SONOMA LOCAL AGENCY FORMATION COMMISSION

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1 For accessibility assistance with any of the following documents, please contact Sonoma LAFCO at (707) or us at SONOMA LOCAL AGENCY FORMATION COMMISSION 575 ADMINISTRATION DRIVE, ROOM 104A, SANTA ROSA, CA (707) FAX (707) Item 5.2 Staff Report Meeting Date: June 4, 2014 Agenda No. 5.2 Agenda Item Title: LAFCO File: Proposal: Environmental Determination: Staff Contact: Municipal Service Review and Amendment to the Sphere of Influence: City of Cloverdale File Number 14-01: Amendment No.5 to the City of Cloverdale Sphere of Influence Review and consideration of the City of Cloverdale Draft Municipal Service Review and Sphere of Influence Update As a Responsible Agency, make the necessary findings based on the Environmental Impact Report prepared by the City of Cloverdale Richard Bottarini

2 ANALYSIS Background Pervious Hearing At its March 5, 2014, meeting, the Commission held a public hearing on the Draft Municipal Service Review (MSR) and proposed Sphere of Influence (SOI) amendment for the City of Cloverdale (City). The staff report for that meeting is attached for the Commission s review (Attachment 1). The Commission came to a consensus that the following areas should be included in the Sphere of Influence: McCray Road: Expand the SOI to the north to include the parcels in and around McCray Road and to generally align with the City s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and with the Urban Service Boundary (USB) as designated in the County of Sonoma 2020 General Plan; Lile Lane: Expand the SOI to the east to include the parcels east of Lile Lane to align with the City s UGB; Foothill Boulevard: Expand the SOI to the west to include approximately 9.8 acres to align with the City s UGB and USB; and Kelly Road: Expand the SOI to the southwest to include approximately 45 acres to align with the City s UGB. The Commission came to a consensus that the following area should be excluded from the City s Sphere of Influence: Rains Creek County Water District: Expand the SOI to the southwest to include the parcels in the Rains Creek Water District; The Commission did not make a determination on the following areas: Southeast: Expand the SOI to the southeast to include the parcels located in the southern half of the Industrial Area and in the Asti Exception Area to align with the City s UGB; Westside: Retain the existing 2006 LAFCO-approved SOI along the western hillsides; Stakeholders Discussions Item 5.2 Staff Report 2 June 4, 2014

3 The Commission directed staff to meet with the City, County and interested stakeholders to discuss the proposed sphere amendments. LAFCO staff met several times with the staffs of the County and City to discuss the critical issues associated with the proposed Sphere of Influence. Additionally, there was one staff meeting which included a representative of the Greenbelt Alliance. On April 30, 2014, a stakeholder meeting was held in the Cloverdale Library where interested individuals and groups could provide further input. Attached is a summary of the meeting (Attachment 2). The notes of the meeting do not truly reflect the spirit of the meeting. The discussion was frank, open, professional, and respectful. There was a common theme We want to make Cloverdale a better place to live. Every person in the room wanted to see a strong and vibrant downtown. To many, the inclusion of the Asti Exception Area would be detrimental to their vision of a compact city. However, there was not a consensus that the Industrial Exception Area would have the same detrimental effect on the downtown. Rather, some saw a need for the traditional industrial uses that supported agricultural industry. The support was tempered with concerns over the island created between with the southern Urban Growth Boundary and Industrial Exception Area. By consensus, the preservation of the western hills was a high priority though there was disagreement on the method. Cloverdale Municipal Service Review and General Plan History In 2005, the Commission conducted a MSR of the City of Cloverdale (City) in conjunction with an update of the City s sphere. In March of the following year, the Commission confirmed the then current sphere for the City (Attachment 3). In May 2009, the City adopted an updated General Plan which includes the City s goals, policies, and implementation programs that constitute the formal policy of the City for land use, development, and environmental quality. The updated General Plan also included an Urban Growth Boundary and recommendation for the expansion of the Sphere of Influence. Commission Policy for Spheres of Influence The Commission policy for establishing and maintaining spheres of influence, adopted in February 2010, states: 1. Include all properties within the incorporated city. 2. Include properties wholly within both the voter-approved Urban Growth Boundary and the Urban Service Boundary for the city in the Sonoma County General Plan. Include frontage roads. Item 5.2 Staff Report 3 June 4, 2014

