School Board Hikes Fees on New Housing 70%

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Board of Education voted Tuesday to increase the fees charged on new housing construction by about 70% and to slightly increase fees on commercial developments.

The hikes were authorized by a change in the Education Code approved by the state’s voters as part of the 1998 school construction bond.

District officials estimated that the changes will generate $12.3 million in fees this year, for a total to $34.6 million.

An attorney for a group of developers opposed the new fees as arbitrary and unfair.

Ben Reznik, of the Coalition for Affordable Housing in Los Angeles, said the fees will place a burden on residential developers that is out of proportion to the extra students their projects bring into the district.

Other civic groups and affordable-housing advocates dropped their opposition, however, after district officials agreed to scale back their initial proposal to more than double the fees.

The new residential fee will be $3.50 per square foot, up from $2.05. Commercial fees will go up from $0.31 to $0.33 per square foot.

However, the board’s 6-1 vote also reduced fees on parking and self-storage projects. Parking fees will be $0.09 per square foot and self-storage fees $0.27 per square foot.

Board member Victoria Castro voted against the changes.