Davis Offers Bill to Curb Projects That Hurt Schools : Growth: The measure would allow local governments to restrict housing projects if they threatened to overburden classrooms.

State Sen. Ed Davis introduced a bill Wednesday that would give cities and counties the authority to clamp down on growth that would overburden schools, reinforcing the controversial “Mira decision.”

Davis (R-Valencia) said the bill was prompted by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ approval Tuesday of plans to build more than 800 houses and condominiums in Castaic. The board approved the projects at the urging of Supervisor Mike Antonovich, despite objections from two Santa Clarita Valley school districts.

The bill would force the county to abide by the Mira ruling--a 1988 decision by the state Court of Appeal in the case of the Mira Development Corp. vs. the City of San Diego, which held that local governments may reject construction developments that adversely affect schools.

The supervisors, on advice of their attorneys, have maintained that the Mira ruling is without foundation because it contradicts a state law that says local governments may not consider the adequacy of schools when reviewing development proposals. “Our hands are tied,” Antonovich said Wednesday.

The debate over the Mira ruling centers on the political power it confers on school districts looking to obtain money from developers to build schools.

State law requires that developers pay school districts $1.56 for every square foot of residential construction they build. But since the Mira ruling gives local governments the power to reject projects that would burden schools, some developers try to win the support of school districts by paying more money than required by law.

Antonovich said counties and cities cannot require builders to pay these extra fees, which he said are unfairly passed on to home buyers.

“I think his approach is wrong,” Antonovich said of Davis’ bill. “If Sen. Davis wanted to help his constituents,” Antonovich said, he should try to pry more money out of Sacramento to build schools.

Davis has called the Mira ruling a valuable tool for school districts trying to absorb rising enrollments.

He noted that the Santa Clarita City Council has pledged to follow the Mira ruling.

“I wish the county of Los Angeles had followed the example of the city of Santa Clarita, which has used the power given them by the courts and, as a result, developers and the local school districts have reached positive agreements to ensure that the school facilities we need will be built within the city limits,” Davis said in a statement.