Simi Valley | Permits and Fees

Simi Valley Permits and Fees: Who Decides, Deadlines, Appeals, Building Permits and Fees

In Simi Valley, the Department of Environmental Services runs planning applications, the Director and the Planning Commission decide most of them, and the City Council decides rezonings and hears appeals. Article 5 of the Development Code sets the filing and review steps, Article 7 sets time limits and appeals, Title 8 sets building permit rules, and Title 3 holds a fee on every new home. Most dollar amounts sit in the Council's Schedule of Service Charges, which this guide could not read because the City's website refused automated requests, so this page gives the rules and the few amounts printed in the code. The Simi Valley overview gives the short version.

Who Decides

Sources: Simi Valley Municipal Code Sec. 9-52.050 and Table 5-2, Secs. 9-52.040, 9-52.070 and 9-52.090, Sec. 9-24.080, Sec. 9-44.160 and Chapter 9-73. Map decisions are on the lot size and subdivisions page.

The Director in these rules is, in the code's glossary, "The Director of the City of Simi Valley Environmental Services Department." A Zoning Clearance is the Director's sign-off that a use or building meets the code, filed together with the building permit for new construction. An Administrative Variance, a small departure from a standard, may cut minimum area, lot area or lot dimensions by up to 10 percent, raise lot coverage by up to 5 percent, or trim parking lot standards by up to 10 percent, with no hearing; larger changes need a standard Variance from the Commission. The Director may refer any administrative application to the Commission instead of deciding it.

Most new homes other than ADUs also need a Planned Development Permit before any building or grading permit, and a non-exempt project must then wait for a building permit allocation grant under Chapter 9-36, the City's Measure N growth control. Each year 292 grants enter the system. The three or more homes page explains both steps.

Filing and Completeness

Under Section 9-50.060, "No later than 30 days of the filing date of the application," the City states in writing whether the application is complete, and "Failure of the Director to respond within 30 days of submittal of an application with a determination as to completeness shall be deemed a determination that the application is complete." Each resubmittal starts a new 30-day period. Government Code 65943 sets the same 30 calendar days and requires an "exhaustive list" of missing items. Other rules in Chapter 9-50:

• "Processing shall not commence on an application until all required fees and deposits have been paid," and without the fee the application "shall not be deemed complete."
• An applicant who disagrees with an incomplete finding may appeal to the Commission "within 14 days of the notice of incompleteness," and then to the Council within 14 days.
• If missing information is not supplied "within 90 days after the date of the letter," the Director may treat the application as withdrawn when reasonable progress has not been made.
• The Director "shall not find the application complete" while the site has violations of the code or of earlier permits, unless the application corrects them. That holds even for an owner who bought without knowing of the violation.
• Before completeness, a Development Advisory Committee meeting with City departments, the Fire District, the School District and the Recreation and Parks District may review the plans.

Deadlines and Time Limits

Sources: Simi Valley Municipal Code Sec. 9-50.060, 9-74.020, 9-71.020 and 9-71.030, 9-76.060, 9-73.080, 9-61.120 and 8-7.05 to 8-7.07.

A permit is vested, meaning protected from expiring, once "the permittee has commenced actual construction (after obtaining all required Building Permits) or has actually commenced the allowed use." Actual construction means placing materials for a home "in a permanent manner, excavation of a basement, or demolition of existing structures preparatory to rebuilding." The land use permit then stays valid "as long as a Building Permit is active." For an extension, the permittee must show good faith and that no rules or site conditions have changed, and that the delay came from circumstances beyond its control, which the code says can include "market conditions and economics."

State deadlines also apply: Government Code 66317 requires a decision on a complete ADU application within 60 days, and Government Code 65852.21 and 66411.7 require the same for SB 9 projects and lot splits, after which the application is deemed approved. Section 9-44.160 says the City "shall act on" an ADU application within 60 days; HCD told the City in October 2025 that it must approve or deny within that time.

