Agreement Near on Uniform Fee to Finance School Construction

Negotiators from Santa Clarita, local school districts and the building industry are nearing agreement on a proposal that would levy a uniform fee on construction in the Santa Clarita Valley to build schools.

The agreement under negotiation would require higher building fees than those stipulated by the state, although the final amount has yet to be determined, Santa Clarita City Manager George Caravalho said Monday.

Santa Clarita Valley school officials have long complained that the state-mandated fees are too low to meet the needs of rapidly growing school systems.

The negotiators are trying to draft an ordinance that would establish the same building fee on residential construction in Santa Clarita and in the unincorporated sections of the surrounding Santa Clarita Valley.

Negotiations are progressing and city officials hope to submit a draft of the ordinance to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in January, Caravalho said.

Presently, developers pay higher building fees for projects in the city than on unincorporated county land because the two governments have differing opinions on the role of local government in school financing.

The supervisors have repeatedly said that schools are a state responsibility and that they cannot compel developers to pay more than the state-mandated fee of $1.58 per square foot of residential construction.

But Santa Clarita City Council members, citing a controversial court ruling on development, say they have the power to deny permits to housing projects that do not provide money for sufficient public services, such as schools.

The council has refused to approve projects unless developers meet the demands of local school officials for extra cash.

As a result, developers pay about $2,500 a unit outside the city of Santa Clarita and $6,000 a unit in the city, Caravalho said.

Supt. Clyde Smyth of the William S. Hart Union High School District said many developers and superintendents agree that a uniform building fee would eliminate uncertainties and inequities in the Santa Clarita Valley development scene.

He said it is unclear whether such a levy would be considered a violation of the state law, which establishes the $1.58 fee.

Smyth said the main question is whether the supervisors will force developers to make such payments.