4 - Standard & Associated Fees - Excavation “U” Permits

Revised on 07-12-2023

Fees for the Excavation “U” Permit are calculated automatically (based on total job square footage) within the on-line application and are dictated by the published fees in LAMC 62.05.

Standard Fees, at a minimum, are reviewed on an annual basis.  The most current version of the City’s Standard Fee List is located at the BOE website under Permits (https://engineering.lacity.gov/permits).

 

PERMIT APPLICATION FEES


Excavation “U” Fixed Fee Permits

For an excavation 1,000 sf of area or less (except for fees subject to the provisions of 62.05(a)(1)(bb), BOE will charge and collect a fixed fee to process an Excavation “U” Permit application. 

  1. Special Engineering Services (LAMC 61.14):  For Excavation “U” Fixed Fee Permits which require BOE staff time for plan checking, field investigation, project evaluation, or other work or effort in addition to that which is ordinarily required for the permit or service for which the fee is charged, the following fees shall apply:
    1. For BOE services that require 16 or fewer additional hours of Bureau staff time, a Special Engineering Fee shall be charged for each hour of additional service, up to a maximum of 16 hours total.
    2. For BOE services that require more than 16 additional hours of staff time, BOE will charge and collect the actual cost of its services pursuant to the provisions of LAMC 61.15, unless a provision of this LAMC provides for a different fee amount.

The Special Engineering Fee can only be applied to a Fixed Fee Excavation “U” Permit. 

Excavation “U” Actual Cost Permits

Per 62.05(a)(2) an actual cost fee will be charged to process an Excavation “U” Permit when the following project conditions apply:

  • An excavation of more than 1,000 square feet in area
  • An excavation 1,000 square feet or less in area where BOE determines that due to the complexity of the permitted work it would cost more to issue and administer a permit than would be collected as a fixed fee

The permit fee is determined based on the actual cost of services provided by the City.  Before BOE will issue a permit, the applicant must deposit with BOE an amount the Bureau estimates will be the actual costs owed.  The actual cost determination shall include, but not be limited to, all direct and indirect labor costs, retirement and overhead costs, costs for plan checking and engineering services, project inspection costs, and the costs of testing materials.  This fee does NOT include:

  • Costs that may be incurred by a Proprietary Department (subject to the provisions of Article VI of the City Charter)
  • Street Damage Restoration Fees
  • Slurry Seal Damage Restoration Fees
  1. Actual Cost Special Engineering Services (LAMC Section 61.15)For Excavation “U” Actual Cost Permits that require BOE staff to provide more than 16 hours of time for plan checking, field investigation, project evaluation, or other work or effort in addition to that which is ordinarily required for the permit or service for which the fee is charged, or for requested BOE services for projects not specifically described in the LAMC, BOE shall charge and collect a deposit in an amount sufficient to pay BOE’s actual cost of providing its services.  The cost determination for the actual cost permit includes, but is not be limited to:
    1. All direct and indirect labor costs
    2. Retirement and overhead costs
    3. Costs for plan checking and engineering services
    4. Project inspection costs
    5. Costs of testing materials. 

An applicant for any permit or services subject to the provisions of this Section must pay, before BOE provides any services, a deposit in an amount that the Bureau estimates will be the actual cost of providing its services.

For services provided pursuant to the provisions LAMC 61.15, if before completion of providing the requested services the Bureau determines that additional funds are needed to compensate the Bureau for the actual cost of providing the services, the Bureau may halt all work on the project for which the application was made and require the applicant to pay the amount that the Bureau estimates will be needed to compensate the Bureau for the actual cost of providing the requested services. 

At the conclusion of providing the requested services, if actual Bureau costs are less than the amount deposited, the applicant shall be refunded the difference.  BOE shall not issue or approve any permit until all monies owed pursuant to the provisions of this Section are paid.

