News & Resources

State Allocation Board Authorizes Level 1 Fee Increase

Jan 25, 2018 | Legal Developments and News

School districts are authorized to levy a fee against any construction within the boundaries of the district, for the purpose of funding the construction or reconstruction of school facilities necessitated by the development.  (Ed. Code, §17620(a)(1).)  School impact fees, commonly known as “Level 1” or developer fees, are adjusted for inflation every two years by the State Allocation Board (SAB) at its January meeting.

On January 24, 2018, the SAB authorized an increase in the maximum Level 1 fee per square foot for as follows:

  • Residential Construction: School districts may now charge up to $3.79 per square foot of assessable space of new residential construction.
  • Commercial/Industrial Construction: School districts may now charge up to $0.61 per square foot of chargeable covered and enclosed commercial/industrial space.

The new amounts reflect an 8.78% increase over existing rates of $3.48 and $0.61 per square foot, respectively.

All school districts may adopt up to the maximum authorized Level 1 fees if justified.  Unified school districts may collect the full Level 1 fee amounts, while non-unified school districts share the total maximum amount of justified Level 1 fees pursuant to a fee-splitting agreement.

School districts must take specific action to make the fee increase applicable within their districts.  To take advantage of the increase, each school district should act now and follow the statutory process to adopt the increased Level 1 fees.

Step 1 – Fee Justification Study.  A school district must prepare or update its Fee Justification Study to establish that a nexus exists between the amount and types of development in a school district and the need for additional school facilities to house students generated by development.  A Fee Justification Study must:

  • Identify the purpose of the fees;
  • Identify the use(s) to which the fees will be put;
  • Determine whether a reasonable relationship exists between the fee’s use and the type of development project on which the fee is imposed; and
  • Determine whether a reasonable relationship exists between the need for school facilities and student growth resulting from the forms of development on which the fee is imposed.

We generally recommend that the Fee Justification Study be prepared or updated by an outside consultant every five years or each time a district raises its Level 1 fee, whichever occurs earlier. This is true even if a school district also collects Level 2 or Level 3 fees because Level 1 fees are imposed pursuant to separate legal authority.  If Level 2 or Level 3 fees are ever invalidated, expire or are successfully challenged, Level 1 fees will remain in place and should be justified based on the findings in the district’s last Fee Justification Study.  Furthermore, Level 1 fees are the only school impact fees that may be imposed on commercial/industrial construction, other residential construction, and senior housing, so it is important to keep pace with the increases permitted by state law as long as the amounts are justified by an updated Fee Justification Study.

Step 2 – Public Review.  Once the Fee Justification Study is prepared, it must be made available for public review for at least ten (10) days prior to a public hearing held by the governing board as part of a regularly scheduled meeting at which the Fee Justification Study and the Level 1 fee are adopted.

Step 3 – Publish Notice.    Notice of the time and place of the public hearing must be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation at least ten (10) days before the date of the public hearing.  The Notice must be published twice within that ten-day period, with at least five (5) days between each publication, as further specified by statute.  The Notice must also be mailed at least fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the public hearing to any interested party who has filed a written request with the District for mailed notice of the public hearing.

Step 4 – Public Hearing.  The public hearing is held as part of a regularly scheduled governing board meeting, and will receive any public comments on the Fee Justification Study or the Level 1 fee rate.

Step 5 – Board Adoption.  The governing board will adopt the Fee Justification Study and the Level 1 fee rate after the public hearing portion of the meeting.  Level 1 fees generally become effective sixty (60) days after adoption by resolution of the governing board, unless adopted on an urgency basis within limited circumstances.

Note that the SAB fee increase applies only to the Level 1 fees that are authorized by Education Code section 17620 et seq. and Government Code section 65995.  The increase do not affect Level 2 or Level 3 fees authorized by Government Code section 65995.5, et seq., which are alternative fees specifically calculated by each school district to yield a per square foot fee in excess of the Level 1 fee amounts.  Level 2 and Level 3 fees may be adopted by a school district if certain statutory conditions are met.  They must be renewed annually, and they may only be imposed on new residential construction.  The statutory requirements for adopting Level 2 or 3 are beyond the scope of this Bulletin.


We are excited to announce that the second edition of our popular DWK Developer Fee Digest is in production and will be available at the CASH Annual Conference in Sacramento stating February 26, 2018 and thereafter on request.  Contact a DWK attorney if you would like us to provide you with a complimentary copy of this publication or if you have questions about adopting school impact fees.


Business, Property and Construction Practice Group

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