Anticipating a surge in enrollment in all new housing, Arcata schools consider charging development fees to accommodate new students | Lost Coast Outpost

Everyone seems to agree that Arcata’s population will grow. The Arcata school district is considering whether it needs to upgrade its two main campuses to accommodate a future surge in enrollment. But for the moment, she does not have the financial means.

The district could begin charging a developer fee, a one-time fee to builders of new homes and commercial buildings located within the school district, paid during the permitting process. This funding would be used to upgrade and expand schools to accommodate new students, which would be a direct result of the new development. So, for example, if a new development brings a few dozen school-age children to the area, the local elementary school district would be prepared to absorb them.

Most school districts in California raise these funds, including Eureka City Schools and other local districts. Citing the upcoming development in Arcata – as the Sorrel Place ProjectGateway Area Plan and Cal Poly Humboldt Expansion – Arcata School District Superintendent Luke Biesecker told the Outpost that the district has been considering collecting these development fees for some time. At the moment there is no urgent need: In March, Arcata voters passed Measure B, granting the district $12.5 million in bonds. But the idea surfaced at a meeting this week.

The Arcata School District board on Monday considered a resolution to levy fees of $3.11 per square foot of residential development and $0.50 per square foot of commercial development. If, as planned, 375 new housing units were built over the next five years, these costs would amount to more than $1 million, according to a justification study the SchoolWorks company completed for the district.

The few community members and builders who commented at Monday’s meeting said the district would be asking too much.

“Developers will be forced to pass the additional cost on to buyers or renters, further contributing to housing affordability issues,” said a representative from Adams Commercial General Contracting.

Kyle Boughton, owner of North Star Development, suggested families would be pushed out of the district due to the higher cost of living, which would decrease enrollment rather than increase it. He also speculated that most of the new housing in Arcata would be rented to new Cal Poly Humboldt students who might not have school-aged children.

The city of Arcata appears to be split on the costs. “While the City is concerned about how these fees will affect much-needed housing production, we also understand the need to ensure revenue to support essential programs and education,” wrote Arcata Mayor Meredith Matthews, in a letter to the school board.

“The City requests that prior to your final review, in order to adopt developer fees, you attend and share the District’s vision for these fees with the community at a City Council meeting. This opportunity would allow the District to explain why this fee is preferable to a bond/parcel tax measure, the need for the funds, the process you will use to calculate and collect the fee, and how you propose to communicate these transactions with the District. City. to better serve the developers of our city.

Sarah Kollman, an attorney whose firm represents the North Coast Home Builders Association, suggested Monday that the district’s planned use of funds could be illegal. This interpretation may be based on the five-year metric of the SchoolWorks study, which identified the need to upgrade existing facilities to accommodate a projected five-year increase of 55 students, rather than construct new buildings. Kollman said his understanding of the law is that development fees cannot be used for maintenance.

“The law regarding imposing development fees is very clear: Development fees cannot be used to address deferred maintenance and long-term maintenance items,” Kollman said. “For a school district, they must be directly linked to increased student capacity and an additional level of service.”

Biesecker later told the Outpost that despite the timeline of the SchoolWorks study, the district is looking beyond the next five years. “In the long term, our concern is primarily the potential need for new facilities,” he said.

On Monday, the council decided to table the item for now, with plans to consult with legal counsel next month and attend a city council meeting in the meantime. School districts do not legally need city or county approval to levy development fees.

If the Arcata School District ultimately charges a fee, it could work out an agreement with the Northern Humboldt Union High School District to share the funds. If they did, builders would likely pay $5.17 per square foot of residential development and $0.84 per square foot of commercial development, which is the maximum amount districts can currently charge for development fees ( this number adjusts every two years to reflect inflation).

So far, no action. But that could soon change.

“At some point, I think the board takes this issue seriously,” Biesecker said Monday. “But there’s an element of timing, and I think it’s important to know that it’s the right time for the students and the community.”