4 3. Include properties within a city s Urban Growth Boundary that are outside the Urban Service Boundary for the city in the Sonoma County General Plan. 4. Exclude parcels outside the Urban Growth Boundary and Urban Service Boundary of a city. 5. For any city without a voter-approved Urban Growth Boundary, the Commission shall consider the city s general plan and the Urban Service Boundary for the city in the Sonoma County General Plan when updating or amending the sphere. The full policy is attached as Attachment 4. With some exceptions, the proposed Sphere generally adheres to Commission policy. City General Plan The City of Cloverdale s General Plan is unique with respect to the planning of the Citydesignated Exception Areas. It is common practice for a city General Plan to contain only contiguous properties with the exception of City-owned properties used for municipal purposes, such as wells, airports and service centers. For the most part, the City s General Plan and UGB policies related to the inclusion of Sphere of Influence are consistent with the Commission policy for the north, east and west, however, inconsistent to the south. The General Plan states: Implementation LU 3-1.d. Revise the Sphere of Influence to be coterminous with the Urban Growth Boundary to the north, west, and east of the city and to extend south to include the Rains Creek Water District and the General Plan Study Area to the southeast of the freeway. The Urban Growth Boundary has two components: the map and the text of the Urban Growth Boundary ordinance. In reviewing the Urban Growth Boundary, the Commission may choose to modify the Sphere map to reflect the text of the Urban Growth Boundary Ordinance and not precisely follow the mapped Urban Growth Boundary. In November 2010 the voters of the City approved the establishment of a UGB. This action amended Policy LU 3-1 of the adopted General Plan to read as follows: Amended Land Use Policy LU 3-1: Establish and maintain a 20-year Urban Growth Boundary to: restrict urban development outside the Urban Growth Boundary and specified exception area; stipulate that City water and sewer service shall not be extended to development outside of the Urban Growth Boundary, except as specified in this Policy LU 3-1 and permitted by law; manage growth in a manner that fosters and protects the small town character of Cloverdale while encouraging economic development appropriate to Cloverdale; and promote stability in long term planning for the City. The Urban Growth Boundary shall first be adopted by the City Council as an amendment to the Item 5.2 Staff Report 4 June 4, 2014

5 General Plan, and then presented to the Cloverdale voters for adoption as a voter-approved General Plan amendment. Upon approval by the Cloverdale voters in a general election, the Urban Growth Boundary shall not be amended except by a vote of the people or as provided in this Policy LU 3-1. The UGB ordinance further defines urban development as construction, alteration, or addition of any building or structure requires one or more services and defines services as one or more basic municipal services including, but not limited to, water, sewer, or drainage services. The UGB ordinance also states: Analysis Westside The prohibition against urban development and provision of services outside the UGB pursuant to this Policy LU 3-1 does not apply: A. To industrial uses and utilities and improvements required for industrial uses in the Industrial Exception Area depicted in Exhibit 2-4 of the General Plan. For purposes of this Policy LU 3-1, industrial uses means uses allowed in the M-1 and M-P zoning districts in the Zoning Code of the City of Cloverdale, except that such permitted industrial uses outside the UGB exclude residential uses and retail uses other than sale of goods incidental to industrial uses. Parcels within the area designated as Westside in the City s General Plan are outside the City s boundary and UGB but partially within the City s current SOI. The Westside is comprised of 42 parcels encompassing approximately 442 acres. It is largely designated Conservation Features in the City s General Plan with small areas of Rural Residential and Public Institutional lands. The City has requested that the existing Westside area remain within its SOI in the belief that its inclusion will provide the City an avenue to express the City s concerns over development, preserve its western hillsides, and maintain the visual character of the community. The City points to the Clover Springs Open Space Area, located outside the City s UGB but within its boundaries and SOI, as a good example of the successful implementation of these policies. The Clover Springs Open Space Area, located on the west side of the City is comprised of approximately 250 acres of publiclyaccessible open space and hiking trails and has been preserved in perpetuity via a conservation easement. The City General Plan addresses the Westside territory as follows: Land Use Policy LU 3-2: Hillside areas are generally outside of the proposed Urban Growth Boundary, and any development shall conform to Urban Growth Item 5.2 Staff Report 5 June 4, 2014

