San Mateo county area, please sign this TODAY, hearing is tomorrow:

Board of supervisors is going to vote on the Planning and Building Fees increase on , March 13. I deal with Planning and building on a regular basis and I can tell you that the fees they charge have little to do with the staff time or resources spent on your project and are a little more than a sale of indulgences. Consider the following: Planning proposes to increase building dept appeal fee from an already whopping $451 to $1000! Redwood City's appeal fee is $271. What is the purpose of such a huge increase if not to bar people's access to justice? If you are not satisfied with building dept decision, you file an appeal. But who will ever do that at such a cost? You cannot really bypass this appeal either by going straight to the superior court because a superior court judge would want to see that you have exhausted all avenues of administrative process before considering your complaint. This fee is clearly excessive and deprives people of an effective access to justice and on practice, gives our building dept an unlimited control over our private property. Please voice your opinion when it matters!