Developer Fees: The School District Ups the Ante

I'm a little behind, so here are some thoughts on the Daily Journal piece from two days ago that broke the story:

In an effort to offset escalating costs caused by projected enrollment hikes, officials in the Burlingame Elementary School District are considering increasing the fees charged to developers building new homes and office space in the area.

District officials are recommending the Board of Trustees approve hiking the fees for developing residential property to $3.36 per square foot and commercial or office space to 54 cents per square foot, at the meeting Tuesday, March 10.

I'll do the math for you since Austin Walsh didn't--that's 13% on residential and 15% on office/commercial.  Since I cannot recall these ever being raised, this doesn't seem usurious.  But the real interesting bit was this

Over the next five years, the district expects 125 units of housing will be built in Burlingame, which should bring 50 elementary school students and 13 middle school students to the district, according to the report.

That has to be a miscalculation.  Half-a-kid per "unit" some of which will be McMansions seems low to me.  What do you all think?  If half of the development Russ predicts happens in the next five years, the 125 unit estimate will be low....and water will get REALLY EXPENSIVE if EssEff continues to agree to sell it to us at all.

Comments

[Joe]

Here is a letter to the editor from today's Daily Journal that gets to the issue:

Editor,

I am in agreement with Bill Schwarz’s letter in the April 14 edition of the Daily Journal regarding the connection between development and the need for new classroom space (“Focus on supply versus demand may be unbalanced”). I grew up in a family that always supported education, however, in the recent election (Measure P), I voted no. The need for schools follows development. I am distressed by the rampant development that has taken hold of the Peninsula.

I would really like to see some indication that our elected officials and city staff have the best interests of the citizens at heart. So far, it seems that the developers are calling the shots. A shortage of classrooms might cause some to reconsider living here. Were this to occur, perhaps the developers would slow down their headlong race to fill every available lot with maximum square footage.

I really like Mr. Schwarz’s idea of tying the costs of adding classroom space in the city to the fees that are required from developers who profit from the out-of-control building that has gripped the Peninsula. In this way, the needed classrooms would be tied to new development and each would proceed in concert with the other.

I fervently hope that someone will pay attention to the concerns of many of our longtime residents before the Peninsula is so overcrowded that all charm and quality of life disappears.

Michele King

San Mateo