6 Boundary requirements. Development shall not be allowed on hillsides outside the UGB, except where the development restrictions would raise constitutional issues regarding private property rights. Development on hillside areas within the UGB shall be consistent with the Conservation, Design, and Open Space Element, to eliminate or minimize visual, access or lighting impacts in hillside areas, particularly in the western hillsides. The City s UGB ordinance prohibits urban development outside the UGB and seeks to protect the Western hillsides as follows: F. To provision of services to or annexation of land outside and adjacent to the western City limit/urban Growth Boundary, subject to the following: i. Provision of services to or annexation of land outside and adjacent to the western City limit/urban Growth Boundary shall be subject to discretionary approval by the City Council in consideration for permanent dedication of western hills open space in a form acceptable to the City Council. Dedication of western hills open space pursuant to this provision must be to an open space district, land trust, or the City and be pursuant to an agreement to which the City is a party that prohibits revocation of the dedication and that creates permanent access for public use in accordance with policies PR 1-4 and PR 1-5 of the General Plan. Open space dedicated pursuant to this provision is intended to serve as a buffer between urban land uses within the City limit/urban Growth Boundary and rural and agricultural land uses outside the City limit/urban Growth Boundary and as a permanent open space amenity for the entire community consistent with General Plan Goal LU-3 and Policies LU 3-2 and 3-3. Open space dedicated pursuant to this provision must provide for public access and the potential for trails as outlined in the Open Space Element of the General Plan. Open space dedicated pursuant to this provision must extend from the 400 or 550 foot elevation of the parcel to be annexed or receive services pursuant to this provision (whichever is applicable to the development proposed for annexation or to receive City services pursuant to paragraph a or b, below) to and include the highest elevation of the parcel or the ridgeline, whichever is highest. Such dedicated open space may, but need not, include land beyond the parcel ridgeline, provided that the dedicated land shall include sufficient lands beyond the ridgeline to assure that any development beyond the ridgeline will not be visible from the valley floor. Development on parcels on which open space is dedicated pursuant to this provision may not include structures, lighting or other features beyond the parcel ridgeline that are visible from the valley floor. For purposes of this provision, ridgeline means the highest points of the western hillside which are generally visible from the valley floor of the City. A line along the highest points of an individual parcel is not necessarily a ridgeline for purposes of this section. Item 5.2 Staff Report 6 June 4, 2014

7 Generally visible means visible from multiple or several areas on the valley floor, rather than from a single isolated vantage point below the 400 foot elevation. Valley floor means gently sloping, level or nearly level areas within the City limits and below the 400 foot elevation. ii. Services may only be provided to land outside and adjacent to the western City limit/urban Growth Boundary pursuant to this exception for the following land uses: (a) residential development with a finished grade below the 550 foot elevation consistent with all of the land use requirements applicable to rural residential (R-R) zoning districts as defined in General Plan Exhibit 2-2, and providing that any grading will not be detrimental to the views from the valley floor. (b) development below the 400 foot elevation consistent with all of the land use requirements applicable to R-1 zoning districts within the City limit/urban Growth Boundary. (c) provision of services to structures in existence as of November 2, 2010, provided that such structures or any related access ways, lighting or other features are not visible from the valley floor. iii. Provision of services to or annexation of land outside and adjacent to the western City limit/urban Growth Boundary will be subject to an outside area services agreement or pre-annexation agreement or similar transaction meeting the requirements of this provision F and approved by the City Council and any other government agency with jurisdiction over such transaction. Notwithstanding the City s position, the general policy of the Commission, however, is to exclude these parcels from the Sphere of Influence because they were not mapped as being in the UGB. LAFCO staff believes the request by the City to retain its current sphere of influence would be inconsistent with both the map and text of the Urban Growth Boundary because it would include territory above the 550-foot elevations, which are the upper limits of developable territory in the Westside area. Setting the Sphere of Influence at the 550-foot elevation would be consistent with the text of the Urban Growth Ordinance, although outside of the mapped Urban Growth Boundary. Staff has drawn a sketch map of the proposed Westside Sphere of Influence (Attachment 5) Further Discussions City, County, and Greenbelt Alliance staffs discussed the potential for mutually agreedupon goals relating to this area. It was the consensus that the Westside hills should be Item 5.2 Staff Report 7 June 4, 2014

