West Covina | Permits and Fees

West Covina, California Permits and Fees: Who Decides, Hearings, Appeals, Planning Fees and Development Impact Fees

Every housing project in West Covina passes through the Planning Division before the Building Division issues a permit. Small projects are decided by staff. Larger ones go to the Planning Commission, and a few to the City Council. This page sets out which permit each kind of project needs, how hearings and appeals work, a 2026 rule on incomplete applications, and the fees: planning fees from the City's Master Fee Schedule and the development impact fees that new homes pay toward police, fire, park and other public facilities. The West Covina overview has the summary.

Where to Start

The City's Planning Division page describes the division as "the first point of contact for homeowners, business owners and developers that are intending to construct new structures on privately-owned property," and gives its phone number as 626-939-8422. City Hall is at 1444 West Garvey Avenue South. The Planning Commission meets at 7 pm on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, and the City Council on the first and third Tuesdays. The applications and permits page posts every planning form, from the Second Unit Review to the Tentative Tract or Parcel Map.

• Building Division. Its page says the division "is no longer accepting applications via email" and takes plans through its online submittal portal or at the counter, open "Monday through Thursday from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm."
• Payments. The Planning Division page carries a fraud alert: "The City NEVER requests application payments via wire transfer."
• Final inspection. A final planning inspection is required only if the approved plans carry the Planning Division's stamp on the front page.

Which Permit, and Who Decides

Table 6-1 in Section 26-199 assigns each permit to a decision body. The Community Development Director is the head of the department that holds the Planning, Building and Engineering Divisions.

Sources: West Covina Municipal Code Sec. 26-199, Table 6-1, and Secs. 26-278 to 26-284 (Supplement 94).

• Second unit review. The staff check for ADUs, junior ADUs and SB 9 urban dwelling units, with a 60-day limit. See the ADUs and SB 9 page.
• Design review of houses. A subcommittee of two Planning Commissioners must review a house before a building permit for "New construction of single-family residences," "Structural additions or modifications on the front elevation," a new second story, a new balcony, or "Any modifications that is readily visible from a public right-of-way" (Section 26-280). Its criteria in Section 26-282 ask that materials, roof style and scale be "visually harmonious with the subject property and surrounding neighborhood." The applicant may appeal to the Planning Commission within 10 days, and building permits must be issued "within one (1) year of the date of approval."
• Administrative permit. A Director-level permit for listed items such as a second driveway, a stepped hillside house or a second-story ADU addition. Under Section 26-238 the Director may approve, add conditions or deny, or send the matter to the Planning Commission. It expires if not used "within one (1) year of its effective date."
• Precise plan. The site and design approval for apartments, mixed-use projects and any use that needs a conditional use permit. See the three or more homes page.
• Conditional use permit. A conditional use permit allows a use that the zone lists as needing case-by-case review. Section 26-224 lists five findings, among them that the use "will not, under the circumstances of the particular case, be detrimental to the health, safety, peace or general welfare of persons residing or working in the vicinity." It expires after two years if not used.
• More than one application. Applications for the same project "must be filed and processed concurrently," and "the highest approval authority shall act on all the applications." The fee schedule charges the full fee for the most expensive application "plus 50% of the fee for each additional application."

The scope of house design review is under discussion. A Planning Commission memorandum for October 13, 2026 notes that the "readily visible" clause sets no "minimum threshold for the type, size, or visual significance of a modification," and offers three options, from applying it broadly to listing what staff may approve. No change had been adopted when this guide was written.

Hearings and Notice

• Planning Commission items. For precise plans, conditional use permits, variances and tentative tract maps, Section 26-187 requires notice mailed to the applicant, the owner and "owners of all property within a radius of five hundred (500) feet," at least 10 days before the hearing, and a printed notice posted at the site.
• Large projects. A residential project of five or more units that needs Commission or Council review, and any tentative tract map, must put up a notice board at least 3 feet wide and 5 feet tall within five feet of the property line.
• Zone changes and code amendments. Notice goes out at least 20 days ahead, and an applicant's site must be posted at least 30 days ahead.
• Administrative permits. Where notice applies, owners within 500 feet get a mailed notice and the public review period "shall extend for ten (10) days from the date that the initial notice was mailed." Under Section 26-186, "A hearing will only take place if a request for such hearing is made with the planning division within the ten (10) day public review period." For a second driveway, notice goes only to the two properties on each side.
• What changed in 2024. The Development Code Update page says the City "Increased the public hearing notification radius from 300 feet to 500 feet, or 1,000 feet for certain projects."

Appeals, Call-Ups and Time Limits

• Who may appeal. Section 26-193 says "Appeals may be submitted by anyone, must be in writing, must include specific reasons for the appeal, and must be accompanied by the fee."
• Deadline. An appeal must be submitted "no more than ten (10) calendar days after approval of a written decision," or after the Planning Commission adopts its resolution. If the tenth day falls on a day the City is closed, the period runs to the next business day.
• Effect. "A timely appeal suspends and sets aside the decision of the lower authority." The appeal body holds a new hearing "within sixty (60) days from the filing of the appeal" and may approve, deny or modify.
• One level for staff decisions. The Planning Commission's decision on an appeal of a Director or subcommittee decision is final unless the City Council agrees to hear it.
• Council call-up. Under Section 26-196, "two (2) City Council members may, in writing, call for the review of the decisions of the Planning Commission within ten (10) days." Notice of a called-up item goes to owners within 1,000 feet. The staff report of March 18, 2025 says the Council added this to Ordinance No. 2525.
• How long approvals last. Two years for a precise plan, a conditional use permit and a variance, with extensions of up to two more years; one year for an administrative permit, with one extension of a year; 24 months for a tentative parcel map.
• After a denial. "A denied project may not be resubmitted to the City for review and approval in substantially the same form for at least one (1) year from the date of denial."

