Sebastopol Municipal Code Ch. 3.50 In-Lieu Fees for School Facilities

The City Council does hereby find and declare as follows:

A. Adequate school facilities should be available for all children residing in new residential developments within the City.

B. New public and private residential developments within the City frequently require the expansion of existing public schools or the construction of new public school facilities.

C. In many areas of the City, funds for the construction of new classroom facilities are not available when new development occurs, resulting in the overcrowding of existing schools.

D. New housing developments within the City frequently cause conditions of overcrowding in existing school facilities which cannot be alleviated by the affected school districts under existing law and within a reasonable period of time.

E. The General Plan of the City provides for the location of public schools.

F. For the above reasons, the ordinance codified in this chapter is enacted for the purpose of providing a new and improved method of financing for interim school facilities necessitated by new residential development within the City.

As used in this chapter:

“Conditions of overcrowding” means that the total enrollment of the school within an attendance area, including enrollment from all proposed development, exceeds the capacity of such school as determined by the governing body of the school district.

“District” or “school district” means the particular school district or districts within which a residential development is proposed or to be constructed.

“Dwelling unit” means a building or portion thereof, or a mobile home, designed for residential occupation by one or more persons living together as a single domestic unit.

“Residential development” means a project containing residential dwellings, including mobile homes, of one or more units, or division of land for the purpose of constructing one or more dwelling units. Residential development includes, but is not limited to, a preliminary or final development plan, a tentative subdivision map or a final subdivision map, a parcel map, a conditional use permit, a building permit, or any other permit issued by the City for new residential use.

For the purpose of establishing an interim method of providing classroom facilities where conditions of overcrowding exist, the City hereby requires the dedication of land, the payment of fees in lieu thereof, or a combination of both, or the provision of interim facilities in lieu of fees, for classroom and related facilities for elementary, intermediate, or high school purposes, as a condition to the approval of a residential development, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all residential development within the City. The City Council may, from time to time, by resolution adopt regulations to provide for the implementation and administration of this chapter.

A. If the governing body of a school district makes a finding supported by clear and convincing evidence that: (1) conditions of overcrowding exist in one or more attendance areas within the district which will impair the normal functioning of educational programs, including the reason for such conditions existing; and (2) that all reasonable methods of mitigating conditions of overcrowding have been evaluated and no feasible method for reducing such conditions exists, the governing body of the district shall notify the City Council of such findings. The notice of findings sent to the City Council shall specify the mitigation measures considered by the district and the reasons for their rejection.

B. If the City Council concurs in such findings it shall not adopt an ordinance rezoning property to a residential use, grant a discretionary permit for residential use, or approve a tentative subdivision map for residential purposes within such area unless:

1. The dedication of land, the payment of fees in lieu thereof, or a combination of both, or the provision of interim facilities, for classroom and related facilities for elementary and/or high schools is imposed as a condition of the approval of the residential development; or

2. The school district has entered into an agreement with the applicant of a proposed residential development, which agreement provides a feasible means for mitigating any aggravation of such conditions of overcrowding which would otherwise be caused by the proposed residential development; or

3. The City Council finds there are specific overriding fiscal, economic, social, or environmental factors which in the judgment of the City Council would benefit the City, thereby justifying the approval of a residential development otherwise subject to the imposition of such a condition.

C. The methods for mitigating the conditions of overcrowding which the district shall consider when making its finding required by this section shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following:

l. Agreements between a subdivider and the district whereby temporary use buildings will be leased to the district or temporary use buildings owned by the district will be used;

2. The use of relocatable structures, student transportation, and school attendance area or school boundary realignments;

3. The use of available bond or State loan fund revenues to the extent authorized by law;

4. The use of funds which could be available from the sale of surplus school district real property and the funds available from other appropriate sources, as determined by the governing body of the district;

5. Enrollment in adjacent school districts.

Unless otherwise specifically excepted, every owner or developer of a residential development situated in or served by an attendance area where conditions of overcrowding exist, shall dedicate land, pay fees in lieu thereof, or a combination of both, for classroom and related facilities for elementary and/or high schools, as a condition to the approval of a residential development.

In lieu of such fees, the builder of a residential development may, at his or her option and at his or her own expense, provide interim facilities, owned or controlled by the builder, at the place designated by the school district, and at the conclusion of the fifth school year the builder shall, at the builder’s expense, remove the interim facilities from that place.