8 preserved as Open Space, with public access wherever feasible. The method of the preservation was not agreed upon. One suggestion was to determine if the territory is included in the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District acquisition plans and, if so, request priority acquisition. Further, it is consensus of the staffs that the LAFCO staff proposal to extend the Sphere of Influence to include entire parcels within the Sphere of Influence and not split parcels was unacceptable. The staffs believed that the option would include too much territory and provide a false impression of the potential for development. The County and City staff agreed to three points: first, that the County General Plan could be amended to include additional protections for the Westside; second, that the Sphere of Influence line need not follow property lines and that the 550-foot elevation was acceptable; and finally, in exchange for territory beyond the Urban Growth Boundary, development would be limited to under the 550-foot elevation and territory above the 550-foot elevation would have an open space easement. The Greenbelt Alliance staff indicated the standard policy was not to trade development rights for open space restrictions. The same concerns were expressed at the stakeholder meeting, although there was not a consensus. At the stakeholder meeting, there was strong support for the City to obtain open space rights to the Westside hills by a third party, such as a Land Trust, Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District or Sonoma County Regional Park District. Draft Determinations 1. The present and planned land uses in the area including agricultural and open space lands. The territory is developed near the limits provided in the County General Plan and significant further development is not expected. The City s adopted General Plan and UGB protect the western hillsides from urban development through conservation and open space easements. In order to insure orderly development and preservation of open space of the Westside Hills territory, the City must provide documentation satisfactory to the Commission that insures that annexation provides permanent hillside open space as stated in the City s 2009 General Plan and Urban Growth Boundary Policy. 2. The present and probable need for public facilities and services in the area. The territory is served by individual wells and septic systems. No annexation and extension of sewer or water service shall occur until the recordation of a permanent conservation easement, acceptable to the Commission, over any portion of a parcel above the 550-foot elevation. 3. The present capacity of public facilities and adequacy of public services that the agency provides or is authorized to provide. Annexations should not be Item 5.2 Staff Report 8 June 4, 2014

9 considered until a plan for services demonstrates that the City has the capacity to provide water and sewer service. 4. The existence of any social or economic communities of interest in the area if the commission determines that they are relevant to the agency. No social or economic communities of interest have been found in the territory. Southeast This area includes two sub-areas designated in the City s General Plan as the Industrial Exception Area and the Asti Exception Area. Both exception areas are included within the City s UGB but are not contiguous to each other or to the remainder of the City s UGB. A portion of the Industrial Exception Area is within the current SOI and USB. Commission policy does not speak to non-contiguous UGB exception areas and, as such, a proposed SOI would normally be aligned with the City s UGB, excluding the two exception areas. The Asti Exception Area is neither partially within nor contiguous to the City s boundary or existing SOI. Industrial Exception Area The Industrial Exception Area, as identified in the City s General Plan, consists of 16 parcels with existing urban development and designated as General Industry. Of these 16 parcels, ten are currently within the City s SOI. These parcels encompass acres, approximately 33 percent of the total 58 acres within the Industrial Exception Area. The City has requested inclusion in the SOI of the remaining six parcels, including a 43-acre parcel containing the Redwood Empire Saw Mill. Asti Exception Area The Asti Exception Area encompasses 55 acres of a 120-acre parcel owned by Beringer Blass Wine Estates Company. It is the home of the historic Italian-Swiss Colony Winery, now known as Cellar No. 8, and is largely developed with the winery and winery-related uses and improvements. In the County 2020 Plan, this is one of four winery sites whose land-use designation is Recreation and Visitor-Serving Commercial, allowing for a wide variety of intensive recreation and tourist-commercial uses. The City s General Plan designates this exception area as Destination Commercial, intended to encourage recreation and tourist commercial uses. There appears to be consistency in land-use designation between the City and County General Plans. Preliminary Discussions The northern half of the Industrial Exception Area is currently in the Sphere of Influence, and preliminary discussions did not include any changes to the southern portion of the Sphere of Influence, except to add the Asti Exception Area. Prior to the City s adoption of its General Plan, LAFCO staff informed City staff that, for LAFCO to consider the inclusion of the Asti Exception Area in the SOI, the City would need to implement some Item 5.2 Staff Report 9 June 4, 2014

10 method or program to connect that Exception Area to the City while addressing the issue of agricultural lands. The Draft General Plan was amended to create Conservation Features on these lands and to require zoning that is consistent with these General Plan designations. Further Discussions The City, County and Greenbelt Alliance staff discussed the potential for mutually agreed-upon goals. It was the consensus of the staffs that the Exception Areas were difficult to support for inclusion in the Sphere of Influence. However, the City staff is requesting that the Industrial Exception Area be included in the Sphere. The County, Greenbelt Alliance, and resident stakeholders noted that the extension of the Sphere of Influence and annexation would be growth-inducing, especially to the Asti Exception Area. They pointed out that the extension of sewer and water service would be expensive, and there would be pressure to extend the services to adjacent properties. Other concerns expressed by resident stakeholders included noise and the consistency of the expanded use of the Asti Winery property with the adjacent agricultural uses. As mentioned earlier, in the County 2020 General Plan, the Asti area is one of four winery sites whose land-use designation is Recreation and Visitor-Serving Commercial, allowing for a wide variety of intensive recreation and tourist-commercial uses. The City s General Plan designates this exception area as Destination Commercial, intended to encourage recreation and tourist commercial uses. There appears to be consistency in land-use designation between the City and County General Plans. However, by including the Asti Exception Area into the Sphere of Influence and the extension of sewer and water service, the density and intensity of development would be increased. Further, it was suggested that the Environmental Impact Report was not sufficient for the scope of the proposal. At the staff meeting there was some discussion about whether or not the City s General Plan EIR analyzed the potential for annexing the land in the Southeast territory. After re-review, it appears that the City General Plan EIR clearly documented and analyzed the potential impacts upon the study area which is comprised of four geographical areas, one of which is the Proposed Sphere of Influence. Alternative 1 of the EIR also evaluated the potential for not including the McCray Road, Rains Creek, and Asti areas. Environmental Analysis The City prepared an Environmental Impact Report for the General Plan and Sphere of Influence amendment. The Commission is a responsible agency and it is recommended that the City General Plan Environmental Impact Report be approved as the environmental document. Item 5.2 Staff Report 10 June 4, 2014

