BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 215|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 215
Author: Wiggins (D)
Amended: 3/26/09
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 3-2, 4/1/09
AYES: Wiggins, Kehoe, Wolk
NOES: Cox, Aanestad
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Local government: organization
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill adds regional transportation plans,
including sustainable communities strategies and alternate
planning strategies, to the list of factors that local
agency formation commissions must consider before making
boundary decisions. This bill also repeals the
authorization for local agency formation commissions to
consider regional growth goals and policies.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the California Air
Resources Board to assign each metropolitan planning
organizations (MPO) a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
reduction target; and then requires each MPO to prepare a
"sustainable communities strategy" as a component of its
regional transportation plan (RTP) (SB 375, [Steinberg],
Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008). This strategy serves as a
CONTINUED
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blueprint for communities to achieve the region's GHG
emissions reduction target. If the sustainable communities
strategy does not achieve the reduction target, the MPO
must prepare an alternative planning strategy.
Local agency formation commissions (LAFCOs) control the
boundaries of cities and special districts, including
annexations, detachments, city incorporations, and district
formations. When preparing to make boundary decisions,
LAFCOs must consider 15 specified factors, such as
population density, regional housing needs, local general
plans, and environmental justice. Furthermore, LAFCOs are
encouraged, but are not required, to consider regional
goals and policies. By controlling the boundaries of local
governments, LAFCOs can influence the time, location, and
character of land development. For example, when a
subdivision needs sewer service, a LAFCO's approval of an
annexation of the territory to a sanitation district makes
the development feasible.
To plan for orderly development, LAFCOs adopt "spheres of
influence" for every city and special district. Spheres of
influence are planning documents that show a city or
special district's future boundary and service area.
LAFCOs' boundary decisions must be consistent with these
spheres of influence.
Existing law requires MPOs to consider LAFCOs' spheres of
influence while preparing their sustainable communities
strategies. However, there is no reciprocal requirement
for LAFCOs to consider MPOs' regional transportation plans
or sustainable communities strategies.
This bill adds regional transportation plans, including
sustainable communities strategies and alternate planning
strategies, to the list of factors that local agency
formation commissions must consider before making boundary
decisions. This bill also repeals the authorization for
local agency formation commissions to consider regional
growth goals and policies.
Comments
Efforts to reduce GHG emissions will require regional
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cooperation in making land use decisions that promote less
driving, which is why last year's SB 375 (Steinberg),
Chapter 378, Statutes of 2008, required MPOs to include a
sustainable community's strategy in their regional
transportation plans. The success of implementing SB 375
depends on the degree to which cities and counties conform
their land use decisions to the sustainable communities
strategies. Unfortunately, the state lacks a formal,
comprehensive regional planning mechanism. To prevent MPOs
from ignoring the planning realities of local governments,
SB 375 requires MPOs to consider LAFCOs' spheres of
influence when preparing its sustainable communities
strategy. SB 215's reciprocal requirement for LAFCOs to
consider sustainable communities strategies before making a
boundary decision is another step toward aligning the
state's fragmented planning processes.
The California Constitution requires the state to pay for
new or increased state-mandated local programs. By adding
more items to the list of factors that LAFCOs must consider
before acting, SB 215 results in a state mandate. The
bill, however, disclaims state payment because LAFCOs can
recover their costs by charging processing fees to those
who apply for boundary changes.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/21/09)
California Association of Local Agency Formation
Commissions
Mendocino LAFCO
Planning and Conservation League
Sonoma LAFCO
Trust for Public Land
AGB:do 4/21/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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