IV.I.

3 Public Schools

a. INTRODUCTION

This section addresses education and the location of public schools and their student capacities. Where
impacts are identified, mitigation measures are recommended to reduce such impacts to acceptable
levels. Sources utilized in the preparation of this section include correspondence with the Los Angeles
Unified School District (LAUSD) and consultation of the LAUSD Web site.

1. Environmental Setting

The project site is located within the boundaries of the LAUSD. Further, the proposed project lies within
the LAUSD attendance boundary of Local District 1. Table IV.I.3-1, Los Angeles Unified School District
Local District 1 Number of School Types, includes the types and numbers of schools within Local
District 1 of the LAUSD.

Table IV.I.3-1
Los Angeles Unified School District Local District 1 Number of School Types

Year-Round Schools: 15 Title I Schools: 99

Elementary Schools: 73 Elementary Magnet Centers: 5
Elementary Magnet Schools: 5 Primary Centers: 1
Span Schools: 1 Special Education Schools: 5
Middle Schools: 15 Middle School Magnet Centers: 9
Continuation Schools: 11 Senior High Schools: 12
Senior High School Magnet Schools: 0 Senior High Newcomer Schools: 0
Senior High School Magnet Centers: 8 Span Magnets: 2
Opportunity School & Programs: 1 Community Day Schools: 1
Senior High Academies: 0

Source: Local District 1 Profile. LAUSD. http://notebook.lausd.net/portal/page?_pageid=33,48254&_dad=ptl&_schema=PTL_EP. Accessed on

August 12, 2008.

Table IV.I.3-2, Project Attendance Boundary School’s Operating Capacity for the 2007–2008 School
Year, lists the schools within the attendance boundaries of the proposed project along with their
operating capacities. None of the listed schools are currently operating over capacity.

Los Angeles Department of City Planning IV.I.3-1 Andora Avenue Subdivision – Tentative Tract No. 53426
Impact Sciences, Inc. (0947.002) Subsequent Draft EIR
February 2010
 IV.I.3 Public Schools

Table IV.I.3-2
Project Attendance Boundary School’s Operating Capacity
for the 2007–2008 School Year

Current Resident Actual Currently

School Capacity Enrollment Enrollment Overcrowded
Chatsworth Park Elementary 515 354 394 No
School1
Lawrence Middle School2 2,400 1,692 1,810 No
Chatsworth Senior High School2 3,396 2,323 3,307 No

Source
1 Correspondence with Office Staff, Chatsworth Park Elementary School, December 11, 2008.

2 Correspondence with Glenn Striegler, LAUSD, September 11, 2008.

Chatsworth Park Elementary School is located at 22005 Devonshire Street, approximately 1 mile northeast
of the project site. The school has the capacity for 515 students and currently has 394 students enrolled for
the 2007–2008 school year.

Lawrence Middle School is located at 10100 Variel Avenue, approximately 0.75 mile east of the project
site. The capacity of the school is 2,400 students. The school currently has 1,810 students enrolled for the
2007–2008 school year.

Chatsworth High School is located at 10027 Lurline Avenue, approximately 1 mile east of the project site.
The capacity of the school is 3,396 students. The school currently has 3,307 students enrolled for the
2007-2008 school year.

b. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

The State of California has traditionally been responsible for the funding of local public schools. To assist
in providing facilities to serve students generated by new development projects, the state passed
Assembly Bill 2926 in 1986. This bill allowed school districts to collect impact fees from developers of new
residential and commercial/industrial building space. Development impact fees were also addressed in
the 1987 Leroy Greene Lease-Purchase Act, which required school districts to contribute a matching share
of project costs for construction, modernization, or reconstruction.

