The collection of developer fees (also known as school impact fees) is a means to offset the impact that school districts face due to new residential and commercial/industrial development.
Government Code § 65995, Education Code § 17620, and Assembly Bill 2926 (1986 School Facilities Legislation) permit school districts to levy this fee on residential and/or commercial/industrial projects within its boundaries. The basis of the school facilities legislation is the relationship between new development and the impact on school districts to provide adequate school facilities for the student population new development generates. Failure by the district to collect developer fees as is deemed legally entitled to, may result in ineligibility to receive certain state funding (Education Code §17072.20).
Every two years the State Allocation Board (SAB) adjusts the per-square-foot Level 1 school impact fees based on the change in the Class B construction cost index (Government Code § 65995(b)(3)). Any resolution by the school district's board to adopt the increase in fees must be in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with ᘾ 66000) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code.
Both residential and commercial/industrial fees are calculated on the square footage determined by the city/county or other governmental agency that will issue the building permit and may be verified by the district.
Residential fees are determined by the square footage of the "assessable space." Assessable space refers to the square footage within the perimeter of the residential structure, excluding items listed in (Government Code § 65995 (b)(1)).
Commercial fees are determined by the square footage of "chargeable covered and enclosed space," which refers to the covered and enclosed space within the perimeter of the structure.
When commercial fees fall under the jurisdiction of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, the architect of record shall determine the "chargeable covered and enclosed space" within the perimeter (Government Code § 65995(b)(2)).
Any project for new construction of restricted senior citizen housing (with Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions [CC&Rs] of no youth, dependents, or families), a residential care facility for the elderly, or a multilevel facility (residential facility with an intermediate care facility, a skilled nursing facility, or a general acute care hospital) for the elderly, is subject to the limits and conditions applicable in the case of commercial/industrial development (Government Code § 65995.1).
School impact fees are required to be paid in full to obtain a Certificate of Compliance (Education Code § 17620(5)(b)).
As of the date of adoption of the Administrative Regulation, the district's office location will only accept payment in the form of check, money order, or cashier's check. Checks must be made payable to Facilitron and must include an email address, phone number, and the Facilitron project number. The district office cannot accept cash or credit card payments. The Board of Education has approved Facilitron, Inc. as the authorized processor of all payments for developer fees and the district has assessed a three percent (3%) administrative fee plus customary payment processing fees on payments processed by Facilitron, Inc.
Any returned check is subject to a Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) fee, based upon the current banking fees imposed on the district. Payment for a check returned for NSF must be resubmitted by cashier's check and include the NSF fee. Failure to resubmit payment without the added NSF will result in a voided Certificate of Compliance (COC).
Upon receipt of full payment, a Certificate of Compliance will be issued. Payments sent via US Mail will receive a copy of their Certificate of Compliance via email, with an email copy sent directly to the city or county.
The following facilities are exempt from developer fees:
Demolition credits are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are determined at the district's discretion in certain circumstances when sufficient evidence has been provided to warrant a credit.
Developer fees were assessed on new construction built after January 1, 1987 (Government Code § 65995 (c)(3)). Any structure built prior to this time does not qualify for a demolition credit and will incur developer fees on any new construction. Additionally, the structure being removed must have been occupied within the past year and thus potentially contributing to student enrollment.
Demolition and rebuilding must occur on the same building site and claimants must provide proof of continuous ownership of the land for the period covering demolition through rebuilding.
Documentation for Demolition Credits
Commercial/Industrial: A demolition credit is available for existing covered square footage of commercial/industrial construction regardless of its age. However, no credit is available for commercial/industrial structures that no longer exist on the day on which the building permit for the new construction was first applied.
Residential: Credit for demolition of a residential structure against reconstruction is available if the current fee justification study does not consider a reconstructed residential structure to generate new students beyond the original structure. (Education Code § 17620(a)(1)(C)(ii)).
Demolition credits may only be redeemed once and only by the original applicant/permittee named on the demolition permit. Demolition credits can only be transferred to new property owners when all aspects of CA Government Code § 66007 (c)(1)(2)(3) have been met.
Refunds may be granted under certain circumstances and will only be issued to the original payee of the school fees (Education Code § 17624(a)(b)). Refunds may be subject to a three percent (3%) administrative fee.
To apply for a refund, send an email to the district office at developerfees@sbcusd.k12.ca.us
Refunds may be granted if:
The statute of limitations for a refund is 90 calendar days from the date that a refund becomes available. A refund becomes available once the building permit that developer fees were paid on expires or changes (Government Code § 66020 (d)(1)).
If a customer believes he/she was denied a refund or demolition credit, or disagrees with the school fees charged, the customer may protest school fees through the district's appeal process.
For commercial and industrial projects only, a protester who is dissatisfied with the Superintendent or designee's decision may request a review of the decision by the district's Board of Education. A request for review must be in writing and must be filed with the Superintendent or designee no later than ten (10) days from the date of the Superintendent's or designee's decision. The request must contain a statement of all grounds in support of the protest.
The Board of Education shall consider and act upon a request for review at a public meeting not later than thirty (30) days from the date of the filing of the request or at the next available public meeting thereafter. A protester may appear before and address the Board on the protest. The Board shall cause written notice of the decision to be mailed to the protester within ten (10) days after the public meeting at which the Board acted upon the protest.
(Education Code Sections 17620 and 17621 [Approved by the Board of Education on February 3, 1987] Revised October 6, 1987, September 10, 1996. And January 14, 2014.)
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
17070.10-17077.10 Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998
17582 District deferred maintenance fund
17620-17626 Levies against development projects by school districts
GOVERNMENT CODE
6061 One time notice
6066 Two weeks' notice
65352.2 Level 2 funding notification requirement
65864-65869.5 Development agreements
65995-65998 Payment of fees against a development project
66000-66008 Fees for development projects
66020-66025 Protests and audits
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 2
1859-1859.106 School facility program
COURT DECISIONS
Dolan vs City of Tigard (1994) 114 S. Ct. 2309
City of San Diego Informational Bulletin 146
Last Updated On: February 1, 2025
San Bernardino City Unified School District
San Bernardino, CA
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