CAMARILLO : Schools Weigh Hike in Developer Fees

The Pleasant Valley Elementary School District will hold a public hearing next month to decide whether to raise developer fees to the new state limit.

Officials said the money, used to build new schools, is needed to help solve a crowding problem in the Camarillo-based district’s 13 schools.

Last year, district officials tried twice to obtain voter approval of school construction bond measures but failed.

The school board has proposed increasing the fees from $1.57 to $1.65 per square foot for residential buildings and from 26 cents to 27 cents per square foot for commercial buildings with habitable space.

The fees can be used to purchase property for new schools or construct new buildings, which officials in the district say are badly needed, Associate Supt. Howard Hamilton said.

The district started levying developer fees in the early 1980s. Since then, the district has collected nearly $1 million, including more than $300,000 last year.

But, Howard said, “it’s not enough.”

The Oxnard Union High School District gets 45% of the fees; Pleasant Valley keeps the rest. The hearing is scheduled May 7.