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90_HB1313
New Act
Creates the School Land Dedication and School Facility
Impact Fee Act. Provides for the imposition by
municipalities and counties of school land dedication
ordinances or school facility impact fee ordinances or both
when new development creates a need or an identifiable
portion of a need for new school grounds or facilities.
Effective immediately.
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LRB9003892THpk
1 AN ACT relating to school lands and facilities.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 School Land Dedication and School Facility Impact Fee Act.
6 Section 5. Legislative intent and purpose. It is the
7 goal of the General Assembly to promote orderly economic
8 growth and the provision of adequate school lands and
9 facilities throughout the State by assuring that new
10 development that has created the need, or an identifiable
11 portion of the need, for new school grounds and facilities
12 bears its proportionate share of the costs of meeting that
13 need. It is the intent of the General Assembly that this
14 proportionate share goal be met primarily through the
15 imposition by municipalities and counties of school land
16 dedication ordinances or school facility impact fee
17 ordinances. It is also the intent of the General Assembly to
18 preserve the authority of municipalities and counties to
19 impose school land dedication or school facility impact fees
20 or both pursuant to intergovernmental cooperation agreements
21 with school districts designed to prevent duplication of
22 school land dedication requirements or school facility impact
23 fees or both. Further it is the intent of the General
24 Assembly to preserve the right of municipalities to negotiate
25 annexation agreements, by providing that this Act does not
26 affect the current law of annexation agreements or any
27 annexation agreements existing on the effective date of this
28 Act.
29 Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
30 (1) "Developer" means any person who undertakes new
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1 development.
2 (2) "Development approval" means any approval from a
3 unit of local government that authorizes a new development
4 and creates new lots, parcels, or new residential dwelling
5 units. A development approval may be in the form of, but
6 need not be limited to, any of the following: a preliminary
7 or final planned unit development plan, a subdivision plat, a
8 development plan, a conditional or special use permit, a
9 rezoning, or a building permit.
10 (3) "Encumber" means to commit to use collected school
11 impact fees by legal obligation or other official action of a
12 school district.
13 (4) "Impact fee" means a monetary charge for school
14 facility costs. School impact fees are additional to and not
15 in substitution of any other requirements imposed by a
16 municipality or county as a condition of approval.
17 (5) "Improved land" means land that is fine graded and
18 made ready for construction with utilities, sewer, water, and
19 streets, including enclosed drainage and curb and gutter,
20 brought along the entire street frontage of the land.
21 (6) "Land dedication" means land conveyed to a school
22 district for school purposes or cash in lieu of land
23 dedication for school land acquisition costs.
24 (7) "New development" means any residential project that
25 is being newly constructed, reconstructed, or redeveloped
26 and that has the potential to generate additional students
27 within the service area of the school district.
28 (8) "Nonresidential development" means a building or
29 other structure that is suitable or capable of being used for
30 any purpose other than residential purposes.
31 (9) "Present owner" means the person or persons shown to
32 be in title to the real estate subject to a refund as
33 reflected in the official records of the county kept by the
34 assessor as of the previous January 1.
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1 (10) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership,
2 association, public or private corporation, organization, or
3 business, charitable trust, home rule and non-home rule
4 municipalities and counties, or any other unit of local
5 government.
6 (11) "Proportionate share" means the school land
7 acquisition costs and school facility costs that are
8 specifically and uniquely attributable to a new development.
9 (12) "Residential" means a house, building, or other
10 structure that is suitable or capable of being used, or is
11 being or to be used, for non-transitory residential purposes.
12 (13) "School district" means any public school district
13 in the State of Illinois operating an elementary or secondary
14 or elementary and secondary school system, other than a
15 school district in a city of over 500,000 inhabitants.
16 (14) "School facilities" means, and is limited to, the
17 following improvements to student capacity: newly constructed
18 school buildings; newly constructed structural improvements
19 to school buildings; permanent additions to school buildings;
20 equipment that is being provided within newly constructed
21 school buildings or within permanent additions to school
22 buildings; additions to or replacements of systems within
23 existing school buildings to the extent made necessary by new
24 development; sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water, and other
25 utility improvements to school lands; grading, landscaping,
26 seeding, and planting of shrubs and trees on school lands and
27 adjacent ways, and sidewalks, roadways, retaining walls,
28 parking lots, fire hydrants, and the initial surfacing and
29 soil treatment of athletic fields and tennis courts when
30 undertaken or constructed in connection with the construction
31 of new school buildings or permanent additions to existing
32 school buildings; furnishing and installing fixed playground
33 apparatus, flagpoles, gateways, fences, and underground
34 storage tanks that are not part of building service systems;
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1 and demolition work.
