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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.4 - 1345 City Process for Siting a New High School Page 1 of 3 STAFF REPORT CITY COUNCIL DATE: March 7, 2017 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Christopher L. Foss, City Manager SUBJECT: City Process for Siting a New High School Prepared by: Lindsey F. Zwicker, Associate Attorney EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The City Council requested Staff prepare a report describing the Dublin Unified School District’s authority to acquire property for and to develop a second high school. The report indicates that the District can (a) acquire property by eminent domain, (b) overrule the Planning Commission’s determination that the high school proposal is not consistent with the City’s General Plan; and (c) override, by a two -thirds’ vote of the Board of Trustees, the City’s zoning ordinance. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Receive the report. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None. DESCRIPTION: Background The Dublin Unified School District’s Board of Trustees is in the midst of searching for a site for a second high school. Previously, the City’s General Plan and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan designated a site for a second high school; however, the City Council rezoned a portion of that site to residential (as part of a Dublin Ranch General Plan and Specific Plan Amendment request) with the balance of that site to be used as a middle school (now Fallon Middle School). The City Council took that District-requested action in 2004. Power of Eminent Domain School districts have the power to acquire by eminent domain “any property necessary to carry out any of the powers or functions of the district.” (Educ. Code § 35270.5.) The eminent domain power allows a public agency to acquire property by filing a lawsuit and paying the property owner what a jury determines is the property’s fair market value. Page 2 of 3 The Dublin Unified School District therefore has the power to purchase property for a new high school site either in a voluntary transaction with the property owner or by condemning the property. The power to purchase property, of course, does not mean that a property owner can develop property for its intended use. The City’s General Plan and Zoning Ordinance dictate the form that development can take. High School Site Need Not Be Consistent with the City’s General Plan In order to acquire land for and develop a second high school, the District must seek a General Plan conformity determination from the Planning Commission. Local agencies, such as the School District and Dublin San Ramon Services District, are required to submit proposed acquisitions of real property and proposed const ruction of public buildings to the Planning Commission for a report on whether the proposals are in “conformity” with the General Plan. (See Gov. Code, § 65402, subd. (C).) The Planning Commission has 40 days to issue a report, otherwise the proposal is de emed to be in conformity with the General Plan. If the report indicates that the proposal is not in conformity with the General Plan, the local agency can overrule it. (See Friends of the Eel River v. Sonoma County Water Agency (2003) 108 Cal.App.4th 859, 879.) The District could acquire land for and develop a second high school even if the site is not consistent with the City’s General Plan. The District’s Board of Trustees Can Override the City’s Zoning Ordinance In general, local agencies are required to comply with applicable zoning ordinances of the City in which the territory of the local agency is situated. (See Gov. Code, § 53091.) However, the governing board of a school district, “by a vote of two -thirds of its members, may render a city or county zoning ordinance inapplicable to a proposed use of property by the school district,” but only if it complies with Government Code section 65352.2 and Public Resources Code section 21151.2. (Gov. Code, § 53094, subd. (B).) Section 65352.2 requires that the governing board of the school district must notify and provide “relevant and available information” related to the preparation of a proposed school facilities needs analysis to the Planning Commission. Upon receipt, the City “may request a meeting with the planning agency to discuss possible methods of coordinating planning, design, and construction of new school facilities and school sites in coordination with the existing or planned infrastructure, general plan, and zoning designations of the city and county…” (Gov. Code, § 65352.2, subd. (B).) “If a meeting is requested, the planning agency shall meet with the school district following notification.” (Id.) Section 65352.2 goes on to specify the items that may be reviewed and considered. (Id., § 65352.2, subd. (D).) The District can comply with Public Resources Code section 21151.2 after it determines which site it intends to acquire. Section 21151.2 provides that before acquiring title to property for a new school site, the District Board of Truste es “shall give” the Planning Commission “notice in writing of the proposed acquisition.” The Planning Commission “shall investigate the site and within 30 days of receipt of the notice shall submit” to the Board of Trustees “a written report of its investigation and its recommendations concerning acquisition of the site.” (Id.) The Board of Trustees may not acquire the site until the report has been received. If the Planning Commission report “does not favor Page 3 of 3 the acquisition of the property for a school site ,” the Board of Trustees must wait 30 days before acquiring the site. (Id.) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The District’s decision to acquire a site for a new high school is a “project” that is subject to CEQA. Therefore, the District will need to complete some form of environmental review. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: None. ATTACHMENTS: None.