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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08161994 - H.3 g .72 Conlr( •;�=- �; --;,: Costa TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS o; County FROM: HARVEY E. BRAGDONy:? DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT srA,�otiHi'Y eA DATE: August 10, 1994 SUBJECT: Amended Appeal of the Byron Union School District from the Decision of the Zoning Administrator Accepting the Final Map for SUB 7679 - Phase I for Approval SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATIONS) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Deny the appeal of the Byron Union- School District. 2 . Sustain the Zoning Administrator decision to require payment of School District fees consistent with State Law. 3 . Accept the Final Map for Phase I of SUB 7679. ' FISCAL IMPACT None. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS SUB 7679, together with a General Plan Amendment, Rezoning, Preliminary and Final Development Plans was approved by the Board on July 13 , 1993 . The approval became effective on October 26, 1993 after adoption of the CEQA Findings and Mitigation Monitoring Program by the,Board. The Conditions of Approval regarding school requirement is #15. The condition reads as follows: 15. Prior to recording the Final Map for this development, "will serve" letters from the Byron Elementary School District and the Liberty Union High School District shall: be submitted to the Zoning Administrator: In the alternative, submit evidence satisfactory to the Zoning Administrator that the applicant has complied with all legally established school facilities funding requirements. During the Board's hearing process in 1993 , the second sentence was added to Condition #15. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNAT RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDAT OAkb COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) : ACTION OF BOARD ON / / APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A UNANIMOUS (ABSENT / . � TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Contact:Arthur Beresford - 646-2031 Orig: Community Development Department ATTESTED cc: Byron Union School District PHIL BAT9AELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY_ DEPUTY 1 Page Two The School District is requesting that the Board of Supervisors reverse the Zoning Administrator's decision that Condition #15 has been met as they relate to the Byron Union School District. In the July 28, 1994 ' letter, the School District has noted that they are not appealing the creation of the first 65-lots of this 282 lot project, or the issuance of building permits for these lots. In a letter dated June 29, 1994, the developer has stated in writing that they will pay all legally established fees for school facilities funding requirements. Staff has received a will serve letter from the Liberty Union High School District. The developer is endeavoring to have the Board of Supervisors accept the first phase of the project (64 lots) for recordation. Appeal In June of this year, the Byron Union School District (BUSD) approved a "Development Impact Fee Justification Study" , and directed their staff to pursue mitigation for all projects pursuant : to the study. In this regard,. the District is seeking payment of fees at the rate of $2 .75 per square foot, whereas the fee rate required by State law amounts to only $1. 16 per square foot. Assuming that the average residence in the project is 2500 square feet in assessable floor area, the fee rate that the District is seeking would yield $1,938, 750 [2500 sq. ft. x $2 . 75/sq. ft. x 282 units] ; the comparable figure for the State law requirement ($1. 16/sq. ft. ) is $817, 800. The District is basing its appeal for a higher fee rate on (1) discussion of school impacts and mitigations in the EIR for the subdivision project, and (2) an interpretation of General Plan policies. Discussion There are several factors that weigh against granting the District's appeal. • After the EIR was prepared, in 1993 , the Board determined that there was not sufficient documentation to mandate supplemental school district fees. Accordingly, in approving the project, the Board adopted Findings and a Statement of Overriding Considerations to condition the project such that the applicant could pay only those fees required by State law. • The effort of the District to justify a higher fee rate has not been made in a timely manner. The study was completed one year after the project was approved. To be eligible for a supplemental fee rate, the School District would have needed to complete and approve its facilities demand study prior to the adoption of the general plan or rezoning for this project. (Reference Policy 7-141 of the School Facilities Section of the Public Facilities Element of the General Plan) • Contrary to the appeal letter, application of the fee rate required by State law is consistent with the General Plan including Public Facilities and Growth Management Elements. The Board determined the project's compliance with the General Plan policies at the time of project approval in 1993 . It should also be noted that the developer, Centex Homes, has offered to provide improvements to District property beyond the State law requirement. The developer has offered to construct a parking lot at Byron Elementary School. The developer has estimated the cost of this improvement at $200, 000 - $250, 000. Page Three Conclusion There is no justification to depart from this project approval and require higher school district fees. Accordingly, . the Zoning Administrator decision accepting fee payment in accordance with State law requirements should be sustained. The County can however in the future consider the District justification for higher fees in conjunction with the approval of new residential projects requiring rezoning or general plan amendment approval. cc: Byron Union School District Steve Garrett, Centex Homes Public Works Dept. County Counsel ADDENDUM TO ITEM H.3 AUGUST 16, 1994 Following a presentation by staff of the Community Development Department on the amended appeal of the Byron Union School District from the decision of the Zoning Administrator accepting the Final Map for Subdivision 7679 for approval, the hearing was opened and the following persons spoke: Sheri Love, Counsel for the Byron Elementary School District, 1 Harris Court, Suite 200, Monterey, California; George Hoover, Byron Unified School District, Byron John McCorkell, 3500 Camino Diablo, Byron; Walter MacVittie, 1466 Marlin Place, Discovery Bay; and Sanford M. Skaggs, attorney for Centex Homes, Law Firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, 1331 N. California Boulevard, P. 0. Box V, Walnut Creek 94596. All persons desiring to speak were heard. The Board discussed the issue of the Final Map, impact of the proposed Centex Development on the school district, the basis for increasing developer fees at this time to mitigate the impact on school facilities, and a proposal to have all parties discuss this matter further and report to the Board in approximately three weeks. It was noted that the Byron Unified School District had no objection to accepting the final map for Phase 1 of Subdivision 7679 but did have concerns with the approval of Phases II through IV. THEREFORE, IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that with the concurrence of the Byron Unified School District, the filing of the Phase 1 Final Map for Subdivision 7679 in the Byron area is hereby ACCEPTED. It is noted that by taking this action the Byron School District's appeal is rendered moot. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Community Development Department staff is DIRECTED to submit to the Board on September 13, 1994, a progress report on discussions between representatives of the Byron Unified School District and Centex on the issue of the fees and future phasing of development.