2 (15) "School facility costs" means: (i) the costs
3 incurred by a school district that are directly associated
4 with the construction of school facilities; (ii) the costs
5 incurred by a school district that are directly related to
6 construction of additions requiring compliance with federal
7 and State regulations that mandate improvements as a result
8 of increased capacity; (iii) the costs incurred by a school
9 district that are directly associated with the acquisition of
10 buildings that are to be devoted to use as school buildings;
11 (iv) expenditures made by a school district for installment
12 payments or lease payments on contracts or agreements that
13 have a defined term and that result in the acquisition or
14 leasing of a school building by the school district or in the
15 leasing of temporary classrooms by the school district; (v)
16 special assessments payable by a school district for capital
17 improvements such as streets, curbs, and drains; (vi)
18 planning, design, architectural, engineering, and legal costs
19 incurred by a school district in connection with the
20 formulation, adoption, and implementation of a school
21 facilities program and in connection with the school
22 district's adoption of a school facility impact fee program;
23 and (vii) the architectural, engineering, and legal costs
24 incurred by a school district in constructing school
25 facilities provided, however, that not more than 10% of the
26 total costs estimated to be incurred in constructing those
27 school facilities (as determined in the school facility
28 impact fee program) shall be devoted to such architectural,
29 engineering, and legal costs.
30 (16) "School facility impact fee program" means a plan
31 adopted by a school district pursuant to the provisions of
32 this Act for the imposition of school facility impact fees.
33 (17) "School land" means real estate that is leased or
34 owned, or to be leased or owned, by a school district and
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1 used, to be used, or capable of being used for public school
2 purposes.
3 (18) "School land acquisition costs" means a school
4 district's costs of acquisition of school land, by purchase,
5 lease, or other contractual arrangement. School land
6 acquisition costs may include: (i) the planning, design, and
7 legal costs incurred by a school district in connection with
8 the formulation or adoption of a school land acquisition
9 program; (ii) the reasonable title and survey expenses,
10 brokerage fees, attorneys' fees, architect fees, engineering
11 fees, and environmental investigation fees and costs incurred
12 by a school district in connection with the acquisition of
13 school lands.
14 (19) "School land dedication program" means a plan
15 adopted by a school district pursuant to the provisions of
16 this Act for the imposition of school land dedication and
17 cash in lieu of land dedication requirements.
18 (20) "Service area" means the geographic area served by
19 a school district.
20 (21) "Specifically and uniquely attributable to" means a
21 new development that creates the need, or an identifiable
22 portion of the need, for additional school lands, school
23 facilities, school land acquisition costs, or school facility
24 costs.
25 Section 15. Authority. A municipality, county, or
26 municipality and county may adopt school land dedication or
27 school facility impact fee programs or both, impose land
28 dedications, cash in lieu of land dedications, and school
29 facility impact fees within their respective service areas,
30 and use land dedications, cash in lieu of land dedications,
31 and school facility impact fees for purposes consistent with
32 this Act, including, but not limited to, the definitions of
33 school lands, school land acquisition costs, and school
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1 facility costs. Each new development subject to dedications
2 or fees under a school land dedication or school facility
3 impact fee program shall receive a direct and material
4 benefit from, and bear only its proportionate share of, the
5 land dedications, cash in lieu of land dedications, and
6 impact fees required under the programs made necessary by new
7 development.
8 Section 20. Notification of school district of proposed
9 new development. Before submission to any municipality or
10 county of the initial application for development approval of
11 any new residential development, the developer shall provide
12 a copy of the application by certified mail, return receipt
13 requested to the superintendent of each school district in
14 which the development is located. No formal action shall be
15 taken on the application by the municipality or county until
16 the certificate of the return receipt is filed by the
17 developer with the municipality or county.
18 Section 25. Procedures for establishing a school land
19 dedication program or school facility impact fee program or
20 both.
