Services
Responsibilities
Each
LAFCO is responsible for coordinating logical and timely changes in local
governmental boundaries, conducting special studies that review ways to
reorganize, simplify, and streamline governmental structure, and prepare
a sphere of influence for each city and special district within its county.
The Commission's efforts are directed toward seeing that services are provided
efficiently and economically while agricultural and open-space lands are
protected. To better inform itself and the community as it seeks to exercise
its charge, each LAFCO must conduct service reviews to evaluate the provision
of municipal services within its county.
Members are appointed at large for a four-year term. The voting members are composed of
two members of the Board of Supervisors, two City Mayors and one Public Member.
One alternate for the Board of Supervisors, City Mayors and the Public also sit on LAFCo as
alternates in case of the absence of a voting member.
Authority
Boundary
Changes
LAFCOs regulate, through approval or denial,
the boundary changes proposed by other public agencies or individuals.
LAFCOs do not have the power to initiate boundary changes on their own
except for proposals involving the dissolution or consolidate on special
districts and the merging of subsidiary districts.
Typical applicants might include:
•
Individual homeowners requesting annexation to a sewer district due to
a failing septic system.
• Developers seeking annexation to cities in order to obtain urban
services for new housing.
• Cities wishing to annex pockets of unincorporated land, or "islands,"
located within their borders in order to avoid duplication of services
with the county.
Sphere
of Influence Studies
In 1972, LAFCOs were
given the power to determine spheres of influence for all local governmental
agencies. A sphere of influence is a planning boundary outside of an agency's
legal boundary (such as the city limit line) that designates the agency's
probable future boundary and service area. Factors considered in a sphere
of influence review focus on the current and future land use, the current
and future need and capacity for service, and any relevant communities
of interest. With the passage of CKH Act, spheres are reviewed every five
years.
The purpose of the sphere of
influence is to ensure the provisions of efficient services while discouraging
urban sprawl and the premature conversion of agricultural and open space
lands by preventing overlapping jurisdictions and duplication of services.
Commissions cannot tell agencies what their planning goals should be.
Rather, on a regional level, LAFCO coordinate the orderly development
of a community by reconciling differences between agency plans so that
the most efficient urban service arrangements are created for the benefit
of area residents and property owners.
Service Reviews
Service reviews were
added to Lace's mandate with the passage of CKH Act in 2000. A service
review is a comprehensive study designed to better inform LAFCO, local
agencies and the community about the provision of municipal services.
Service reviews attempt to capture and analyze information about the governance
structures and efficiencies of service providers and to identify opportunities
for greater coordination and cooperation between providers. The service
review is a prerequisite to a sphere of influence determination and may
also lead a LAFCO to take other actions under its authority.
Initiation
of Special District Consolidations
As of July 1, 1994, LAFCOs
have the authority to initiate proposals that include the dissolution
or consolidation of special districts or the merging of existing subsidiary
districts. Prior to initiating such an action, LAFCO must determine that
the district's customers would benefit from the proposal through adoption
of a sphere of influence or other special study.
Out of Agency
Service Agreements
Cities and districts
are required to obtain LAFCO's approval prior to entering into contracts
with private individuals or organizations to provide service outside of
the agency's boundaries.
Adoption of
Local Policies
Each LAFCO may adopt
local policies to appropriately administer the CKH Act in its county.
LAFCOs must act in accordance with any locally adopted policies.
Objectives
To
Encourage the Orderly Formation of Local Governmental Agencies
LAFCOs review proposals for the formation of new
local governmental agencies and for changes in the organization of existing
agencies.There
are 58 LAFCOs working with nearly 3,500 governmental agencies (400 + cities
and 3,000 + special districts). Agency boundaries are frequently unrelated
to one another and sometimes overlap at random, often leading to higher
service costs to the taxpayer and general confusion regarding service
area boundaries. LAFCO decisions strive to balance the competing needs
for efficient services, affordable housing economic opportunity, and conservation
of natural resources.
To Preserve
Agricultural Land Resources
LAFCO must consider the
effect that any proposal will have on existing agricultural lands. By
guiding development toward vacant urban land and away from agricultural
preserves, LAFCO assists with the preservation of California's valuable
agricultural resources.
To Discourage
Urban Sprawl
Urban sprawl can best
be described as irregular and disorganized growth occurring without apparent
design or plan. This pattern of development is characterized by the inefficient
delivery of municipal services (e.g., police, fire, water, and sanitation)
and the unnecessary loss of agricultural resources and open space lands.
By discouraging sprawl, LAFCO limits the misuse of land resources and
promotes a more efficient system of local governmental agencies.
History
After World War II, California experienced dramatic growth in population
and economic development. With this boom came demands for housing, jobs,
and public services. To accommodate these demands, the state approved the
formation of many new local government agencies, often with little forethought
as to the ultimate governance structures in a given region. The lack of
coordination and adequate planning led to a multitude of overlapping, inefficient
jurisdictional and service boundaries and the premature conversion/loss
of California's agricultural and open-space lands.
Recognizing this problem, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Sr. appointed the
Commission on Metropolitan Area Problems in 1959. The Commission's charge
was to study and make recommendations on the issue of land resources"
and the growing complexity of local governmental jurisdictions. The Commission's
recommendations on local governmental reorganization were introduced in
the Legislature in 1963, resulting in the creation of Local Agency formation
Commissions, or "LAFCO," operating in each county except San Francisco.
From 1963-1985, LAFCOs administered a complicates series of statutory
laws and three enabling acts the Knox-Nesbit Act, the Municipal Organization
Act (MORGA), and the District Reorganization Act. Confusion over the application
of these laws led to a reform movement that produced the first consolidated
LAFCO Act, the Cortese-Knox Local Government Reorganization Act of 1985.
In 1997, a new call for reform in local government resulting in the formation,
by the Legislature, of the Commission on Local Governance in the 21st
Century. After many months canvassing the state, the Commission recommended
changes to the laws governing LAFCOs in its comprehensive report "Growth
Within Bounds". These recommendations became the foundation for the Cortese-Knox
Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 (CKH Act), an act
that mandates greater independence for LAFCOs and further clarifies their
purpose and mission.
LAFCOs are usually composed of two county supervisors, two city council
representatives, and one member representing the public at large. Commission
members serve four year terms.Solano LAFCO was formed in 1963, and its
first members included Mayor Castro (Suisun City), Mayor Douglas (Vallejo),
Mayor Bagley (Vacaville-Alternate), Supervisors Brazelton and Church (County),
and Harry Petersen (public member). County Clerk Larry Ball was the first
Executive Officer.
Date of Agency Formation
October 16, 1963
Enabling Legislation
Government Code Section 56,000 et. seq.
Area Served
898 square miles
Population Served
394,542 (2000 Census)
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