The City of Danville is warning property owners and developers to be alert for a scam involving fake notices requesting payment of “application approval fees” for rezonings, special use permits, and other land development requests.

The fraudulent letters appear to come from the City and claim that an application has been reviewed and approved pending payment of an attached invoice. In some cases, the letters include specific property information, such as parcel numbers, zoning designations, and ownership details.

In one instance, an applicant received a letter that stated:

“Thank you for your application….. We are pleased to inform you that staff have reviewed and recommended approval of your application. To finalize this process, we kindly request that you settle the attached invoice, which covers the required application approval fee.”

City officials emphasize that this type of message is not legitimate.

“Please do not pay these fees,” said Renee Burton, division director of planning and zoning for the Community Development Department. “The Planning Division does not request wire transfers nor additional payments after an application has been reviewed by the City Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals nor City Council. If an invoice for payment is received, and you are not sure if it is legitimate, please contact our Planning Division for verification.”

Residents can verify the status of any zoning or development application by contacting the City’s Office of Planning at (434) 799-5260.