New Schools May Require Tripling of Developer Fees

A threefold increase in developer fees may be needed to pay for new schools in Ventura to accommodate expected enrollment growth, school officials said Tuesday.

Officials stressed that any fee increase would have to be agreed upon not only by the school board but by the city of Ventura and developers. But it would be necessary to triple fees to build the three more schools needed to meet projected student growth in the next decade, said Joseph Richards, assistant superintendent of business services.

The city’s current developer fee is $1.72 per square foot, but that figure could jump to as much as $5.59, he said.

Most of the enrollment gains will be in the east end, where an estimated 254 new students are expected from tracts already slated for construction, Richards said.

That number is expected to increase as more building permits are issued, he said.

The average size of a single-family home in Ventura is 1,800 square feet. Therefore, if the school district’s proposal to triple fees were approved it would boost the fees included in the cost of a new home from an average of $3,096 to more than $10,000.

Richards said the information is being provided by the board only as a starting point in dealing with city officials and developers. The information also will be used to inform city residents of the school district’s need for new classroom construction, he said.

Richards said school officials have already begun to talk with city officials and developers about raising fees. “We know our current fee does not cover the cost of new development,” he said.

Richards said the suggested fee increase was reached using a formula that takes into account the number of new students expected from new housing tracts and the cost of building classrooms to teach them.