Cresta Bella v. Poway Unified School District

Poway Unified School District (the District) imposed school impact fees on Cresta Bella, LP (Cresta Bella), for a residential development project involving the demolition of an existing apartment complex and construction of a new, larger apartment complex. Cresta Bella petitioned for writ of mandate in superior court seeking a partial refund of the fees based on a claim that it was improperly charged for the entire square footage of the new apartment complex, rather than only for the increased square footage created by the development. On the same grounds, it also alleged an unconstitutional taking and requested declaratory relief. The court denied the mandate petition and entered judgment in favor of the District on all claims. Cresta Bella appeals.

We hold that under the statutory scheme applicable to school impact fees, the fees should not be imposed for the square footage already in existence at the time of the new development project, absent a study that reasonably supports that reconstruction of preexisting square footage increases student population. The District’s school impact fee study did not make this showing. Accordingly, Cresta Bella is entitled to a refund…