junior ADUs, and ADUs with an affordability covenant are exempt.
• On a subdivision, Section 4.17.050.A also requires the fee before the Council approves the final map; ask which timing applies to your project.

Traffic Reduction and Transportation Improvement Fee

Chapter 4.19 charges new development a fee for transportation projects listed in a June 2025 nexus study, the study that ties the fee to the projects it pays for. It is paid at the certificate of occupancy or final inspection, whichever is last. Ordinance No. 7458, adopted November 3, 2025, updated the fee and added categories.

Source: City of Pasadena, FY 2027 Schedule of Taxes, Fees, and Charges, row 4.19.040 and note 10.

Section 4.19.050 exempts ADUs of 900 square feet or less, rebuilding after a fire or other disaster that adds no floor area, and affordable units built on site; affordable units built elsewhere get 50 percent off. The code and the schedule differ on the low end. Section 4.19.040 prints the single-family fee as "$5,202 to $5,722 per new unit" and the multi-family fee as "$2,158 to $2,352," while the FY 2027 schedule adds a lower tier for each: $4,474 for a house under 2,000 square feet and $1,705 for an apartment of 800 square feet or less. Ask the City which amount it will charge.

Construction Tax and Building Permit Fees

Section 4.32.020 levies a construction tax on building permits "at the rate of 1.5% of the value of the structures," collected when the permit is issued. The City's FY 2027 Schedule of Taxes, Fees, and Charges lists the same section with a rate of 1.92 percent. The two do not match, and this guide found no ordinance that changes the 1.5 percent in the code. Ask the Permit Center which rate it charges before you budget. Section 4.32.050 exempts ADUs with an affordability covenant and ADUs built from a City standard plan, and gives ADUs of 900 square feet or less "a 25% reduction." Ordinance No. 7456 of September 29, 2025 exempts qualifying Eaton Fire rebuilds from the tax.

The City's Fee Schedules page says building permit fees "are valuation-based utilizing the most current issue of the 'Building Valuation Data' (BVD) table published by the International Code Council," and points to fees 221 to 363 of the General Fee Schedule. The FY 2027 General Fee Schedule adds a General Plan Maintenance Fee and a Technology Fee, each "0.50% of the Building Permit Valuation." Both are waived for ADUs on house lots that use the City's standard plans, are covenanted affordable, rent to Section 8 tenants or house family members, and are cut by 25 percent for ADUs of 900 square feet or less. Plan check fees are 50 percent lower for those same ADU groups.

Planning Application Fees

Source: City of Pasadena, Current Planning Fees, Fiscal Year 2027, effective July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. A 3 percent records management fee is added to most base fees.

Design review has its own fees in the FY 2027 General Fee Schedule: $3,479 for Concept Design Review of new construction under 25,000 square feet, $2,921 for Consolidated Design Review of new construction by staff and $5,216 by the commission, and $1,400 or $2,664 for Final Design Review by staff or commission. Map fees are on the lot size and subdivisions page, and historic preservation fees on the historic districts page. The planning fee sheet carries the heading "FISCAL YEAR 2027" but a footer reading "Updated: August 5, 2023," so check the current sheet before you pay.

Sewer, School and Other Charges

The FY 2027 schedule sets a sewer facilities charge of $9.50 "Per gallon charge for sewage discharged per day," with flows counted at 100 gallons for a bachelor or single unit, 150 for a one-bedroom unit and 200 for a two-bedroom unit; the next row is printed as "3 or more dwelling units 250 gal/DU." By VanPlex arithmetic a two-bedroom unit is 200 x $9.50 = $1,900. School fees are charged by the Pasadena Unified School District, which the City's fire rebuild page names as an outside agency, and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts charge their own fees.

Eaton Fire Rebuild Fee Waiver

The City's Fire Rebuild Fee Waiver and Refund Program waives "City of Pasadena fees for plan check and permitting" for eligible owners, except water service fees and "a $1,000 Construction & Demolition Waste Management Deposit." To qualify, the property must be "a single-family residence or a condominium that was owner-occupied as of January 7, 2025," must have a structure the City red-tagged for Eaton Fire damage, and the rebuild must meet the City's Rebuild Ordinance, which the page describes as "like-for-like or like-for-like plus 10% or 200 square feet." Property sold after January 7, 2025, except to a family member, or listed for sale does not qualify. The waiver does not cover "new structures that did not exist prior to the Eaton Fire, including converting a destroyed structure to another use," and the page gives "reconstructing a garage as an Accessory Dwelling Unit" as an example of work that gets no waiver. School fees apply if the rebuilt home exceeds the old one by 500 square feet or more.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Pasadena overview, the California impact fees page and the CEQA and permit streamlining page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)