21 (a) Unless otherwise provided in this Act, a school land
22 dedication program or a school facility impact fee program or
23 a school land dedication program and a school facility impact
24 fee program may be established under this Act only upon
25 compliance with the procedures set forth in this Section.
26 (b) The school district shall conduct a public hearing
27 on the proposed school land dedication and school facility
28 impact fee programs. A draft of the programs shall be made
29 available to the public at least 30 days in advance of the
30 public hearing.
31 (c) The notice of public hearing shall be given at least
32 30, but not more than 60, days in advance of the hearing.
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1 Notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of
2 general circulation in the school district and contain at
3 least the following: (i) a headline substantially as
4 follows: Notice of Public Hearing regarding a School Land
5 Dedication Program or School Facility Impact Fee Program or
6 School Land Dedication Program and School Facility Impact Fee
7 Program for School District Number .....,........ County,
8 Illinois; (ii) the time, date, and place of the hearing;
9 (iii) the common name of the school district; (iv) a
10 statement that the draft of the program is available for
11 public inspection and the address, business hours, and
12 telephone number of the place where the draft may be viewed
13 by the public; and (v) a statement that any member of the
14 public affected by the proposed program may appear and
15 comment at the public hearing.
16 (d) No less than 15 nor more than 60 days after the
17 close of the public hearing, the board of education of the
18 school district may make such modifications as it deems
19 appropriate to the draft program and then adopt the program.
20 (e) Substantial modifications to a program after initial
21 adoption shall be subject to the same procedures as are
22 applicable to initial adoption.
23 (f) Municipalities, counties, or municipalities and
24 counties shall conduct a public hearing regarding any
25 proposal for new or amended development impact fee programs,
26 prior to adoption into an ordinance, and shall publish a
27 notice 30 days in advance of the hearing in at least one
28 newspaper of general circulation within the unit of local
29 government. The notice shall include the date, time, and
30 location of the hearing, as well as the general type of
31 school impact ordinance fee that is to be considered. The
32 requirement for new or amended school impact fee ordinances
33 shall not be effective prior to 60 days following the date of
34 adoption of an impact fee ordinance.
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1 Section 30. Requirements of a school land dedication
2 program or school facility impact fee program or both.
3 (a) A school land dedication program shall contain the
4 following provisions:
5 (1) Projections, for a planning period of at least
6 5 years, of the need for school lands within the school
7 district.
8 (2) A plan for acquisition of school lands to meet
9 the projected need.
10 (3) The size and general area of the needed school
11 lands.
12 (4) The estimated cost of acquiring the needed
13 school lands.
14 (5) A table projecting the number of students by
15 the type of school to be generated by new development.
16 The table may be based on generally accepted methods of
17 demographic projection.
18 (6) Classification of school sites by type of
19 school, minimum acreage for each type of school, and the
20 maximum number of students to be served by each type of
21 school.
22 (7) A method of computation of the number of acres
23 to be dedicated for new school lands from each new
24 development based on the proportion between the number of
25 students by type of school projected to be generated by
26 the new development and the maximum number of students to
27 be served by type of school, multiplied by the minimum
28 number of acres for a school site of the same type.
29 (8) The generalized fair market value of an acre of
30 improved land located within the school district or
31 within designated areas of the school district. The fair
32 market value of an acre of improved land shall be based
33 on the fair market value of an acre of land in the area
34 improved as specified in the local subdivision control
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1 ordinance in which the proposed development is located.
2 (9) Computation of the cash in lieu of land
3 dedication by multiplying the number of acres of land
4 that otherwise would be dedicated by the fair market
5 value of an acre of improved land.
6 (10) The conditions that school lands to be
7 dedicated must meet, which may include topography, soil,
8 environmental, wetlands or flood plain or wetlands and
9 flood plain criteria, requirements for grading of the
10 land, and requirements for installation of water, sewer,
11 utilities, and streets, including enclosed drainage and
12 curb and gutter, along the entire street frontage of the
13 site, by a time, and at developer's expense, consistent
14 with the installation of such improvements in the new
15 development.
16 (11) The conditions under which cash in lieu of
17 land dedication will be required, such as when the land
18 to be dedicated is from a new development not large
19 enough to provide a complete school site, when the land
20 does not meet the development conditions established by
21 the school district, or when the school district already
22 has a site suitable to serve the development.
