Appeal process for fee complaints

August 2009 Update

Property owners who wish to dispute the fee estimates and billings for their County land use development and building permits have an avenue of appeal available.

On February 25, 2008, the King County Council adopted legislation recommended by Executive Sims to allow applicants to appeal DDES fee estimates and billings. The procedures took effect March 17, 2008. The appeals process fulfills the terms of the Snohomish County Superior Court ruling.

See DDES customer information bulletin #57, Fee Appeal Process (PDF*, 84KB), for an explanation of the fee appeal process in detail.

The adopted procedure requires applicants to first seek review of the estimate or billing through DDES. Applicants who are not satisfied with the results of that review will be able to appeal the fee estimates and billings to the Hearing Examiner. The Hearing Examiner will have the authority to modify the estimate or billing, remand the matter to the department, or take other appropriate action.

To help defray the administrative costs of the appeal process, the ordinance provides for a $50 fee for appeals to the Hearing Examiner. The fee is refundable if the applicant substantially prevails in the appeal.

View Ordinance 16026 (PDF*, 438KB) online, or read more about this legislation by going to the King County Council's legisearch system and search at http://mkcclegisearch.kingcounty.gov/mattersearch/ by typing in "16026".

For questions or more information about the fee appeal process, call DDES at 206-296-6659 or e-mail billinghotline.ddes@kingcounty.gov.

*Note: To view PDFs, free software from Adobe is required. See helpful hints for assistance.

To request this information in alternate formats for people with disabilities, call 206-296-6600 or TTY Relay:  711.