Contra Costa Watershed Forum May 11, 2016

LAFCO’s Purposes Encourage orderly growth and boundaries Discourage urban sprawl Preserve agriculture and open space Promote efficient public services Legislature’s “watchdog” over local governments

What Does LAFCO Do? Respond to Applications Incorporations Spheres of Influence (SOIs) Annexations Detachments Disincorporations District Formations Outside User Agreements Dissolutions Activate/Deactivate Powers Consolidations Mergers

What Does LAFCO Do? LAFCO Initiated Actions Conduct Municipal Service Reviews (MSRs) approximately every five years; these may result in SOI changes Initiate SOI changes, district formations/mergers/ consolidations/dissolutions, establishment of subsidiary districts, MSRs, special studies Cannot initiate annexations, detachments, incorporations, disincorporations, out of agency service extensions, activation/deactivation of district powers

What Does LAFCO Do? LAFCO’s PLANNING Function Develop and update SOIs for cities and districts Prepare MSRs for local jurisdictions Work cooperatively on growth, preservation, and service delivery issues

LAFCO’s REGULATORY Function Modifies existing special district and city boundaries, and creates new districts and cities Considers boundary changes Controls extension of public services Is prohibited from directly regulating land use

Current LAFCO Activities/Priorities Processing incoming applications 2nd round MSRs Special studies Policy development

LAFCO’s Agriculture & Open Space Preservation Policy (AOSPP) - Background Identified years ago as part of LAFCO’s ongoing policy development March 2015 – discussion advanced July 2015 – LAFCO hosted an Ag & OS workshop Aug – Oct 2015 – ongoing discussion of AOSPP policy development Nov 2015 – Following outreach and education, Commission directed LAFCO Policy Committee to draft an AOSPP policy Jan 2016 – LAFCO revised its SOI and boundary change application forms and procedures to include an Ag & OS assessment March 2016 – LAFCO Policy Committee presented draft AOSPP policy to Commission March – May – public comment period on draft AOSPP policy June 2016 – Commission will consider adopting a revised draft AOSPP

LAFCO’s Responsibilities Related to Ag and Open Space Lands Discourage urban sprawl Preserve agricultural and open space lands Guide development toward vacant urban land and away from Ag & OS land Balance preservation of Ag & OS land with promotion of orderly development Impose terms & conditions when warranted Prohibited from directly regulating land use

Commission’s Considerations in Development of LAFCO’s AOSPP Learn from what other LAFCOs have done Recognize competing interests of preserving Ag & OS and encouraging orderly development Reiterate LAFCO law and consider including local goals, policies and guidelines LAFCO imposed or applicant proposed mitigation measures?

Purpose of LAFCO’s AOSPP Provide guidance to the applicant on how to assess the impacts of LAFCO proposals on agricultural and open space, and to explain how the proposal intends to mitigate those impacts; and Provide a framework for LAFCO to evaluate, and process in a consistent manner, LAFCO proposals that involve or impact agricultural and/or open space lands.

Key Components of LAFCO’s Draft AOSPP Authority of LAFCO Purpose Definitions Goals Policies Guidelines

Key Components of LAFCO’s Draft AOSPP DEFINITIONS Agricultural lands Prime agricultural lands Open space

Key Components of LAFCO’s Draft AOSPP GOALS Minimize conversion of prime ag land to other uses Encourage cooperation among jurisdictions, property owners and others to conserve agriculture Promote agriculture in long range planning Balance need for orderly development and growth with needs of agriculture Strengthen ag sector of economy Fully consider impacts of a proposal on ag and open space land Protect the natural resources that sustain agriculture

Key Components of LAFCO’s Draft AOSPP POLICIES Develop vacant land inside boundaries before annexing new ag land for non-ag uses Annex pockets and peninsulas of lands outside current boundaries first Generally, discourage non-ag development on ag land when alternatives exist Minimize conflicts between ag land in production with surrounding uses New development should not affect the sustainability of active agriculture

Key Components of LAFCO’s Draft AOSPP POLICIES (continued) Annex non-prime ag land before prime ag land Consider feasible mitigation if a proposal converts ag land to other uses Agency policies should create efficient, coterminous, and logical growth and encourage prime ag land protection Notify adjacent property owners of ag lands when processing an application on nearby lands

Key Components of LAFCO’s Draft AOSPP GUIDELINES Applications must include an Ag and Open Space Impact Assessment, if applicable For proposals that reduce prime ag lands, applicants, property owners and others should cooperate to consider appropriate mitigation Applicants should provide a land use inventory and assess the effectiveness of mitigations they propose Detachment of prime ag lands and open space should be considered when consistent with the SOI Annexations of Williamson Act land will be denied except in specific circumstances

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