Agenda - Planning Commission - 05/04/2017

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Zoning Bulletin March 25, 2017 I Volume 11 I Issue 6 Education, 7 Cal. App. 5th 967, 213 Cal. Rptr 3d 241 (6th Dist. 2017) CALIFORNIA (01/24/17)—This case addressed the issue of whether Cali- fornia Government Code § 53094(b) authorizes county boards of education to issue zoning exemptions for charter schools. Section 53094(b) authorizes the "governing board of a school district" to issue zoning exemptions to a "proposed use of property by the school district." The Background/Facts: In California, public education is provided by lo- cal school districts. Each county has a county office of education, which provides support services to the county's school districts. The county superin- tendent is the head of the county office of education. The county board of education, an elected governing body, is the governing board of the county of- fice of education. Since 1992, the California Legislature has authorized the creation of charter schools, which are part of the public school system, but which "offer an alternative to district -run schools." Under California Proposition 39, since 2000, school districts are required to share their facilities with charter schools so that charter school students have access to facilities "reasonably equiva- lent" to those available to other public school students. Rocketship Education ("Rocketship") is a network of elementary charter schools. The Santa Clara County Board of Education (the "County Board") has granted Rocketship a countywide charter to operate up to 25 charter schools. Rocketship sought to locate one of those charter schools on property (the "Property") owned by the City of San Jose (the "City"). The Property was located in the San Jose Unified School District (the "District") and in the juris- diction of the Santa Clara County Office of Education (the "County Office"). Use of the Property for a school was not permitted under the City's General Plan or the City's zoning ordinance. Under the City's General Plan, the Prop- erty was designated as open space, parklands, and habitat. Under the City's zoning ordinance, the Property was zoned light industrial. Rocketship requested that the County Board and the County Office exempt the Property from the City's General Plan and zoning ordinance pursuant to Government Code § 53094(b). Section 53094(b) authorizes the "governing board of a school district" to issue zoning exceptions to a "proposed use of property by the school district." In January 2013, the County Board approved a resolution (the "Resolution") exempting the Property from the City's General Plan and zoning ordinance pursuant to § 53094(b). Thereafter the District filed a writ of mandate, seeking a rescission of the Resolution and a declaration that only school districts, not county boards of education, have the authority to invoke § 53094. In March 2014, a trial court ruled that the County Board lacked the author- ity to invoke § 53094. The court concluded that school districts and county boards of education are "tasked with generally different responsibilities." Given those differences, the court concluded that the Legislature would have specifically stated an intent "to grant the power to override local zoning to county boards of education" if it had so intended. Since no such power was specifically stated in the statute, the court concluded that county boards of education lacked such power. The court directed the County Board to rescind the Resolution or take official action denying Rocketship's request for an exemption from local zoning requirements. - © 2017 Thomson Reuters 3