23 (12) A formal review of the program at least every
24 5 years.
25 (13) An appeals process consistent with Section 55
26 of this Act.
27 (14) Procedures for the return of unneeded land or
28 cash in lieu of land in accordance with Section 60 of
29 this Act.
30 (b) A school facility impact fee program shall contain
31 the following provisions:
32 (1) Projections, for a planning period of at least
33 5 years, of the need for school facilities in the school
34 district.
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1 (2) A description of the nature and location of
2 existing school facilities.
3 (3) Identification of the student capacity of each
4 school building and the number of students then enrolled
5 in each building.
6 (4) A projection of the types of new school
7 facilities and the dates by which they will be needed.
8 (5) A table projecting the number of students by
9 type of school to be generated by new development. The
10 table may be based on generally accepted methods of
11 demographic projection.
12 (6) A projection of the costs of new school
13 facilities.
14 (7) A determination of the estimated new school
15 facility cost per student to be produced by a new
16 development.
17 (8) A determination of the school facility cost per
18 residence.
19 (9) Adjustment of the school facility impact fees
20 based on credits, giving due consideration for such
21 matters as existing nonresidential tax base, future
22 revenues generated from real estate taxes on new
23 development for bonded debt for school facilities, and
24 previous dedication of land, cash in lieu of land
25 dedication, or school facility impact fees for new
26 development.
27 (10) Projected interest charges and other finance
28 costs that may be included in determining the amount of
29 school impact fees to the extent the school impact fees
30 are used for the payment of principal and interest on
31 bonds, notes, or other obligations issued by or on behalf
32 of a school district and are used to finance capital
33 improvements made necessary by development.
34 (11) A formal review of the program at least every
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1 5 years.
2 (12) An appeals process consistent with Section 55
3 of this Act.
4 (13) Procedures for return of unneeded school
5 facility impact fees in accordance with Section 65 of
6 this Act.
7 Section 35. Prior expenditures. Cash in lieu of land
8 dedication or school facility impact fees or cash in lieu of
9 land dedication and school facility impact fees shall not be
10 imposed under this Act or used to reimburse a school district
11 for school land acquisition costs or school facility costs or
12 both that are adopted into ordinance by municipalities,
13 counties, or municipalities and counties and that are
14 incurred before the effective date of this Act or before the
15 adoption of school land dedication or school facility impact
16 fee programs or both, unless those costs are incurred in
17 anticipation of new development and are reflected in the
18 school land dedication or school facility impact fee program
19 or school land dedication and school facility impact fee
20 programs adopted under this Act.
21 Section 40. Collection of cash in lieu of dedications
22 and school facility impact fees. A municipality or county
23 adopting a school land dedication ordinance or a school
24 facility impact fee ordinance or both shall collect cash in
25 lieu of deductions and school facility impact fees prior to
26 the issuance of a building permit or other appropriate
27 permission to proceed with a development.
28 Section 45. Time for and evidence of land dedication,
29 payment in cash in lieu of land dedication, and payment of
30 school facility impact fees.
31 (a) Land required to be dedicated under a school land
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1 dedication ordinance shall be conveyed to the school district
2 at the time, and as a condition of, final development
3 approval, unless a later date for conveyance is specified by
4 the school district. At least 5 days, but not more than 30
5 days, prior to the conveyance, the school district shall be
6 provided, at the developer's expense, with a current survey
7 and a commitment for title insurance in the amount of the
8 fair market value of the land, determined in accordance with
9 this Act and showing title clear of any encumbrances or liens
10 and free of any matter that would interfere with the use of
11 the land for school purposes.
12 (b) Cash in lieu of land dedication and school facility
13 impact fees shall be assessed and paid prior to and as a
14 condition of issuance of a building permit or other
15 appropriate permission to proceed with the development. The
16 amount of unpaid cash in lieu of land dedications and school
17 facility impact fees shall be a lien against the applicable
18 lot or unit of development.
