Senate Bill 50 and School Facility Fees - California's Coalition for ...

esidential fee and $0.31 per square foot commercial or industrial fee authorized by Government
Code Section 65995, if such construction:
1. Received a tentative map, development permit or conditional use permit before
November 4, 1998, and
2. Received a building permit prior to January 1, 2000.
Any construction not meeting these requirements is subject to the increased alternative fees
authorized by new Government Code Sections 65995.5 and 65995.7. It should be kept in mind
that this exception only applies to the specific construction authorized by the qualifying building
permit. In other words, issuance of a building permit for residential construction in a tract prior
to January 1, 2000 does not exempt construction in the remainder of the tract – only the
construction on the lot for which the permit was issued.
Section 3
The New School Facility Fees
A. Introduction. SB 50 provides authority for three different levels of fees. Education Code
Section 17620 provides the basic authority for school districts to levy fees against construction
for the purpose of funding construction or reconstruction of school facilities, subject to limits set
forth in Government Code Section 65995. Prior to SB 50, Section 65995 limited those fees to an
inflation-adjusted $1.93 for residential construction and an inflation-adjusted $0.31 for
commercial or industrial construction. SB 50 modified Section 65995 to provide, in addition to
those “Level 1 Fees”, higher fees on new residential construction pursuant to Government Code
Sections 65995.5 and 65995.7. At the end of this section is a chart which graphically
summarizes the development fee process under SB 50.
B. Level 1 Fees (Govt. Code §65995). SB 50 does not affect the levying of Level 1 Fees.
A school district may continue to levy these fees as long as the school district's development Fee
Justification Study (as required by Ed. Code §17621 and Govt. Code §66001) justifies them.
(Note: Although it is understood that SB 50 was not intended to have any effect on what are now
referred to as Level 1 Fees, Government Code Section 65995.5(f) could be interpreted as
requiring that all development fees, including those collected on residential additions and
commercial or industrial construction be spent solely on facilities necessitated by students
generated from new residential construction. C.A.S.H. expects that this issue will be resolved in
future clean-up legislation.)
C. Level 2 Fees (Govt. Code § 65995.5).
1. Requirements to collect Level 2 Fee