BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 715
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 715
(Daly) - As Introduced February 25, 2015
SUBJECT: Residential development: school facilities fees
SUMMARY: Revises, for the purpose of calculating fees levied by
school districts for the construction or reconstruction of
school facilities, the definition of "assessable space" to
specify that a covered walkway, uncovered walkway, and enclosed
walkway are excluded from the calculation, and that similarly
excluded areas include, but are not limited to, a bike storage
locker or detached personal property storage space that is not a
part of the existing livable residential structure.
EXISTING LAW:
Under the Education Code:
1)Authorizes the governing board of any school district to levy
a fee, charge, dedication, or other requirement against any
construction within the boundaries of the district, for the
purpose of funding the construction or reconstruction of
school facilities. (Education Code (Section 17620(a)(1))
2)Specifies that "construction" and "assessable space" have the
same meaning as defined in Section 65995 of the Government
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Code. (Section 17620(a)(2))
3)Prohibits a city or county, whether general law or chartered,
or the office of Statewide Health Planning and Development,
from issuing a building permit for any construction absent
certification by the appropriate school district that any fee,
charge, dedication, or other requirement levied by the
governing board of that school district has been complied
with, or of the district's determination that the fee, charge,
dedication, or other requirement does not apply to the
construction. Requires the school district to issue the
certification immediately upon compliance with the fee,
charge, dedication, or other requirement. (Section 17620(b))
Under the Government Code:
4)Specifies various levels of fees that may be assessed to fund
school facilities and the types of construction projects
subject to the fees. Authorizes $1.93 per square foot of
assessable space in the case of residential construction,
including the location, installation, or occupancy of
manufactured homes and mobile homes, and $.31 per square foot
of chargeable covered and enclosed space for any commercial or
industrial construction. (Section 65995(b)(1)(2))
5)Specifies that the fee limits for residential and commercial
or industrial construction shall be increased in 2000 and
every two years thereafter, according to the adjustment for
inflation set forth in the statewide cost index for class B
construction, as determined by the State Allocation Board
(SAB) at its January meeting, which increase shall be
effective as of the date of that meeting. (Section
65995(b)(3))
6)Defines "assessable space" as all of the square footage within
the perimeter of a residential structure, not including any
carport, walkway, garage, overhang, patio, enclosed patio,
detached accessory structure, or similar area. Specifies that
the amount of the square footage within the perimeter of a
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residential structure shall be calculated by the building
department of the city or county issuing the building permit,
in accordance with the standard practice of that city or
county in calculating structural perimeters. (Section
65995(b)(1))
7)Requires the amount of the square footage within the perimeter
of a residential structure to be calculated by the building
department of the city or county issuing the building permit,
in accordance with the standard practice of that city or
county in calculating structural perimeters. (Section
65995(b)(1))
8)Specifies that the payment or satisfaction of a fee, charge,
or other requirement levied or imposed in the amount specified
in Government Code Sections 65995, 65995.5 or 65995.7 are
deemed to be full and complete mitigation of the impacts of
any legislative or adjudicated act, or both, involving, but
not limited to, the planning, use, or development of real
property, or any change in governmental organization or
reorganization, on the provision of adequate school
facilities. (Section 65995(h)).
FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: Background. Prior to the enactment of SB 50 (L.
Greene), Chapter 407, Statutes of 1998, which established the
School Facility Program (SFP), developers were assessed a
mitigation fee of $1.50 per square foot of livable space for
each newly constructed house. This fee provided a share of the
funds needed for the construction of schools to accommodate new
pupils expected to be served as result of the new development.
In addition to this fee, local governments also had the
authority, confirmed by the courts through litigation popularly
known as the Mira, Hart and Murrieta line of cases, to require
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developers to pay for additional school-related expenses as
identified in local environmental impact reports.
SB 50 established the current School Facility Program and
changed the method for determining the share of school
construction costs that developers would pay, which provided
consistency in the amount of fees developers pay to build
schools to accommodate new developments. SB 50 suspended the
threat of lawsuits and the ability of local governments to deny
new developments on the basis of inadequate schools.
SB 50 established three levels of fees. Level I is the
mitigation fee based on square footage. SB 50 increased the
pre-SB 50 fee from $1.50 to $1.93 per square foot with an
inflation adjustment every two years according to the class B
construction index as determined by the SAB, the body that
allocates state bond funds and oversees the administration of
the SFP, at its January meeting. The fee is currently at $3.36
per square foot for residential construction and $.54 per square
foot for commercial/industrial construction, and is assessed if
the district conducts a Justification Study that establishes the
connection between the development coming into the district and
the assessment of fees to pay for the cost of the facilities
needed to house future students. Levels II and III are based
on availability of state bond funds. The developer fee amounts
are based on the state grant levels for Level II and twice the
state grant levels for Level III.
Assessable space. SB 50 defined "assessable space" for
residential construction as all of the square footage within the
perimeter of the residential structure. SB 50 excludes any
carport, walkway, garage, overhang, patio, enclosed patio,
detached accessory structure, or similar area.
