Cresta Bella v. Poway Unified School District

218 Cal. App. 4th 438, 160 Cal. Rptr. 3d 437, 2013 WL 3942961, 2013 Cal. App. LEXIS 603
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 31, 2013
DocketD060789
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 218 Cal. App. 4th 438 (Cresta Bella v. Poway Unified School District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cresta Bella v. Poway Unified School District, 218 Cal. App. 4th 438, 160 Cal. Rptr. 3d 437, 2013 WL 3942961, 2013 Cal. App. LEXIS 603 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Opinion

HALLER, J.

Poway Unified School District (the District) imposed school impact fees on Cresta Bella, LP (Cresta Bella), for a residential development *443 project involving the demolition of an existing apartment complex and construction of a new, larger apartment complex. Cresta Bella petitioned for writ of mandate in superior court seeking a partial refund of the fees based on a claim that it was improperly charged for the entire square footage of the new apartment complex, rather than only for the increased square footage created by the development. On the same grounds, it also alleged an unconstitutional taking and requested declaratory relief. The court denied the mandate petition and entered judgment in favor of the District on all claims. Cresta Bella appeals.

We hold that under the statutory scheme applicable to school impact fees, the fees should not be imposed for the square footage already in existence at the time of the new development project, absent a study that reasonably supports that reconstruction of preexisting square footage increases student population. The District’s school impact fee study did not make this showing. Accordingly, Cresta Bella is entitled to a refund of the portion of the fees derived from the preexisting square footage in its project. We reverse the judgment and remand the matter to the trial court with instructions to grant the mandate petition and order the refund. Given our holding providing relief under the mandate petition, we need not reach the constitutional taking and declaratory relief claims.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

To pay for the construction of school facilities necessitated by student population increases, school districts are authorized to impose school impact fees for new residential construction. The fees are subject to statutorily defined maximum amounts for each square foot of the new residential construction. (Ed. Code, § 17620, subd. (a); Gov. Code, § 65995.) There are several alternative statutory formulas for calculating the maximum fee per square foot (Gov. Code, §§ 65995, 65995.5, 65995.7), which are commonly known as “Level 1,” “Level 2,” and “Level 3” fees. Relevant here, in July 2008 a consulting firm retained by the District prepared a districtwide school facilities needs analysis (SFNA) in which it calculated that the maximum Level 2 fee for the District was $3.89 per square foot of new residential construction. Based on the SFNA, in August 2008 the District passed a resolution which adopted a school impact fee of $3.89 per square foot, which would apply to the entire square footage of a development project, including preexisting square footage (i.e., existing square footage that was demolished and reconstructed).

Cresta Bella owned an apartment complex consisting of 248 units and 258,169 square feet. It demolished this complex and built a new apartment complex consisting of 368 units and 371,612 square feet. Thus, the new *444 apartment complex had 120 more units and 113,443 more square feet than the complex being demolished. The District charged Cresta Bella school impact fees based on the entire square footage of the new apartment complex (i.e., 371,612 square feet multiplied by $3.89, totaling $1,445,570.68).

In June 2009, Cresta Bella paid the school impact fees under protest. Cresta Bella argued it should not have to pay fees for the preexisting square footage in the project because the District did not evaluate whether preexisting square footage in new residential construction impacts school facilities by increasing student population. It claimed the District had improperly charged fees for the entire square footage of its project, resulting in $1,004,277.41 in excess fees. 1

After exhausting its administrative remedies, in May 2010 Cresta Bella filed a petition for writ of mandate in superior court seeking a refund of the alleged excess fees. It also pleaded causes of action alleging an unconstitutional taking and requesting declaratory relief. To refute Cresta Bella’s challenge to the imposition of fees for the preexisting square footage, the District argued there was no improper fee calculation because in an attached exhibit (Exhibit H) the SENA considers the impact of preexisting units in new residential construction.

After considering the parties’ evidentiary presentations and arguments, the trial court, citing Exhibit H of the SENA, concluded that the District had not imposed an improper or unconstitutional fee. Accordingly, the court denied the writ petition and entered judgment in favor of the District on all claims.

DISCUSSION

To review Cresta Bella’s challenge to the school impact fees, we first summarize the statutes and case authority governing school impact fees. We then set forth information in the SENA and other matters relevant to the District’s imposition of the fees and the trial court’s decision denying Cresta Bella’s request for a partial refund.

As we shall detail below, under the statutory scheme and relevant case authority, a school district that qualifies for a Level 2 fee must set the maximum amount of the fee based on a rather complex formula that incorporates a variety of statutorily defined variables. The Level 2 statutory formula setting the maximum fee does not allow the school district to recoup the total actual costs estimated for new school facilities necessitated by the *445 projected increases in student population from new residential development; rather, only a portion of these estimated costs are recoupable under the Level 2 formula. In addition to calculating the maximum Level 2 fee, the school district must establish that there is a reasonable relationship between the development activity and the impact on the school district, i.e., that the type of development activity subject to the school impact fees tends to increase the student population and thereby requires the district to construct new school facilities.

The District’s SFNA concludes that the District may properly charge school impact fees for reconstruction of existing residential units (i.e., preexisting square footage) because the statutorily defined maximum Level 2 rate does not allow the District to recoup the estimated actual costs of constructing new school facilities to accommodate projected new students from newly added (nonpreexisting) square footage. However, as we shall explain, the SFNA does not contain any information showing that reconstruction of preexisting square footage contributes to an increase in student population in the District. Accordingly, the District’s imposition of fees for the preexisting square footage in Cresta Bella’s project does not pass the reasonable relationship test.

A. The Statutory Scheme

Legislation authorizing school impact fees was enacted to provide a “ ‘reasonable method of financing the expansion and construction of school facilities resulting from new economic development within the district.’ ” (Shapell Industries, Inc. v. Governing Board

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Sheetz v. County of El Dorado
California Court of Appeal, 2022
AMCAL Chico LLC v. Chico Unified School Dist.
California Court of Appeal, 2020
Tanimura & Antle Fresh Foods, Inc. v. Salinas Union High Sch. Dist.
246 Cal. Rptr. 3d 622 (California Court of Appeals, 5th District, 2019)
616 Croft Ave., LLC v. City of West Hollywood
3 Cal. App. 5th 621 (California Court of Appeal, 2016)
Walker v. City of San Clemente
239 Cal. App. 4th 1350 (California Court of Appeal, 2015)
City of San Marcos v. Loma San Marcos
California Court of Appeal, 2015
City of San Marcos v. Loma San Marcos CA4/1
234 Cal. App. 4th 1045 (California Court of Appeal, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
218 Cal. App. 4th 438, 160 Cal. Rptr. 3d 437, 2013 WL 3942961, 2013 Cal. App. LEXIS 603, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cresta-bella-v-poway-unified-school-district-calctapp-2013.