BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
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|Bill No: |SB 313 |Hearing |5/6/15 |
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|Author: |Galgiani |Tax Levy: |No |
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|Version: |4/29/15 |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant|Favorini-Csorba |
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT: ZONING ORDINANCES: SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Requires a school district governing board to comply with
specified requirements before declaring a zoning ordinance
inapplicable to a proposed school site.
Background and Existing Law
Cities and counties must adopt general plans that include seven
elements. The land use element must designate the location of
various land uses, including education. When drafting their
general plans, cities and counties must consult with other
public agencies, including school districts. Public agencies
have 45 days to comment on proposed plans or plan amendments.
When building public works projects, cities and counties must
follow their own general plans. All other local
governments-including school districts-must submit their
proposed public works projects so that city or county planners
can see if the projects are consistent with general plans.
Planners have up to 40 days to review another local government's
proposed public works projects. If a project does not conform,
the other local agency can overrule the general plan with a
majority vote.
Cities and counties' zoning ordinances must be consistent with
their general plans. School districts do not have to comply
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with local zoning unless the zoning ordinance provides sites for
public schools. However, a school district can override that
zoning on a two-thirds vote of its governing board if the
district has:
Notified the local planning commission or agency 45 days
before the district completes a long range plan to expand
or acquire new school sites, such as a school facility
needs analysis.
Notified the local planning commission 30 days before
the district acquires property that will be the future site
of school facilities. If the planning commission does not
favor the site, the school district must wait 30 days
before it can acquire the property.
The affected city or county can challenge the school district's
action to override local zoning in court. If the court
determines that the school district's action was arbitrary and
capricious, the local zoning ordinance applies.
In addition, a school district that plans to acquire property
for a new school site on land that is zoned for agricultural
production must make three findings that it:
Notified and consulted with the city, county, or city
and county within which the prospective school site is to
be located.
Chose the prospective site after considering all the
factors in the public interest and not only the cost of the
land.
Will attempt to minimize any public health and safety
issues resulting from the neighboring agricultural uses
that may affect the pupils and employees at the school
site.
The Department of Finance projects that over the next ten years,
many of the counties with the highest growth rates in school
enrollment will be in the Central Valley and other areas with
significant agricultural presence. These areas are more likely
than urbanized areas to experience greenfield development,
rather than infill development that is more consistent with
current land use planning ideals.
Some local agencies are concerned that the ability of school
districts to override zoning ordinances can result in schools
being located on agricultural land on the outskirts of urbanized
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areas, with associated impacts to nearby communities and farming
operations.
Proposed Law
Senate Bill 313 expands the requirements that school districts
must meet in order to declare that a local zoning ordinance does
not apply to a proposed school site. Specifically, SB 313
requires school districts to notify the relevant city or county
government 30 days before a vote to make a zoning ordinance
inapplicable to a proposed school site. This notice must:
Include the reason why the school district intends to
take the action.
Be based on written findings that the ordinance fails to
meet the school district's needs for school facilities in
that city or county.
SB 313 also specifies that a school district may follow the same
procedure to make a general plan inapplicable to a prospective
school site.
SB 313 also requires a school district to comply with the
existing requirement to make specified findings when acquiring
agricultural land for a school before it can override a local
zoning ordinance.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill. 1. Purpose of the bill . SB 313
improves coordination between school districts and local
governments that have land use authority, which will help
California achieve its goals for developing sustainable
communities. Cities and counties have planning agencies with
staff that view specific land uses-such as for school
sites-within the larger context of their community. As a result,
these agencies are well-suited to offer suggestions to school
districts on how school district siting affects nearby
communities. For example, many planners prefer to have schools
in locations that are located in existing communities or near
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existing housing and transportation infrastructure. The 30-day
notice established by SB 313 provides planners with an
opportunity to provide input to school districts as those
districts consider prospective school sites.
2. One size fits all? SB 313 arose out of concern that school
districts are purchasing agricultural land away from urban
centers, thereby enabling development. However, the additional
requirements in SB 313 apply to any vote that a school district
takes to override local zoning, regardless of where the
prospective school site is located. Because they will lead to
different types of development, it makes sense to treat school
district decisions to override local zoning in agricultural and
urban areas differently. SB 313's modest notification
requirements are unlikely to significantly deter school
districts from siting schools on agricultural land. As such,
stronger measures (such as a higher vote requirement to override
ordinances and general plans that zone an area for agricultural
production) may be necessary.
3. Best laid plans. Current law allows a local agency-such as a
school district-to overrule a city or county general plan that
applies to a public works project with a majority vote of its
governing board, but requires a two-thirds vote for a school
district to override a zoning ordinance. Because a local
government's zoning ordinances must be consistent with its
general plan, it's illogical to have different thresholds for
overriding general plans and zoning ordinances. In addition, SB
313 includes language that authorizes a school district to make
a general plan inapplicable to a prospective school site with a
two-thirds vote. However, since school districts can already
override general plans with a majority vote, this provision is
in conflict with existing law. The Committee may wish to
consider amending SB 313 to remove this confusing provision and
harmonizing the different thresholds for overriding general
plans vs. zoning ordinances.
4. Timing is everything . Current law gives local planners 40
days to review proposals for new school sites while SB 313 gives
local governments 30 days before a school district can vote to
make local zoning inapplicable. The Committee may wish to
increase the deadline in SB 313 to 40 days.
5. Double-referral . Because SB 313 addresses some aspects of
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where schools may be located as well as local land use
authority, Senate Rules Committee ordered the bill to be
referred to the Senate Education Committee, where it passed by a
vote of 9-0 in a hearing on April 22, 2015, prior to being
referred to the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.
Support and
Opposition (4/30/15)
Support : California Farm Bureau Federation, Contra Costa County
Board of Supervisors.
Opposition : Unknown.
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