What does this bill do? This bill, sponsored by the California
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Apartment Association, expands the assessable space exclusions
to include any covered walkway, uncovered walkway, and enclosed
walkway. The bill also specifies that exclusion of a "similar
area" includes, but is not limited to, a bike storage locker or
detached personal property storage space that is not a part of
the existing livable residential structure.
"Assessable space" is determined by a city or county building
department and the fee must be determined and paid before a
building permit is issued. According to the author's office,
the intent of the bill is not to expand excluded areas, but to
provide some level of clarification and consistency. Because
the law is not specific, building and planning departments
throughout the state have different interpretations of what is
assessable.
Walkways. Current law specifies that what is countable includes
the area "within" the perimeter of a residential building. It
is up to city or county building departments to determine which
areas "within" the perimeters are counted, commonly in
accordance with California building standards practices. While
walkways outside an exterior wall or a door are not counted, a
hallway or walkway inside a residential structure is counted.
Adding "covered" or "uncovered" before walkway is clarifying in
nature and does not change what is currently assessable or not
assessable, but the bill's inclusion of "enclosed walkway" may
be construed as excluding inside hallways or walkways that are
currently assessable.
Opposition, including the Orange County Department of Education
(OCDE), has raised this concern. The OCDE states, "Prior to
this bill being introduced, there was disagreement about how
livable space should be defined in a development in a part of
the City of Santa Ana that is in the Tustin Unified School
District [USD]. The developer in this case challenged the
payment of fees on internal hallways that the developer deemed
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to be 'non-livable space.' An appeal to the City's Planning
Commission found for the school district. What is at stake is
no small amount of developer fee revenue. In all, developers in
this portion of the district have challenged the internal
hallway fees which total $930,343,000. Should AB 715 have been
in law when these fees had been levied, the fee revenue, which
serves as a part of the local school construction match in
Tustin USD, would have been reduced by almost $1 million."
According to the author, this bill is intended to clarify that
walkways may be covered or uncovered and is not intended to
affect hallways inside the perimeter of a residential building.
Staff recommends striking "enclosed walkway" to eliminate any
confusion.
Bike storage lockers. The bill's expansion of excluded "similar
area" to include, but not be limited to, exclusion of "detached
bike storage lockers" is consistent with current law if the
lockers are in separate units outside of the residential
structure. In the Tustin USD conflict, the lockers are separate
from the apartment units, but are located in a corridor within
the perimeter of a residential building. If these lockers
increase the square footage available to a resident, similar to
closets inside an apartment unit, the Committee may wish to
consider whether they should be assessed. The Committee may
also wish to consider whether a detached bike storage locker is
similar to a detached accessory structure currently excluded as
assessable space. Staff recommends clarifying that a detached
accessory structure includes a detached bike storage locker.
Adding "including, but not limited to," is ambiguous and may
perpetuate the inconsistencies in assessing "assessable space"
of concern to the author. Staff recommends striking the
remaining parts of the bill.
Financing school facilities. SB 50 not only standardized the
amount and levels of developer fees, the bill also established a
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funding program that relies on a partnership between the state
through state bond funds, local communities through local bond
funds, and developers through developer fees. The last
statewide bond was passed in November 2006. Funds for the
construction of new schools and the modernization of existing
facilities were exhausted in 2012. The Governor, in his 2015-16
budget, proposes to decrease the level of state funding
substantially and increase local contributions by adjusting the
tax rates for local bonds and modifying developer fees by
consolidating the three levels into one fee at a level between
Level II and Level III, subject to local negotiation.
Arguments in support. The California Apartment Association
states, "Advances in apartment design and construction have
created confusion for local jurisdictions regarding what is
considered 'assessable space' under state statute. As
environmental consciousness and bike ridership have increased,
many new apartment structures have added detached bike storage
lockers and other types of storage, which are separate from the
apartment unit. Similarly, many developers have put covers on
walkways to accommodate tenants and those with disabilities. AB
715 would make it clear that covered walkways and detached bike
lockers and storage are exempt from assessment, just as
'walkways' and 'detached accessory structures' are today in
current law."
Arguments in opposition. The Association of California School
Administrators (ACSA) states, "Since 1986, when the state
allowed school district levied developer fees, the definition of
assessable space has included internal hallways; although,
districts typically do not levy fees on external or covered
walkways. By excluding internal hallways from the definition of
assessable space, AB 715 would significantly reduce the
chargeable square footage that fees could be levied upon. ACSA
believes that the legislature should not approve significant
changes to the financing of school facilities without
consideration to the overall program. The future of state
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participation in the funding of school facilities is at risk.
We do not believe this is the time to limit legitimate developer
fee square footage from financing needed school facilities."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Apartment Association
Opposition
Association of California School Administrators
California Association of School Business Officials
California School Boards Association
Coalition for Adequate School Housing
Orange County Department of Education
Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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