11 RECOMMENDATION Staff requests that the Commission further review and consider the MSR, the proposed Sphere of Influence for the City of Cloverdale, the staff report and attachments, and comments from affected agencies, interested parties and the public and provide staff with direction regarding the preparation of the of the final Municipal Service Review and Sphere of Influence. Staff will return with a resolution memoralizing the decision, for the Commission s consideration at the July meeting. Staff recommends the following: 1. That the Sphere of Influence follow the voter-approved City Urban Growth Boundary to the north, east and south. 2. That the following areas should be included in the Sphere of Influence: McCray Road: Expand the SOI to the north to include the parcels in and around McCray Road and to generally align with the City s UGB and with the USB as designated in the County of Sonoma 2020 General Plan; Lile Lane: Expand the SOI to the east to include the parcels east of Lile Lane to align with the City s UGB; Foothill Boulevard: Expand the SOI to the west to include approximately 9.8 acres to align with the City s UGB and USB; and Kelly Road: Expand the SOI to the southwest to include approximately 45 acres to align with the City s UGB. 3. That the following areas should be excluded from the Sphere of Influence: Rains Creek County Water District: Exclude the parcels in the Rains Creek Water District Asti Area: Exclude the conservation area south of the Industrial Area and the Asti Exception Area from the Sphere of Influence 4. That the Sphere of Influence in the Westside area follow the 550 foot contour, which, in most cases, bisects parcels and is subject to the proffered policy. 5. CONSIDERATION: Regarding the Southern Area in relation to the City s Sphere of Influence, that the Commission should consider the following: a. Maintain the existing Sphere of Influence in the southern area, including the northern half of industrial area, subject to the proffered policy. Item 5.2 Staff Report 11 June 4, 2014

12 b. Align the SOI with the City s UGB in all areas excluding the exception areas, modifying the proffered policy. ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS 1. The Commission could confirm the current Sphere for the City. This alternative would not be consistent with the Commission s approved policy to align the Sphere with the City s UGB. 2. The Commission could align the SOI with the City s UGB in all areas excluding the exception areas and the western hillsides. This alternative would be consistent with Commission policy to amend the sphere to generally align with the City s UGB. 3. The Commission could align the SOI with the City s UGB in all areas and approve one or more of the proposed sphere of influence amendments as follows: a. Approve the amendment for Area 4 (Rains Creek), as proposed by the City. This is not recommended by staff as it would be considered premature and would be inconsistent with the Commission s policy. b. Approve the proposed amendment for Area 3 (Southeast) for both the Industrial Exception Area and the Asti Exception Area, including three additional parcels and the remainder of the 120-acre parcel surrounding the Asti Exception Area, with a specific policy associated with future annexation proposals. c. Approve the proposed amendment for Area 5 (Westside) to include the entirety of the parcels currently within the City s SOI with a specific policy associated with future annexation proposals. d. Maintain the existing Sphere of Influence in the southern area and include the entire Industrial Exception Area, subject to the proffered policy. Although this is not the recommended alternative, staff believes that inclusion of the entire Industrial Exception Area makes a more logical boundary. However, this might be considered growth-inducing. ATTACHMENTS 1. Staff Report for March 2014 Commission Meeting 2. Summary Notes of April 30, 2014, Citizen Forum 3. Map of Current Sphere of Influence for the City of Cloverdale 4. Sonoma LAFCO Policy: Spheres of Influence 5. Proposed Westside Sphere of Influence Item 5.2 Staff Report 12 June 4, 2014

13 6. Proposed Policy Cloverdale Sphere of Influence 7. Comments from Agencies, Organizations, and General Public Item 5.2 Staff Report 13 June 4, 2014