The 2026 Rule on Incomplete Applications

Ordinance No. 2540 replaced Section 26-182. The City Council minutes of June 16, 2026 record its adoption by a unanimous vote, and the staff report gave an effective date of "on or about July 17, 2026." The Municode copy of Section 26-182 still shows the 2024 text, so read the ordinance itself.

• 180 days to respond. If the City finds an application incomplete, the applicant must submit the missing items "within one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of such determination, unless a different time period is specified by the Director."
• Deemed withdrawn. If the applicant does not, "the application shall be deemed withdrawn without further action by the City."
• One extension. The Director "may grant one (1) extension of up to ninety (90) days, upon written request by the applicant submitted prior to the expiration of the resubmittal deadline."
• A new application. The staff report of June 2, 2026 says "Withdrawn applications must be submitted as new applications and shall be subject to fees and regulations in effect at that time."

The same ordinance added eligibility, design and operating standards for supportive and transitional housing to Section 26-133, and made the conversion of a hotel or motel to housing a conditional use in the RMU zone only.

Planning Fees in 2026

Section 26-184 says the City Council sets fees by resolution in a municipal fee schedule. The current one is Resolution No. 2024-50, adopted July 16, 2024, after a fee study the City received in 2023. Its Section 7 says the fees "may be adjusted on January 1 of each year" by the change in the Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles area, and the City's Fee Schedule page posts the "Master Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026."

Source: City of West Covina, Master Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026 (Resolution No. 2024-50). Most hearing items add the actual cost of attorney fees, charged against a deposit.

• Surcharges on building permits. The schedule adds a General Plan Update Surcharge of 17.70 percent of the building permit fee on projects that need a zoning clearance, and a Planning Department plan review surcharge of 0.238 percent of the building valuation, with a $42.60 minimum.
• Building permit fees. These follow the valuation of the work. For a valuation over $100,000 the 2026 schedule lists $2,729.34 plus $14.14 for each additional $1,000, and a plan check fee equal to 85 percent of the permit fee.
• A hearing on an administrative permit. If a hearing is required or requested, the schedule adds $3,264.30 to the administrative use permit fee.
• Environmental review. Where a project is not exempt from the state environmental review law, Section 26-294 has the applicant "hire and directly pay for the City's CEQA consultant."

Development Impact Fees

An impact fee is a one-time charge on new construction that pays for the public facilities the new homes will use. West Covina's are in Chapter 17, Article IV, adopted in 2015. Section 17-204 sets up five: police, fire, park, administrative and public works facilities. The amounts are set by resolution and printed in the Master Fee Schedule, per home.

Source: City of West Covina, Master Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026, Development Impact Fees. In the subdivision rows the City Administrative fee for an attached or multi-family home is printed as $109.70.

• When they are set and paid. "The amount of the charge due under this article shall be determined at the time of submittal into building plan check for the project," and "The full amount shall be due and payable to the city prior to the issuance of building permits" (Section 17-205). The City then gives written notice of a 90-day period to protest the fee.
• Which column applies. Section 17-203 defines "Single-family" as "residential structures that do not contain more than two (2) dwelling units" and "Multi-family" as a structure with three or more.
• Exemptions. Section 17-206 exempts a remodel or addition that "does not add a dwelling unit," and a rebuild on the same site if the old structure was not vacant. A project that replaces an existing structure gets a credit for it. The City Council may reduce or waive fees for homes deed-restricted to very low and low income households.
• ADUs. State law overrides the City's wording here: Government Code 66311.5 prohibits impact fees on an ADU of 750 square feet or less.
• Park land in a subdivision. A project with a subdivision map pays the park dedication fee of Section 26-308 in place of the park impact fee, which is why the schedule has a second, lower set of totals.
• Public art. Under Section 17-41, "New residential projects consisting of the subdivision of ten (10) or more residential lots and/or the construction of ten (10) or more dwelling units" must provide public art or "pay an in-lieu fee equal to one-half (½) percent of the total project costs, excluding land." Housing for low to moderate-income or senior households is exempt.

Fees charged by other agencies, such as school districts and the county sanitation districts, are outside the City's schedule and are not covered here. The California impact fees page explains the state rules.

Where City Documents and the Code Differ

• How impact fees rise. Section 17-210 says the impact fees "shall be adjusted automatically on July 1 of each fiscal year" by the Construction Cost Index published by Engineering News Record. Resolution No. 2024-50 adjusts the whole schedule on January 1 by the Consumer Price Index, and the posted schedule is dated January 1, 2026. Ask the Building Division for the amount in force on your plan check date.
• An old section number. The fee schedule cites "WCMC Section 20-40" for park dedication fees. Chapter 20 is now reserved, and the rule is in Sections 26-308 and 26-309.
• A blank line on the schedule. The 2026 schedule prints "#REF!" beside a $1,022.42 fee where the 2024 schedule had "Reasonable Accommodation Processing" at $960.00.
• Second units and impact fees. Section 17-203 still cites Government Code section 65852.2, a number no longer in the Government Code, and "Title 21, Article XII, Division 11" for second units. The West Covina code has no Title 21.
• Who hears parcel maps. The Planning Division page lists parcel maps under the Planning Commission; the code gives them to the Director since March 2025.

Where to Go Next

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)