Windsor Municipal Code Art. 1 School Facilities Fee/Dedication

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "School Facilities Fee/Dedication Regulations."

This chapter is adopted pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 4.7 (commencing with Section 65970) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a method for financing interim school facilities necessitated by new residential developments causing conditions of overcrowding. At the option of the impacted school district, school impact fees or the dedication of land may be required pursuant to this chapter or, in the alternative, pursuant to Article 2. of this chapter or an ordinance adopted in connection with a specific plan prepared in accordance with Government Code Sections 65450 et seq.

The Town Council may by resolution, issue regulations to provide for the administration and implementation of this chapter.

The Town's General Plan provides for the location of public schools. Where facilities are to be constructed from fees or land required to be dedicated hereunder, or both, they shall be consistent with the General Plan.

As used in this chapter:

Conditions of overcrowding shall mean that the total enrollment of an attendance area's school or schools, including enrollment from proposed development, exceeds the capacity of such school or schools within the attendance area, as determined by the governing body of the school district.

Decision-making body shall mean the Town Council, Planning Commission, Project Review and Advisory Committee, or the Planning Director.

Dwelling unit shall mean a building or portion thereof, or a mobile home, designed for residential occupation by one (1) person or a group of two (2) or more persons living together as a domestic unit.

Reasonable methods for mitigating conditions of overcrowding shall mean and include, but are not limited to, agreements between a subdivider or builder and the affected school district, whereby temporary-use buildings will be leased to the school district or temporary-use buildings owned by the school district will be used, and agreements between the affected school district and other school districts whereby the affected school district agrees to lease or purchase surplus or underutilized school facilities from other school districts.

Residential development shall mean a project containing residential dwellings, including second units mobile homes, of one (1) or more units, or a division of land for the purpose of constructing one (1) or more residential units. Residential development includes, but is not limited to, a preliminary or final development plan, a subdivision tentative, final, or parcel map, conditional use permit, second unit permit or building permit for the creation of new dwelling units, or any other discretionary permit for new residential use including time extensions of previously issued permits or approvals. An application consisting solely of a rezoning or general or specific plan amendment is not a residential development.

Pursuant to Government Code Section 65970 et seq., the governing body of a school district may make a finding supported by clear and convincing evidence that:

a. Conditions of overcrowding exist in one (1) or more attendance areas within the district which will impair the normal functioning of educational programs, including the reason for such condition existing.

b. All reasonable methods of mitigating conditions of overcrowding have been evaluated.

c. No feasible method for reducing such conditions exist.

Upon making these findings, the school district must provide the Town with written notice of its findings as provided in Section 16-5-155.

Any notice of findings sent by a school district to the Town shall specify:

a. The findings listed in Section 16-5-150.

b. Findings of facts and a summary of the evidence upon which the findings in Section 16-5-150 were based.

c. The mitigation measures and methods considered by the school district in any determination made concerning them by the district.

d. The precise geographic boundaries of the overcrowded attendance area or areas.

e. Such other information as may be required by a Council regulation.

f. The completed application to the Office of Local Assistance for preliminary determination of eligibility under the Leroy F. Green State School Building Lease-Purchase Law of 1976 (Chapter 22 (commencing with Section 17700) of Part 10 of the Education Code).

The Council shall take no action on the notice of findings sent to the Town pursuant to Section 16-5-155 until the findings have been made available to the public for sixty (60) days after the date of receipt by the Town. The Council shall either concur or not concur in the notice of findings within sixty-one (61) days to one hundred fifty (150) days after the date of receipt of the findings. The Board may extend the period to concur or not to concur for one thirty (30) day period. The failure of the Town Council to either concur or not concur within the time period prescribed shall not be deemed as an act of concurrence in the notice of findings by the Council. The Council, if it concurs with such school district findings, shall do so by resolution.

The date of receipt of the notice of findings is the date when all of the material required by this section are completed and filed by the school district with the Council.

Within an attendance area, where the Council has concurred in a school district's notice of finding that conditions of overcrowding exist, no decision-making body shall accept as complete or approve an application for a residential development within such area unless such decision-making body makes one of the following findings:

a. That pursuant to this chapter, provision has been made for payment of fees, dedication of land, or both, or, pursuant to an ordinance adopted in connection with a specific plan as set forth in Section 16-5-105 or pursuant to Section 16-5-200, some other provision has been agreed upon by the applicant for a residential development and the school district to mitigate the conditions of overcrowding within that attendance area; or

b. That there are specific, overriding fiscal, economic, social or environmental factors, which, in the judgement of the decision-making body, would benefit the Town, thereby justifying the approval of a residential development otherwise subject to the provisions of this chapter without requiring the payment of fees or the dedication of land or other alternate provision required by this chapter.

c. The application for residential development is for replacement housing as a result of fire or some other disaster where no new dwelling units are created; or

d. The application for residential development is for the conversion of existing apartments, condominiums or vice versa, and no new dwelling units are created.