When a fee is required to be paid in lieu of land dedication or the provision of interim facilities, the amount of such fee per pupil in each impacted attendance area, and the factor or criteria to be used in determining the estimated number of pupils expected to reside in the dwelling units authorized by the permit and expected to enroll in the school or schools serving the attendance area shall be determined by the City Council, by resolution. The per-pupil fees and the factors or criteria used in estimating the number of pupils may be redetermined and modified from time to time by further resolutions of the City Council on the basis of evidence submitted to it by the school district and other interested parties. The minimum amount of land required to be dedicated, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall be at least equal in monetary value to the fees that would be otherwise required by this section. The City Council shall determine and establish the monetary value of land area for the purposes of this chapter. Only the payment of fees shall be required in subdivisions containing 50 parcels or less.

The dedication of land, provision of interim facilities, or payment of fees shall not be required for any residential development which shall be occupied solely by individuals aged 55 or older or qualified handicapped persons.

The procedure for determining whether the dedication of land, the payment of fees in lieu thereof, or a combination of both, or the provision of interim facilities, for classroom and related facilities for elementary, intermediate or high schools, as a condition to the approval of a residential development, shall be as follows:

A. Request of Owner. At the time of filing an application for a residential development, the owner or developer of the property shall, as a part of the filing, state whether he desires to dedicate land, provide interim facilities, or pay a fee in lieu thereof. If he desires to dedicate land for such purpose, he shall designate the area thereof on the tentative tract map or the plot plan submitted.

B. Action by City. At the time of approval of said residential development, the City Council, upon the advice of the affected district, shall determine, as a part of such approval, whether to require a dedication of land, the payment of fees in lieu thereof, or a combination of both, for classroom and related facilities for elementary or high schools.

C. Dedication Procedures. Where dedication is required, the land shall be conveyed directly to the affected district in accordance with standard conveyance procedures as approved by the City Attorney, or the district’s legal counsel, if other than the City Attorney, and shall be recorded prior to the issuance of a building permit.

D. Provision of Interim Facilities Procedure. When the builder of a residential development chooses to provide interim facilities, he shall do so at a place to be designated by the school district, and shall remove the facilities so provided at his own expense at the conclusion of the fifth school year.

E. In-Lieu Fee Procedure. When the payment of in-lieu fees is required, the owner or builder shall deposit said fees with the City, for transmittal to the district, and a receipt therefor shall be filed with the City’s Building Inspection Department prior to the issuance of a building permit.

F. Criteria for Determination. Whether the City Council, upon the advice of the district, determines to require a dedication of land or the payment of an in-lieu fee, or a combination of both, shall be determined by consideration of the following criteria:

1. The City’s General Plan;

2. The topography, geology, access and location of the land in the development available for dedication;

3. The size and shape of the development and the land available for dedication;

4. The location of existing or proposed class- room and related facilities for elementary or high schools within and adjacent to the attendance area of the development; and

5. The desirability of developing the land proposed for dedication as determined by a schematic site plan submitted by the owner or developer.

The determination of the City Council as to whether land shall be dedicated, or whether a fee shall be paid, or a combination thereof, shall be final and conclusive.

The land, facilities, or fees, or combination thereof, transferred or provided to a district, shall be used only for the purpose of providing interim elementary and/or high school classroom and related facilities. The location and amount of land to be dedicated or the amount of fees to be paid, or both, shall bear a reasonable relationship and shall be limited to the needs of the community for interim elementary and/or high school facilities and shall be reasonably related and limited to the need for school facilities caused by the development. The facilities to be constructed from such fees or the land to be dedicated, or both, shall be consistent with the City’s General Plan, and a finding to that effect shall be made by the Planning Commission or the City Council.

If conditions of overcrowding no longer exist within an attendance area, the City shall cease levying any fee or requiring the dedication of any land pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

Following the decision by the City to require the dedication of land, provision of interim facilities, or the payment of fees, or a combination thereof, the governing body of the district shall submit a schedule specifying how it will use the land, facilities, or fees, or combination thereof, 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 district cannot meet the schedule, it shall submit modifications to the City Council and the reasons for the modifications. The City Council shall make a finding that the facilities to be constructed from such fees, or provided by the builder, or the land to be dedicated, or a combination thereof, is consistent with the General Plan.

Any district receiving funds pursuant to this chapter shall maintain a separate account for any fees paid and shall file a report with the Council on the balance in the account at the end of the previous fiscal year and on the facilities leased, purchased, or constructed during the previous fiscal year. In addition, the report shall specify which attendance areas will continue to be overcrowded when the fall term begins and where conditions of overcrowding will no longer exist. Such report shall be filed by October 15th of each year and shall be filed more frequently at the request of the City Council.

The ordinance codified in this chapter is adopted under the authority of the provisions of Chapter 4.7 (commencing with Section 65970) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code, as well as all other relevant State statutes applicable to general law cities, applicable court decisions, and the inherent, independent, and expressed powers of a general law city.