Summerhill Winchester LLC v. Campbell Union Sch. Dist.

*548 Appellants Campbell Union School District (CUSD) and Campbell Union School District Governing Board (the Board) appeal from the trial court's invalidation of the Board's 2012 resolution enacting a fee on new residential development under Education Code section 17620. CUSD and the Board contend that the trial court could not invalidate the Board's resolution and order that respondent SummerHill Winchester, LLC's fees be refunded because the Board properly relied on a fee study that used a reasonable methodology to calculate the fee. We conclude that the fee study did not contain the data required to properly calculate a development fee. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's judgment.

I. Background

Education Code section 17620 authorizes a school district "to levy a fee, charge, dedication, or other requirement against any [new residential] construction within the boundaries of the district, for the purpose of funding the construction or reconstruction of school facilities ...." ( Ed. Code, § 17620, subd. (a)(1).) These fees are known as "Level 1" fees. 1 A school district "shall do all of the following: [¶] (1) Identify the purpose of the fee. [¶] (2) Identify the use to…