The mission
of the Santa Clara LAFCO is to promote orderly growth and
development in Santa Clara County by:
• Preserving agricultural lands and open space;
• Curbing urban sprawl;
• Encouraging efficient delivery of services;
• Exploring and facilitating regional opportunities for fiscal sustainability; and
• Promoting public accountability and transparency of local agencies to improve governance.
Three boundaries of review: Comprised of seven members:
Annexations • Two County Supervisors appointed
by the Board of Supervisors
Currently: Mike Wasserman and Ken Yage
An annexation adds land to the city limits. Some
annexations push boundaries of a city outward.
Other annexations are island annexations within
existing city limits. (CITY LIMITS IN RED ON MAP)
Urban Service Area (USA)
An USA is a planning boundary for cities. It delineates
areas that are currently provided with urban services,
facilities and utilities; or areas proposed to be annexed
into a city within the next 5 years in order to be
developed and receive city services. (SHOWN IN
YELLOW ON MAP)
Sphere of Influence (SOI):
A SOI is a planning boundary that applies to special
districts and cities. State law defines a SOI as a plan for
the probable physical boundaries and service area of a
local agency, as determined by LAFCO. The USA is an
indication of areas that the city will in the future annex
or provide services. For cities, the SOI is a long range
planning tool to evaluate USA amendments and
annexation requests. (SHOWN IN BLUE ON MAP)
area to sphere of influence.
LAFCO is a significant force in the
general planning process that impacts
cities and special districts in South County
and throughout California. LAFCO has
been described as a “powerful but
obscure” agency.
Recently, LAFCO played a major role
in both Gilroy and Morgan Hill when the
cities attempted to expand in ways that each
had determined to be responsible. LAFCO
filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the
City of Gilroy, blocking its annexation of
721 acres to the north. This move would
have paved the way for a build-out of that
• One Council Member from the City of San Jose
appointed by the City Council
Currently: Johnny Khakis
• One Council Member from any of the other
cities appointed by the Cities Selection Committee
Currently: Cat Tucker (Gilroy), 2015-16 Chairperson
• Two Board Members from independent special districts:
•
One appointed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District
Currently: Linda Lezotte
• One appointed by the Independent Special
District Selection Committee
Currently: Sequoia Hall (Open Space)
• One Public Member appointed by the other
members of the Commission
Currently: Susan Vicklund Wilson
acreage, consistent with previous LAFCO
directives promoting growth in the north.
Known as the Los Olivos Project, it called
for development to be undertaken over a
15-20 year time span. LAFCO also recently
blocked the City of Morgan Hill on two
occasions, which involved the Southeast
Quadrant (229 acres) and the Monterey-
Watsonville (71 acres) development projects.
While LAFCO could have a positive role
to play in preventing urban sprawl in South
County, its history of decisions has not
been favorable to South County. Between
2010 and 2015, LAFCO has approved
approximately 1,500 acres of annexations,
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
MAY/JUNE 2016
urban service areas, and sphere of
influence amendments in Santa Clara
County. During this same time period,
LAFCO approved annexation of only 10
acres in Morgan Hill and none in Gilroy.
Going back further in time, the Gilroy
Sports Park was denied in 2002 and
Gilroy’s golf course expansion was denied
in 1999. This is especially significant
because Gilroy and Morgan Hill are the
only cities in Santa Clara County with a
surrounding green belt.
To learn more about Santa Clara County
LAFCO, go to santaclaralafco.org.
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