In 1998, the passage of Senate Bill 50 and Proposition 1A provided a comprehensive school facilities
financing and reform program by, among other methods, authorizing a $9.2 billion school facilities bond
issue, school construction cost containment provisions, and an eight-year suspension of the Mira, Hart and
Murrieta court cases. The Mira, Hart, and Murrieta court cases ruled that cities and counties under their

Los Angeles Department of City Planning IV.I.3-2 Andora Avenue Subdivision – Tentative Tract No. 53426
Impact Sciences, Inc. (0947.002) Subsequent Draft EIR
February 2010
 IV.I.3 Public Schools

legislative authority could impose additional fees for school construction to mitigate the effect of new
construction. Specifically, the bond funds are to provide $2.9 billion for new construction and $2.1 billion
for reconstruction/modernization needs. The provisions of Senate Bill 50 prohibit local agencies from
denying either legislative or adjudicative land use approvals on the basis that school facilities are
inadequate. The reinstatement of the school facility fee cap for legislative actions (e.g., general plan
amendments, specific plan adoption, zoning plan amendments) as allowed under the Mira, Hart, and
Murrieta decisions, provided school districts and other local agencies the legal authority under the
California Environmental Quality act (CEQA) to require new development to fully mitigate school
impacts.

According to Government Code Section 65996, the development fees authorized by Senate Bill 50 are
deemed to be “full and complete school facilities mitigation” for impacts caused by new development.
The legislation also recognized the need for the fee to be adjusted periodically to keep pace with inflation.
The legislation indicated that in January 2000, and every two years thereafter, the State Allocation Board
will increase the maximum fees according to the adjustment for inflation in the statewide index for school
construction. Currently, the State Allocation Board’s developer fees are $3.83 per square foot for
residential construction and $0.47 per square foot for commercial/industrial construction, as of October
23, 2008.

In addition, as stated in the City of Los Angeles General Plan Framework Element, schools are funded
through state tax revenues funneled through the County.1 Funds for the development of additional
school facilities are derived from state-mandated fees paid by projects constructed within the City as
described above.

c. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS

1. Significance Criteria

Thresholds

The 2006 L.A. CEQA Thresholds Guide indicates that the determination of a project’s significance to police
protection shall be made on a case-by-case basis, considering the following:

SCH-1 The population increase resulting from the proposed project, based on the increase in residential
units or square footage of non-residential floor area;

1 City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning, The Framework Element of the Los Angeles General Plan,
http://cityplanning.lacity.org/cwd/framwk/chapters/09/09.htm#school. Accessed October 2009.
Los Angeles Department of City Planning IV.I.3-3 Andora Avenue Subdivision – Tentative Tract No. 53426
Impact Sciences, Inc. (0947.002) Subsequent Draft EIR
February 2010
 IV.I.3 Public Schools

SCH-2 The demand for school services anticipated at the time of project buildout compared to the
expected level of service available. Consider as applicable, scheduled improvements to LAUSD
services (facilities, equipment, and personnel) and the project’s proportional contribution to the
demand;

SCH-3 Whether (and the degree to which) accommodation of the increased demand would require
construction of new facilities, a major re-organization of students or classrooms, major revisions
to the school calendar (such as year-round sessions) or other actions which would create a
temporary or permanent impact on the school (s); and

SCH-4 Whether the project includes features that would reduce the demand for school services
(e.g., on-site school facilities or direct support to LAUSD).

2. Project Impacts

Impacts related to public schools are considered significant if:

SCH-1 The population increase resulting from the proposed project, based on the increase in residential
units or square footage of non-residential floor area.

Implementation of the proposed project would provide 45 new residential units in the Chatsworth-Porter
Ranch Community Plan Area of Los Angeles. Associated with the construction of 45 new residential units
would be a population increase of approximately 119 residents. As described above, children from these
new households would likely attend LAUSD schools in Local District 1. Therefore, the proposed project
could have both a direct and indirect impact on the schools within the district boundary.

For planning purposes, a school district’s projected student generation rates are based on dwelling units.
Table IV.I.3-3, Los Angeles Unified School District Student Generation Ratio by Dwelling Type and
Grade Level, provides the student generation rates used by LAUSD to estimate student generation by
dwelling unit type and grade level. The 45 units associated with the project would generate
approximately 9 elementary school students (grades K–5), 4 middle school students (grades 6–8), and
8 high school students (grades 9–12) for a total of 21 students.

Los Angeles Department of City Planning IV.I.3-4 Andora Avenue Subdivision – Tentative Tract No. 53426
Impact Sciences, Inc. (0947.002) Subsequent Draft EIR
February 2010
 IV.I.3 Public Schools

Table IV.I.3-3
Los Angeles Unified School District
Student Generation Ratio by Dwelling Type and Grade Level

Student No. of Single Family Total

Generation Detached Units in Student
School Level Rates Project Generation
Elementary School 0.1958 9
Middle School 0.0933 4
45
High School 0.1062 8
Total 21

Source
LAUSD. February 2009.Los Angeles Unified School District Commercial/Industrial School Fee Justification Study:
C.1 Residential Student Generation Rates, p. 17.