19 Section 50. Accounting of funds and land usage. Moneys
20 received from cash in lieu of land dedication or school
21 facility impact fees or in lieu of both land dedication and
22 school facility impact fees pursuant to this Act and interest
23 earned thereon shall be accounted for in the school
24 district's site and construction fund or a separate fund. At
25 the time of issuance of its annual audit, a school district
26 that has been conveyed land or received or expended funds
27 collected under this Act shall make available to the public a
28 report for the preceding school year describing the source
29 and amounts collected, encumbered, and used; identifying the
30 school lands that have been acquired or improved; identifying
31 the school facilities that have been acquired, constructed,
32 or improved; identifying the school facility costs encumbered
33 or expended; and identifying the interest earned in the
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1 account.
2 Section 55. Appeals process and judicial review. Any
3 developer paying a school facility impact fee under this Act
4 shall have the right to contest the imposition, collection,
5 or use of the development impact fee, as well as other
6 related matters. The initial appeal shall be made to the
7 governing body of the municipality or county responsible for
8 creating the procedures adopted in the development impact
9 fee, and shall be in accordance with any procedures adopted
10 in the development impact fee ordinance. Any subsequent
11 relief shall be sought in a de novo proceeding in a court
12 with proper jurisdiction and venue.
13 Section 60. Reversion of unexpended or unencumbered land
14 dedication funds. Title to school lands dedicated by a
15 developer pursuant to this Act shall be reconveyed by quit
16 claim deed to the present owner if construction of school
17 facilities has not commenced on those lands within 13 years
18 of the date of substantial completion of the new development
19 for which the conveyance is being made. A new development
20 shall be deemed substantially complete when 95% of the
21 residential building permits have been issued within that new
22 development. Notice of availability for reconveyance shall be
23 published in a newspaper of general circulation in the school
24 district once a week for 3 successive weeks. If eligible for
25 reconveyance, the present owner must submit to the
26 municipality or county board a written request within one
27 year of the date the right of reconveyance accrues. If
28 reconveyance is not requested within the required time
29 period, the land may be used, or disposed of and the proceeds
30 used, for any authorized school purpose.
31 Section 65. Application for refunds of unencumbered
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1 facility impact fees. All school impact fee proceeds
2 collected under this Act shall be expended or encumbered for
3 capital improvements authorized herein within 10 years of the
4 date of collection. In the event the school impact fee
5 proceeds are not expended or encumbered within 10 years of
6 collection, the unit of local government holding the funds
7 shall return to the present owner the amount of the
8 unencumbered fee plus any interest collected upon proper
9 request for a refund and a determination that a refund is
10 proper. If land is dedicated and is not used for the
11 purposes dedicated in lieu of cash payments, the unit of
12 local government, at its option, may return either the land
13 or the fair market value of the land at the date on which it
14 was dedicated. If eligible for a refund, a present owner
15 must submit to the municipality, county, or municipality and
16 county a written request within one year of the date the
17 right to claim a refund arises. If the refund is deemed
18 proper, the municipality, county, or municipality and county
19 shall return, or require a unit of local government to
20 return, the amount to be refunded. All refunds due and not
21 claimed within the required time period shall remain in the
22 special fund and be expended only as provided in this Act.
23 Section 70. Termination of land dedication or facility
24 impact fee ordinances or both. The corporate authorities of
25 a municipality, county, or municipality and county may
26 terminate any or all school land dedication or school
27 facility impact fee ordinances or both. Upon termination of
28 any such ordinance, the municipality, county, or municipality
29 and county shall publish notice of termination and the
30 availability of any reconveyance or refunds in a newspaper of
31 general circulation within the school district and give
32 notice to the county board or the designated officer
33 authorized to sign final plats of any affected county and the
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1 clerk of any affected municipality. Requests for
2 reconveyance or refunds, and use of land or funds if requests
3 are not timely submitted, are subject to the provisions of
4 Sections 60 and 65. The date of publication shall be the
5 date on which the right to any refund accrues.
6 Section 75. Municipal and county ordinances;
7 intergovernmental agreements. Units of local government
8 jointly affected by developments may enter into
9 intergovernmental agreements with each other, with other
10 governmental authorities including school districts, or with
11 the State to create, assess, collect, and expend development
12 impact fees consistent with the provisions of this Act.
13 Municipalities and counties may follow local development
14 approval processes for all other matters relating to
15 development.
16 Section 80. Annexation agreements. The right of
17 municipalities to negotiate annexation agreements is
18 preserved, by providing that this Act does not affect the
19 current law of annexation agreements or any annexation
20 agreements existing on the effective date of this Act.
21 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
22 becoming law.
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