 

TIE-BACK FEES


Per LAMC 62.05.a.3, in addition to the permit application fees, the following fees shall apply to excavations requiring shoring that contain tie-backs:

  • A fee for EACH tie-back installed in a public right-of-way
  • A fee for EACH de-tensioned anchor rod left in place less than 20 feet below the street surface within a public right-of-way

 

INSPECTION FEES


The following are the inspection fees for Excavation “U” Permits:

In addition to the above inspection fees, surcharge fees will be collected for the above Excavation “U” Permits:

  • 7% or $1, whichever is greater, will be added to the listed fee pursuant to LAMC 61.03.
  • 3% or $1, whichever is greater will be added to the listed fee pursuant to LAMC 61.17.  The surcharge shall be returned to 2% or $1, whichever is greater, when the cost of BuildLA is recovered under LAMC 61.17.
     
  1. Special Inspection Charges.  Per LAMC 62.05.a.ccv, BOE may charge a fee for additional inspections, when BOE or BCA determines that additional inspections beyond those ordinarily required in overseeing work permitted by an Excavation “U” Permit are required. 

    The fee for conducting additional inspections is listed in LAMC 62.05.a.cc

 

ADDITIONAL FEES


SDRF

Per LAMC 62.05.a.2 a Street Damage Restoration Fee (SDRF) will be charged as part of the Excavation U Permit. 

  1. Street Damage Restoration Fees (SDRF) for AC Streets - Fees for SDRF are charged based on classification of the roadway (Local/Collector or Secondary/Major Highways) regardless of age of roadway (not paid by So Cal Gas per their current (11/2017) franchise agreement with the City).
    1. SDRF is applied to excavation trench length/width plus 5-ft on all sides of excavation. For example, a 1-ft by 1-ft excavation area in AC pavement will require payment of SDRF over an area of 11-ft by 11-ft, even if this "plus 5-ft" expanded area falls on sidewalk, parkway, etc.
    2. SDRF is adjusted annually on July 1 (via Caltrans price index).
    3. On Concrete streets, "...full slab replacement is required in lieu of paying the SDRF."

Transportation Construction Traffic Management Committee (TCTMC) fees

Per LAMC 62.250.F, a Traffic Management Fee shall be based on the reduction in delineated traffic lanes, the number of daylight weekdays when the reduction occurs, the number of City blocks impacted by lane reductions, and a unit fee to be applied to these factors.  Daylight weekdays are work on Monday through Friday excluding holidays, between the hours of 5:30 AM and 7:00 PM inclusive.  The fees collected shall be kept in a separate account and shall be used to defray the costs of the various departments and bureaus involved in administering the provisions of this Ordinance. 

Costs Incurred by Proprietary Departments

Per Article VI of the City Charter, cost incurred by proprietary department (Airports, Harbor, and Water and Power) are not included as part of the Actual Fee Permit charge.  The Applicant would be responsible for paying any costs incurred by these departments.

Expedited Permit Surcharge

Per LAMC 61.11, an applicant for any permit issued by the BOE may pay a surcharge to obtain expedited Bureau permit-related services.  The amount of the surcharge shall be the total cost of the overtime hours worked by BOE staff to provide the permit-related services (direct salary multiplied by 1.5), plus a 40 percent surcharge.  When an applicant for any permit issued by BOE elects to obtain expedited Bureau permit-related services, the applicant must pay, before BOE provides any expedited services, a deposit in an amount that the Bureau estimates will be total cost of providing the expedited services.

For Bureau of Engineering expedited services provided, if before completion of providing the requested services the Bureau determines that additional funds are needed to compensate the Bureau for the total cost of providing expedited services, BOE may halt all work on the project for which the application was made and require the applicant to pay the amount that BOE estimates will be needed to compensate staff for the total cost of providing the requested services.  At the conclusion of providing the requested services, if total costs are less than the amount deposited, the applicant shall be refunded the difference.  BOE shall not issue or approve any permit until all monies owed pursuant to the provisions of this Section are paid.