Any public school district for any or all grades, kindergarten through twelfth, which has part of its school attendance area within the city, is eligible to participate in the procedures herein by filing a declaration of impaction resolution and other required documents as provided in this section.
A. Declaration of Impaction. Each district which has an impacted school shall qualify to participate in the procedures herein by filing a declaration of impaction in the form of a resolution of the governing board. The resolution shall demonstrate, among other things, that the governing board has acted upon, or rejected, the options listed hereafter as means of alleviating or avoiding the effect of new or proposed development. The options include but are not limited to:
1. Temporary buildings;
2. Busing;
3. Double sessions;
4. Extended day program;
5. Year-round school attendance;
6. Open enrollment;
7. School boundary realignments;
8. Elimination of low priority uses;
9. Increasing the tax rate.
B. Schedule of Mitigation. The district, at the time of filing the declaration of impaction, shall also, submit a detailed program of mitigation proposed for each impacted school within the district. The program shall, among other things, set forth the projected costs for the district to provide temporary school facilities as well as measures proposed to recover the projected costs. The form and content of the material to be submitted pursuant to this subsection shall conform to city requirements adopted by regulation.
C. Processing Schedule. The initial notice of findings, declaration of impact resolution and the schedule for mitigation may be filed at any time during the year. But thereafter any notice of findings and declaration of continued impact shall be filed within sixty (60) days prior to the first day of July covering the next twelve (12) month period. However, until the council acts on the notice of findings and declaration of continued impact, the previously approved declaration of impact and schedule for mitigation shall remain in effect until not later than the first day of October of that year. The council shall take no action on any notice of findings and declaration of impact or continued impact until the findings have been made available to the public for sixty (60) days. A declaration shall have no effect upon the issuance of building permits until it is adopted by the council. A declaration of impaction may be amended at any time in the same manner in which it is initially filed. The previous declaration shall remain in effect until the council has taken final action on the amendment.
D. Public Hearing. The council shall hold a public hearing on each submitted declaration of impaction and on each amended declaration of impaction. The purpose of the hearing is to allow interested persons to comment on the proposals submitted by a district in support of its eligibility. The council may find a district to be eligible and may impose a requirement of the payment of fees or dedication of land as a condition to the issuance of building permits for new dwelling units within attendance areas of said district's impacted schools, if the documentation and supportive findings clearly meet the requirements of this chapter, any regulations adopted pursuant hereto and the requirements of Government Code Section 65974.
E. Fact-Finding. Prior to concluding its hearing on any declaration of impaction under subsection D of this section, the city council may, or when requested to do so either by the school district filing the declaration of impaction or any developer who would be affected by the declaration of impaction, the city council shall, refer the declaration of impaction to fact-finding as provided for herein. Any request for fact-finding shall be made within fifteen (15) days of the filing of the declaration of impaction or any amendment thereof by the school district. The scope of the fact-finding shall be the questions of whether mitigation is required and/or the form or amount of mitigation. The decision of the fact finder shall be recommendatory to the city council. The city manager shall by regulation under Section 15.132.080 of this chapter establish the procedure for appointment of a fact-finding panel. The regulations shall provide for the creation of the panel within fifteen (15) days of the council's referral to fact-finding. The panel shall be composed of seven members, three of whom shall be selected as the fact-finding committee to make a recommendation to the city council as provided herein. The fact-finding committee shall be selected from the panel as follows:
1. Developer or developers jointly shall declare one panel member ineligible;
2. School district shall then declare one member ineligible;
3. The process shall continue until three panelists remain. The remaining panelists shall constitute the committee. Costs of fact-finding shall be assessed equally to the developer and the school district.
F. Impoundment of School Impaction Fees. When any declaration of impaction or any amendment thereto is referred to fact-finding as provided in subsection E of this section, fees which would be payable under the new proposed declaration of impaction if it were in effect shall be paid and impounded under the following procedure until the proposed declaration of impaction or amendment to an existing declaration of impaction is acted upon the city council under subsection D of this section:
Any developer of land located within an impacted area as shown on the proposed declaration of impaction shall pay that portion of the fee which exceeds the fee, if any, in effect at the time of the application for building permit to the director of finance. The director of finance shall issue to the developer for presentation to the director of building inspections proof of payment of the difference between the existing fee, if any, and the fee above that amount contained in the newly filed declaration or amendment thereto.
The director of finance shall credit fees received pursuant to this subsection F in a special account pending completion of the fact-finding and the decision of the city council under subsection D of this section. Upon the council's decision, the director of finance shall may the fees received together with any accrued interest, to the developer, the school district or both as the case may be according to the council's decision. (Prior code § 67.01.130)