City Council Authorizes Delivery of 2 School Sites to Dublin Unified School District Valued at $66 Million

Announcement submitted by City of Dublin:

At Tuesday’s Dublin City Council meeting, the City Council unanimously took two unprecedented actions to assist Dublin Unified School District with the last of its two school sites - Jordan Ranch and Dublin Crossing. The actions by the City, valued at $66 million, are in response to the lack of funding support from the State of California for new school construction.

In its first action, the City Council approved the study of amendments to its recently approved Dublin Crossing Project (2013) that would allow the delivery of the existing 12-acre school site to the City of Dublin (on behalf of the District) in exchange for changes to the Project, including elimination of the 5-acre neighborhood park, inclusion of Chabot Creek in the Community Park, and the elimination of the minimum commercial requirement within the project. The proposed changes would not increase the total number of residential units in the Project, which is capped at 1,995 units.

With its second action, the City Council approved entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Dublin Unified regarding the use of a currently-designated Community Park site in the Jordan Ranch project. This would relocate the current school site, called E-5, to the City’s future 10-acre Community Park site located along Central Parkway within Jordan Ranch. The MOU outlines the general parameters in which the City and District would operate and share this site for school and park purposes with the District paying a nominal fee for the use of the property. Subsequent to this action, the City and the District will enter into a long-term lease agreement for the use of the property.

“We have a situation here where all the parties - Dublin Unified, the City, and the development community - were all playing by the rules established by the State and then the State decided to change the rules,” said City Manager Christopher Foss. “There are cities and communities across the State grappling with how to remedy the situation and house growing student populations. The Dublin City Council decided to take measures into its own hands, be proactive and step in and take on the State’s obligation in order to ensure the orderly development of the Dublin community.”

New school construction in California is funded primarily through two sources, school construction bonds and fees charged on new development. Governor Brown stopped recent attempts to place school construction bond financing on the ballot and has directed a review of the current financing system. These funds generally account for about half of the costs for a new school. The balance, theoretically, is paid through the levying of development impact fees which are determined by the state. Currently, the State allows Dublin Unified to levy the second highest fee but will not allow the District to levy the highest fee, which fully mitigates the impact of new development on schools.

The City actions to provide two school sites at a nominal fee to the District allows DUSD use of fees collected and its projected fees to fund the construction of the two school sites. The two sites have a land value of approximately $66 million, or approximately $3 million per acre.

The District presented its business plan for the construction of the Jordan Ranch school/park site with an estimated delivery date for the new school in 2019. The 12-acre school site within the Dublin Crossing Project will be made available to the City in 2017. Planning and development for that school facility will be largely dependent on future fee revenues.

Photo via Shutterstock

Also on Patch:

• Man Arrested After High-Speed Chase Through 4 Counties, Including Alameda
• KRAFT RECALL ALERT: Metal Pieces Found in Mac & Cheese Prompts Massive Recall
• Anti-Vaxxers to Blame for Disneyland Measles Outbreak, Report Concludes
• Berkeley Police Warn of Recent Rash of Van, Truck Thefts
• Fremont Man Arrested After Allegedly Throwing Hot Coffee at 7-Eleven Clerk
• Bat Found Near Fremont Elementary School Playground Tests Positive for Rabies
• His Chinchilla Was Rescued, His Belongings Were Not: Man Sings Heartfelt ‘Thank You’
• Fire Officials Say Proper Placement of Fire Engine Saved Firefighters’ Lives from ‘Inattentive Motorist’
• Hundreds of East Bay Residents Wait in Line for Shot at Meeting Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry