Fresno Municipal Code Art. 8 Development in Overcrowded School Areas

The Council hereby finds the protection of the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of the city requires that adequate school facilities will be available to serve city residents. The Council further finds it necessary to provide interim relief for school districts where new dwelling construction has adversely affected the capability of providing school and classroom facilities. The purpose of this article is to promote the general welfare of the public through the provision of a program to assist school districts in reducing the detrimental impact of new development. (Added Ord. 79-143, § 1, 9-21-79).

(a) Unless the particular provision or the context otherwise requires, the definitions and provisions contained in this section shall govern the construction, meaning, and application of words and phrases used in this article, and, except to the extent that a particular word or phrase is otherwise specifically defined in this section, the definitions and provisions contained in Article 2 (commencing with Section 1-201) of Chapter 1, Article 1 (commencing with Section 12-101) of Chapter 12, and Article 10 (commencing with Section 12-1001) of Chapter 12 of this Code shall also govern the construction, meaning, and application of words and phrases used in this article. The definition of each word or phrase shall constitute, to the extent applicable, the definition of each word or phrase which is derivative from it, or from which it is a derivative, as the case may be.

(b) "Attendance Area" shall mean the attendance area for an elementary or high school as defined by the governing board of the district involved.

(c) "Conditions of Overcrowding" shall mean that the total enrollment of a school, including enrollment from a proposed residential development, exceeds the rated capacity of such school as determined by the governing body of the district.

(d) "District" shall mean school district.

(e) "Governing Board" shall mean the governing board of a district which has a school attendance area within the city.

(f) "Notice of Findings" shall mean the resolution the governing board of a district submits to the Council setting forth those facts, policy statements, assumptions, and conclusions the governing board used to determine rated capacity and declare existence of conditions of overcrowding.

(g) "Proposed Development" shall mean a zone district amendment, conditional use permit, site plan, tentative subdivision map, tentative parcel map, and building permit for residential uses or purposes.

(h) "Rated Capacity" shall mean that capacity determined by the governing board of a school district to be the maximum acceptable enrollment in a school facility based on the governing board's policies and programs.

(i) "Reasonable Methods of Mitigating Conditions of Overcrowding" shall mean those methods developed by the governing board of a district which address in detail mitigation measures deemed appropriate by the governing board, including, but not limited to, agreements between a subdivider and an affected school district whereby relocatable buildings will be leased to, or lease-purchased by, the school district, or relocatable buildings owned by the school district will be used.

(j) "Residential Development" shall mean a project containing residential dwellings, including mobile homes, or one or more units or a subdivision of land for the purpose of constructing one or more residential dwelling units.

(k) "Temporary Classrooms and Facilities" shall mean those classrooms and facilities of a relocatable nature required pursuant to the provisions of this article to relieve conditions of overcrowding within an attendance area of an affected school district. For the purposes of this article "temporary classrooms and facilities" shall be limited to temporary classrooms not constructed with permanent foundations, including their utilities and furnishings, which are subject to the provisions of Article 3 (commencing with Section 39140) and Article 6 (commencing with Section 39210) of Chapter 2, Part 23, Division 3 of the California Education Code. (Added Ord. 79-143, § 1, 9-21-79).

(a) School District. Any governing body of a school district which operates a school which has part of its school attendance area within the city, and which has not received an apportionment pursuant to the Leroy F. Green State School Building Lease-Purchase Law of 1976 (commencing with Section 17700 of the California Education Code), may file a Notice of Findings with the Council. Such Notice of Findings shall contain all of the following:

(1) Evidence that conditions of overcrowding exist in one or more attendance areas within the district which will impair the normal functioning of educational programs or facilities;

(2) Reasons for the existence of such conditions of overcrowding;

(3) A statement that all reasonable methods of alleviating conditions of overcrowding have been evaluated and no feasible method for reducing such conditions exists; and

(4) A statement that all mitigation measures including, but not limited to, temporary buildings, bussing, double sessions, extended day program, year-round school attendance, school boundary realignments, and elimination of low priority programs have been considered by the governing board.

(b) Council Hearing. The City Clerk shall set and notice, pursuant to Section 12-401-C-1 of this Code, a public hearing before the Council on the submitted Notice of Findings. The Council shall concur in such findings by resolution if the documentation and evidence clearly and convincingly demonstrate to the Council the existence of conditions of overcrowding within an attendance area of the district. (Added Ord. 79-143, § 1, 9-21-79).

Within an attendance area which has been found, pursuant to Section 12-803, to contain conditions of overcrowding, the approval of any proposed development shall be conditioned upon the dedication of land or the payment of fees, or both, in the discretion of the Council. In lieu of fees, the developer of a proposed development may, at the developer's option and expense, provide temporary classrooms and facilities, owned or controlled by such developer, at the place designated by the school district, and at the conclusion of the fifth year the developer shall, at the developer's expense, remove the interim facilities from such place at a date and time such removal will not disrupt normal school operations. Any of the above conditions of approval shall be waived if the affected school district and the development applicant agree upon another means of mitigating conditions of overcrowding or if the Council, after first giving the affected school district notice and a reasonable opportunity to present evidence, identifies specific overriding fiscal, economic, social, or environmental factors which would benefit the city and thereby justify the approval of the residential development. (Added Ord. 79-143, § 1, 9-21-79).

(a) Dedication. Dedications required pursuant to Section 12-804 shall only be required as a condition of approval of any final subdivision map of 50 or more residential units. Land so dedicated shall remain in school use until the conditions of overcrowding no longer exist; however, such period shall not exceed five years.

(b) Fees. The Council shall establish, for each affected attendance area, a schedule of fees for the sole purpose of providing temporary school classrooms and facilities.

(1) The schedule of fees shall be those amounts determined from time to time by the governing board of the affected school district and approved by the Council by resolution. Such fees shall be reasonably related and limited to the need for school facilities caused by a proposed development and shall not exceed an amount necessary to pay five annual lease payments for such facilities.

(2) Any fee recommendation of the school district, in order for such recommendation to be applicable to any particular proposed development, must be submitted to the city prior to, or within sixty days following, approval of an entitlement for such proposed development. (Added Ord. 79-143, § 1, 9-21-79).

Whenever the payment of fees is required pursuant to this article, such payment shall be made at the time the building permit is issued. (Added Ord. 79-143, § 1, 9-21-79).

(a) Within thirty days following the decision to require the dedication of land or the payment of fees, or both, the governing body of a school district shall submit to the Council for approval a schedule specifying how it will use the land or fees, or both, to solve the conditions of overcrowding. The schedule shall include the school sites to be used, the classroom facilities to be made available, and the times when such facilities will be available. In the event the governing body of the school district cannot meet the schedule, it shall submit modifications to the Council for approval and the reasons for the modifications.

(b) Any school district receiving funds pursuant to this chapter shall maintain a separate account for any fees paid and shall file a report with the Council setting forth the balance in the account at the end of the previous fiscal year and the facilities leased, purchased, or constructed during the previous fiscal year. In addition, the report shall specify those attendance areas which will continue to be overcrowded when the fall term begins and those areas where conditions of overcrowding will no longer exist. Such report shall be filed by August 1 of each year and shall be filed more frequently at the request of the Council.

(c) If Council finds that overcrowding conditions no longer exist within an attendance area, the city shall cease levying any fee or requiring the dedication of any land pursuant to this article within such area. All temporary classrooms and facilities owned or controlled by any developer, may, at the developer's option and expense, remove such facilities from a designated site after Council has made such findings and at a date and time such removal will not disrupt normal school operations. (Added Ord. 79-143, § 1, 9-21-79).