In an attendance area where the Council has concurred as provided in Sections 16-5-150, 16-5-155, 16-5-160 and 16-5-165 that overcrowding exists, the applicant of a proposed residential development, as a condition of approval, shall pay fees, dedicate land, or do a combination thereof unless excepted as provided in Section 16-5-165 as determined by the decision-making body during the hearings and other proceedings on specific residential development applications falling within their respective jurisdictions. Prior to the imposition of the fees, or the dedication of land, or both, it shall be necessary for the Council to make the following determination: That the facilities to be constructed, purchased, leased or rented from such fees, or the land to be dedicated, or both, are consistent with the General Plan.

Where, between the issuance of a building or other permit and any extension thereof, a school impact fee pursuant to this chapter has been adopted or increased, the developer shall be obligated to pay the fee or the increased amount thereof as of a condition of such extension.

Only the payment of fees shall be required in subdivisions containing fifty (50) parcels or less, or other developments containing fifty (50) units, or less.

Any requirement imposed pursuant to this section shall bear a reasonable relationship and will be limited to the needs of the community for interim elementary or high school facilities, and shall be reasonably related and limited to the need for the schools caused by the development; provided the value of the land to be dedicated, or the fees, or both, shall not exceed the amount necessary to pay five (5) annual lease payments for the interim facilities. In lieu of the land dedication of fees, the builder of a residential development may, at his or her option and at his or her expense, provide interim facilities, owned or controlled by such 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. If fees are paid and utilized to purchase land, no more land shall be purchased than is necessary for the placement thereon of interim facilities.

If the payment of a fee is required, such payment shall be made at the time the building permit is approved and issued.

When land is to be dedicated, it shall be offered for dedication in substantially the same manner as prescribed in the Town Subdivision Regulations Land shall be deeded directly to the school district or districts under procedures adopted by the Town.

a. If a final subdivision map, a parcel map, or conditional use permit is vacated or voided, and the Town still retains the land, and if the applicant so requests, the Council shall order such land returned.

b. If a residential development approval is vacated or voided, and if the Town still retains the fees collected therefor, and if the applicant so requests, the Council shall order the fees returned to the applicant.

As part of the notice of findings pursuant to Section 16-5-155 or in any event before concurrence by the Town Council pursuant to Section 16-5-160 or before a decision of the Council to increase the amount of land to be dedicated or the fees to be paid, or both, the governing body of the school district shall then submit a schedule to the Council 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 those facilities will be available. If the governing body of the school district cannot meet the schedule, it shall submit modifications to the Council and the reasons for the modifications.

All fees or land, or both, collected pursuant to this chapter and transferred to a school district, shall be used only by the school district for the purpose of providing interim elementary or high school classroom facilities. Interim facilities for the purposes of this chapter shall be limited to temporary classrooms, "including their reasonable site preparation and installation, utilities, furnishings, and toilet facilities not constructed with permanent foundations. Interim facilities also includes the land necessary for the placement of temporary classrooms thereon."

If two (2) separate school districts operate schools in an attendance area where the Council concurs that overcrowding conditions exist for both school districts, the Council will enter into an agreement with the governing body of each school district for the purpose of determining the division of revenues from the fees levied pursuant to this chapter.

Any school district receiving funds or land pursuant to this chapter shall maintain a separate account for any fees paid and disposition of land received, and shall file a report with the Council on the balance and 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 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 15, and shall be filed more frequently at the request of the Council.

When it is determined by the Town Council that conditions of overcrowding no longer exist in an attendance area, decision-making bodies shall cease imposition of any requirements under this section.

One (1) year after receipt of an apportionment pursuant to the Leroy F. Greene State School Building Lease-Purchase Law of 1976 (Chapter 22 - commencing with Section 17700 - of Part 10 of the Education Code), for construction of a school, the Town shall not be permitted thereafter, pursuant to this chapter or pursuant to any other school facilities financing arrangement such district may have with builders of residential developments, to levy any fee or to require the dedication of any land within the attendance area of the district.

Notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter to the contrary, a developer shall not be required to dedicate land or to pay school impact fees for residential development otherwise required by this chapter, if (1) The proposed residential development is located within an area covered by a duly adopted specific plan and if (2) The developer has been required to dedicate land or pay fees for school facilities pursuant to an ordinance adopted for the purpose of implementing any such specific plan and if (c) Such ordinance or specific plan provides that the dedication of land or payment of fees is for the purpose of fully mitigating the conditions of overcrowding created by the proposed residential development.