In order to reduce potentially significant impacts to the LAUSD school system associated with the
introduction of 21 new students, the applicant would be required to pay a developer fee to pay their fair
share of any improvements necessary to reduce impacts to the LAUSD.

Impacts related to public schools are considered significant if:

SCH-2 Impacts related to schools are considered significant based on the demand for school services
anticipated at the time of project buildout compared to the expected level of service available.

SCH-3 Impacts related to schools are considered significant based on whether (and the degree to which)
accommodation of the increased demand would require construction of new facilities, a major re-
organization of students or classrooms, major revisions to the school calendar (such as year round
sessions), or other actions which would create a temporary or permanent impact on the school(s).

As discussed above, the construction of 45 residential units would generate approximately 21 students
into the LAUSD. Three schools currently serve the project site: Chatsworth Park Elementary School,
Lawrence Middle School, and Chatsworth Senior High School. Chatsworth Park Elementary School,
Lawrence Middle School, and Chatsworth Senior High School have sufficient seating to accommodate the
additional 9, 4, and 8 students, respectively. These three schools have sufficient capacity to accommodate
the new students generated by the project, and impacts would be less than significant. Additionally, the
applicant’s required payment of developer fees to the LAUSD would further reduce impacts to public
schools.

Los Angeles Department of City Planning IV.I.3-5 Andora Avenue Subdivision – Tentative Tract No. 53426
Impact Sciences, Inc. (0947.002) Subsequent Draft EIR
February 2010
 IV.I.3 Public Schools

Impacts related to public schools are considered significant if:

SCH-4 Impacts related to schools are considered significant based on whether the project includes features
that would reduce the demand for school services (e.g., on-site school facilities or direct support to
LAUSD).

The proposed project would not include any features that would reduce the demand for school services.
Instead, implementation of the proposed project would generate approximately 21 additional students
and could result in a need to alter existing bus routes to accommodate transporting these new students.
Additionally, as discussed above, payment of developer school fees would off-set additional demands
placed upon LAUSD with the introduction of 21 new students following project build out. Due to the
project site’s location and proximity from existing LAUSD schools, neither construction nor operation of
the proposed project is expected to interfere with operations of existing schools. Therefore, with the
applicant’s required payment of developer fees to pay their fair share of any improvements necessary to
reduce impacts to the LAUSD, all potentially impacts associated with the implementation of the proposed
project can be reduced to less than significant levels.

3. Mitigation Measures

No mitigation measures are proposed, as no significant impacts have been identified. As discussed above,
payment of required developer fees would adequately reduce potential impacts in regards to public
school to less than significant levels.

d. CUMULATIVE IMPACTS

As discussed in Section III, Project Description, in the area immediately surrounding the project site,
approximately 755 additional residential units are either being constructed or proposed. As such, an
associated student enrollment increase is likely. This increase could be considered to be potentially
significant.

Additionally, according to Government Code Section 65995, the payment of school impact fees
authorized by Senate Bill 50, and the fees required for residential and commercial development by the
LAUSD by each project, would mitigate the impact of the proposed project as well as the related projects
on local schools from cumulative development. Therefore, after payment of these fees, the cumulative
impact of the proposed project and related projects would be reduced to a less than significant level.

Los Angeles Department of City Planning IV.I.3-6 Andora Avenue Subdivision – Tentative Tract No. 53426
Impact Sciences, Inc. (0947.002) Subsequent Draft EIR
February 2010
 IV.I.3 Public Schools

1. Mitigation Measures

No cumulative impacts to public schools were identified and, therefore, no mitigation measures are
necessary.
2. Adverse Effects

No impacts to public schools would occur with implementation of the proposed project.

Los Angeles Department of City Planning IV.I.3-7 Andora Avenue Subdivision – Tentative Tract No. 53426
Impact Sciences, Inc. (0947.002) Subsequent Draft EIR
February 2010