Fallbrook trustees adopt study, authorize higher school developer fees for new construction

The Fallbrook Union High School District Board of Trustees on April 9 adopted a fee-justification study and approved a resolution authorizing an increase in the district's statutory Level 1 developer fees for new construction, following a public hearing with no public comment.

The action authorizes the district to collect the full one-third share of the statewide statutory caps for unified districts: $1.72 per square foot for new residential construction and $0.28 per square foot for new commercial or industrial construction. The increase takes effect 60 days after the April 9 vote (statutorily required waiting period), on or about June 8.

Koppel & Gruber public-finance consultant Doug Floyd presented the 2025 fee-justification study. Floyd said the firm identified roughly 340 residential units that are entitled, approved or under construction and conservatively projected that those developments would generate about 60 high-school students for Fallbrook Union High over the next 10 years. Using the district's 2023 facilities master plan and a derived cost-per-seat estimate of about $84,000, Floyd said the calculated facility cost impact equates to roughly $8.53 per square foot — well above the statutory maximum available to the district. "The study does confirm that the district is justified in collecting the full maximum amounts," Floyd told the board.

Board members questioned application details during the presentation. Trustee Paul Christensen asked when the district last adjusted its fee rates; Floyd said the district last approved rates in 2016 and currently collects $1.16 per residential square foot and $0.19 per commercial square foot. Floyd explained the figures he quoted earlier — $5.17 per square foot for residential and $0.84 per square foot for commercial — are the statewide maximums for unified districts; under the district's fee-sharing agreement with its overlapping elementary district, Fallbrook Union High receives one-third of that statewide maximum.

Board members also asked about accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Floyd said ADUs can be charged residential school fees under current interpretation of the law but that ADU projections are difficult to estimate and were not explicitly included in the study's unit forecast.

No members of the public spoke during the hearing. The board voted to adopt Resolution No. 13-2425 approving the 2025 fee justification study and authorizing the higher statutory Level 1 developer fees; the resolution passed on a voice vote with four trustees recorded as voting aye and one trustee absent.

The fee revenue, Floyd said, is intended to help offset costs tied to capital projects identified in the district's facilities master plan; state law restricts the use of developer fees (for example, they cannot be used for routine deferred maintenance). By law the fees are collected once, typically before issuance of a building permit, and the district must maintain documentation tying the fee revenue to eligible facility projects.

Board President Oscar Caralampio noted the statutory waiting period after adoption before the new fee schedule could take effect. The district posted the full fee-justification study online and included it in the board packet prior to the hearing, Floyd said.

Questions about how any increased fee load might affect individual homebuyers were raised during discussion; Floyd noted the fee is billed on the actual square footage of each new dwelling at the time of permit application, so fees vary by the size of a given project.