Hearings and Appeals

For a public hearing, notice is mailed "at least 10 days before the date of the hearing" to the applicant and owner, affected service agencies, anyone who paid for notice, and "All owners and occupants of real property situated in whole or in part within a radius of 300 feet" of the parcel. The applicant supplies the names from the County's assessment roll. Notice also runs in a newspaper 10 days ahead, and for Commission and Council hearings the applicant posts "a four by eight foot sign" on the site "a minimum of 12 days before the date of the public hearing."

"An appeal may be filed by the Commission, the Council, or any interested person." Director decisions go to the Commission and Commission decisions to the Council. The appeal period is 14 days after the vote, with shorter periods for maps, land divisions, administrative actions and plan amendments, and "There shall be no filing of an appeal after 5:00 p.m." on the last day. Filing "shall stay all proceedings," including building permits and certificates of occupancy. Two members of the Commission or Council may start an appeal with no fee, and "The decision of the Council on the appeal shall be final."

A rezoning, a change to the Zoning Map, may be applied for by the owner of the land, and a change to the Development Code by any interested person. At least one public hearing is held before the Commission and one before the Council. The Commission sends a written recommendation "within 40 days following the close of the Commission hearing," and the Council approves, changes or denies the amendment. A Council change the Commission has not considered goes back to the Commission first. "An amendment shall become effective on the 31st day following its adoption by the Council."

Building Permits

Section 8-7.05 says a building permit "shall expire by limitation and become null and void, if the building or work authorized by such permit is not commenced within twelve (12) months," or if work is "suspended or abandoned" for 180 days. Every permit also lapses unless "an inspection indicating substantial progress in construction has been requested and performed every one hundred eighty (180) days or sooner." The Building Official may extend a permit once by up to 180 days, and again only for "special unusual circumstances." On a project with several permits, an inspection on one extends all of them by 180 days, but no permit over three years old is extended that way without special approval.

Source: Simi Valley Municipal Code Sec. 8-7.07, Table 1. Renewal is open for one year after expiry if the plans have not changed.

Building fees are "as set forth in the Schedule of Service Charges established by resolution of Council," and the Building Official sets the valuation the fee is based on. A plan review fee is paid when plans are submitted, on top of the permit fee, and more is charged when plans are incomplete or changed. Work started without a permit pays an investigation fee "whether or not a Permit is then or subsequently issued." The Building Official may refund up to 80 percent of a permit fee when no work was done, on a written request within 180 days of payment.

Fees Printed in the Code

• Dwelling unit fee. Section 3-2.03 says "Every person constructing any new dwelling unit in the City shall pay" $150 for a unit with up to one bedroom and $75 for each added bedroom, with "the total fees for any new dwelling unit" capped at $300, and $100 for each mobile home. It is due "concurrently with the issuance of a building permit," refunded if the permit is not used, and pays "for necessary street and road maintenance and police protection." Section 3-2.51 has the General Services Director adjust it each year by the Los Angeles area consumer price index from a September 1, 1978 base, so the amount charged today may differ from the printed figures; the current figure was not read.
• Park land. Subdivisions dedicate five acres per 1,000 future residents or pay a fee in lieu, counting 3.97 people per house. See the lot size and subdivisions page.
• Map fees. Bridge and thoroughfare fees, drainage and sewer facility fees, and the Kadota Fig Area sewer fee may apply to new parcels, with amounts set outside the code.
• Planning fees follow "the City's Schedule of Service Charges," and are "cumulative," so a Parcel Map that also needs a Variance pays both. The applicant pays for outside consultants the City Manager approves. "No refunds due to a disapproval are allowed."

State law limits some charges. Government Code 66007 says fees for public improvements on residential development may not be required "until the date of the final inspection, or the date the certificate of occupancy is issued, whichever occurs first," with stated exceptions. Government Code 66311.5 bars impact fees on an ADU of 750 square feet or less. See the California impact fees page.

Where to Go Next

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)