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AB 972 (Calderon) became effective October 13, 2001. This bill changed the Preliminary Endangerment Assessment (PEA) public review and approval process. These changes are not yet reflected on this website. Please contact the SFPD representative assigned to your county, or the DTSC, for more information on the effects of AB 972. This website is being updated to reflect the changes made by AB 972 and AB 1367 (Wiggins). AB 1367 takes effect on January 1, 2002.
If you have questions about Site Approval, or you need assistance completing any of these tasks, please contact the School Facilities Planning Division (SFPD).
The tasks your district needs to complete primarily depend on whether or not your district will be applying for State funds.
The SFPD recommends that your school district identify potential sites using the criteria contained in "School Site Analysis and Development Guide, 2000" and "School Site Selection and Approval Guide, 2000." Both documents are available on the California Department of Education (CDE) website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/fa/sf/publication.asp.
Generally, your district must submit to the SFPD a minimum of three "approvable" sites for the location of a new school facility. The SFPD may, in certain circumstances, allow your district to submit only one site; for example, when the site is located within a planned subdivision.
All potential sites are expected to provide safety and support learning. Considerations that factor into this determination include the following:
- The site's net usable acreage and projected enrollment must be consistent with the standards published in the CDE's "School Site Analysis and Development Guide, 2000." If less than the recommended acreage is available, your district must explain how it will provide students with an adequate educational program, including physical education.
- All school buildings and play areas must be set back at least a minimum distance from power lines, ranging from 100 feet for lines of 133 kilovolts or less, to 350 feet for lines of 500 kilovolts or more.
- A safety/risk analysis study must be conducted for sites located within 1,500 feet of a railroad track easement or high-pressure transmission pipeline.
- The site cannot be adjacent to a road or freeway that poses safety problems or generates sound levels that would adversely affect the educational program. Pay particular attention to student ingress and egress, and crossing at or near heavily trafficked arteries.
- The site should be easily accessible by road and allow safe visibility at site entrances and exits.
- Existing and proposed zoning of surrounding properties should be compatible with school presence and pose no health or safety risks to students or staff.
- The site must not contain an earthquake fault or fault trace.
- The site should not be within a flood or dam flood inundation area, unless the cost mitigating this impact is reasonable.
- The site must not be located near an aboveground water or fuel storage tank that poses a safety hazard.
- The site should not be subject to liquefaction or landslide problems.
- The site should be located within the proposed attendance area to encourage students to walk to school and to minimize the need for busing, except where used to promote diversity.
- The site should promote joint use of parks, libraries, museums, and other public services.
- The site should be conveniently located for fire and police protection, public transit, and trash disposal.
- The site should be roughly proportionate in dimensions to the projected layout of buildings, fields, and other facilities, so that the time required to reach classes is kept reasonable.
Other considerations include a range of environmental factors such as light, wind, noise, aesthetics, and air pollution, as well as potential complications such as:
- Easements that might restrict access
- The costs of bringing utility service to the site
- The costs of site preparation
- Eminent domain costs
- Landscaping and maintenance expenses
- The existence of protected wildlife habitat, wetlands, or environmentally sensitive vegetation
If a proposed site is on or within 2,000 feet of a significant hazardous waste disposal site, the district must contact the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to determine whether the property should be considered a Hazardous Waste Property or Border Zone Property.
Once your district has identified potential sites for a new facility, contact the SFPD. An SFPD representative will provide the district with the required forms for requesting review:
When the forms are complete, submit them to the SFPD representative.
The SFPD representative assigned to your district reviews each site and completes an SFPD Form 4.0: SFPD Field Site Review. The SFPD representative uses this form to:
- Document general observations about the proposed site
- Identify areas of concern or recommend further study
- Provide information for the SFPD's subsequent activities
If the SFPD representative observes a problem, he or she may propose a set of actions to mitigate it.
Once the SFPD reviews all three (or more) sites that your district has submitted, it will identify the sites that meet the State's requirements, and indicate the site that it has ranked highest.
When you receive the SFPD's site rankings, your school district chooses its preferred site. In most cases, a district's preference coincides with the SFPD's highest-ranked site.
Once your district selects its preferred site, initiate the required environmental site reviews. Because the environmental reviews can be very time-consuming, the SFPD encourages your district to begin these reviews before proceeding with the other elements that your district must submit for final site approval.
The required environmental reviews are:
- Phase 1 Environmental Assessment (Phase 1)
If your district will not be applying for State funds, it may skip the Phase 1 and proceed with the CEQA review.
- California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review
- Review by the Caltrans Aeronautics Program if your proposed site is within two miles of an airport runway
Once you have completed all of the required environmental reviews, you are ready to assemble the 13 elements of an "Approval Request" for your preferred site.
Usually, the first four documents are easy to obtain:
- A school district map
- A map of the proposed site
- Two copies of the legal description of the site
- A copy of the report of the local city or county planning commission
The remaining nine elements require the help of outside consultants. The elements are:
- District-board-adopted written findings as to whether there are hazardous waste, air emission, hazardous materials, or other potential environmental problems from facilities within one-quarter mile of the project site
- A copy of the DTSC-approved Phase 1 report and/or summary of the PEA
- A preliminary appraisal of the cost of the site and Response Action (RA), if the PEA determined that further action was required
- A copy of the district-approved CEQA final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) or Negative Declaration
- Proof that the EIR or Negative Declaration was circulated through the State Clearinghouse (SCH)
- A copy or summary of a Geological Hazards Report prepared by a qualified consultant for your district and submitted to the Division of the State Architect
- Stamped Notice of Determination as filed with the county clerk
- A signed copy of the SFPD Form 4.02: SFPD School Site Report
- A signed copy of the SFPD Form 4.03: SFPD School Site Certification
- A schematic site utilization plan, usually prepared by your district's architect, to show generally how the contemplated school facilities would utilize the proposed site
- A description of all unused school sites within your district
- Documentation justifying the size of the site, which may include the District Facility Master Plan, a Developer Fee Justification Study, a school facilities needs analysis, or a five-year plan (SFPD Form 575) documenting enrollment projections, needed schools, and site sizes
Submit the package of required documents to the SFPD representative assigned to your project. The representative reviews the package to ensure that it is complete.
The SFPD will consider final site approval only when it has received the following:
- The final adopted CEQA documents
- The DTSC certification that any required Response Action (RA) has been completed
If the SFPD determines that a site is unacceptable and there is no possible mitigation — or if your school district is unwilling or unable to perform the required mitigation activities — your district may not seek State funding to purchase or build on that site.
If the SFPD approves the request package, it will send your district a final site approval letter. This site approval is valid for five years. If your district does not acquire the site within 5 years, it may request a renewal of the approval. However, the site may need to be reevaluated based on the standards in effect at the time the renewal is requested.
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