Agenda Item Wording:
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County Island Annexation - Public Hearing and consideration of the following actions related to Annexation No. 2023-03 for two County Islands located on the northeast corner of North Akers Street and West Ferguson Avenue and the west side of North Linwood Street between West Ferguson and West Delaware Avenues:
1. Initiation of proceedings for Annexation No. 2023-03, a request by the City of Visalia to annex the remaining 35.76 acres of two County Islands into the City Limits of Visalia (Resolution No. 2023-61); and
2. Authorize the detachment from County Service Area No. 1 in accordance with State and County requirements.
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Deadline for Action: 12/18/2023
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Josh Dan, Senior Planner, josh.dan@visalia.city <mailto:josh.dan@visalia.city> (559) 713-4003
Paul Bernal, Community Development Director, paul.bernal@visalia.city <mailto:paul.bernal@visalia.city> (559) 713-4025
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council initiate annexation proceedings for the area by taking the following actions:
1. Initiate of proceedings for Annexation No. 2023-03, a request by the City of Visalia to annex the remaining 35.76 acres of two County Islands into the City Limits of Visalia (Resolution No. 2023-61); and,
2. Authorize detachment of the area from County Service Area No. 1, in accordance with State and County requirements.
If approved by the City Council, staff will file the Annexation application with LAFCO.
Summary:
Annexation No. 2023-03 will bring the remaining 16 parcels totaling 35.76 acres of the original 60.51-acre Akers/Ferguson/Linwood County Island into the City. A 24.75-acre portion of the area was annexed in October 2021 (Annexation No. 2021-01 Sycamore Heights Annexation). Tulare Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) placed a condition on the Sycamore Heights Annexation for the City to complete annexation of the remaining areas within one year of the recording of the Certificate of Completion which is by October 2022. The processing of the annexation was delayed due to staff vacancies including the Senior Planner assigned to the project.
City staff conducted an outreach meeting with the property owners of the County Island area on December 7, 2023. With the City Council's approval to initiate proceedings, the annexation application will be submitted to Tulare LAFCO where it will be processed pursuant to LAFCO Policy C-9 (Island Annexation Policy). As such, the annexation can be approved by the Tulare LAFCO without a protest hearing.
Background Discussion:
During the processing of the Sycamore Heights residential subdivision project, a portion of the large 60.51-acre Akers/Ferguson/Linwood County Island was reduced when the 24.75-acre subdivision along with the annexation was approved back in 2021. During the annexation process for the Sycamore Heights project, LAFCO adopted a condition that required the City to annex the remaining 35.76-acre County Island within one year of the recording of the Certificate of Completion. As noted above, there were a few issues that resulted in the delay of processing the annexation within the one-year timeframe.
The Akers/Ferguson/Linwood County Island is substantially developed with single-family residences on one-acre parcels and larger. The current County zoning of AE-20 (Exclusive Agriculture 20-acre Zone) generally correlates with the proposed City's R-1-20 (Single-family Residential 20,000 square foot minimum site area) and R-1-5 (Single-family Residential 5,000 square foot minimum site area) zoning designations. Utility services are available for those four parcels fronting North Akers Street, and a small portion of both sewer and storm lines are located on Linwood Street just south of West Delaware Avenue. In particular, the annexation will facilitate the future connection to sanitary sewer by individual properties when sewer is available (within 200 feet of their property) if their existing septic systems fail.
The Annexation is consistent with the following Land Use Policies of the General Plan Land Use Element:
• Land Use Policy LU-P-19, which states “ensure that growth occurs in a compact and concentric fashion by implementing the General Plan’s phased growth strategy.”
• Land Use Policy LU-P-20, Allow annexation and development of residential, commercial, and industrial land to occur within the "Tier 1" Urban Development Boundary (UDB) at any time. The remaining 35.76-acres are located in the Tier 1 UDB and are surrounded by urban development.
Annexation No. 2023-03 is consistent with General Plan policies. The General Plan Land Use Diagram designates the project area as Very Low Density Residential and Low Density Residential. Annexation of the area will result in the parcels being zoned R-1-20 and R-1-5. The existing residential development patterns are compatible uses within both the Very Low and Low Density Residential land use designations.
Detachment from Service Area No. 1:
The subject site is part of Tulare County Service Area No.1; services provided include domestic water and sewer. Detachment of the project area from Service Area No. 1 is required upon annexation as future development will receive domestic water and sanitary sewer services from the California Water Service Company and the City of Visalia respectively. Annexations require that the city include a request to detach the annexed area from the County’s service area. Though detachments were previously an automatic process conducted as part of annexation, a 2009 law change now requires Cities to explicitly request detachment.
City Council Districts:
If the annexation area is approved, the area will be incorporated in Council District 1 as depicted in the attached Exhibit “B” Council District Map.
City Services:
City Services, including Police and Fire protection, will be provided to the County island upon annexation. Sanitary sewer service will be available. Connection to the City's sanitary sewer system will be required by individual properties when their existing septic systems fail. The cost to connect to the City's sewer system can be found in the City’s Fee Schedule. Conversely, many of the city services, such as Park and Recreation programs, are already available to the residents of the County Island, and following annexation, the full complement of city services and programs will be provided.
City/County Tax Sharing Agreement:
In 2012 the City of Visalia entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Tulare County. Part of the agreement provided that annexations outside of the County’s adopted Urban Development Boundary (UDB) for the City of Visalia would be subject to a tax sharing formula. The agreement targets the Transient Occupancy and Sales Tax. The subject site is within the designated UDB and is intended for residential development which would result in no sharing or loss of tax revenue to the County.
Fiscal Impact:
City application fees ($10,045) for the annexation process, environmental review (CEQA), public outreach and public hearing reports and resolutions, as well as technical land surveying (required to prepare the annexation boundaries map), are being borne internally by the Community Development Department. LAFCO annexation filing fees ($1,791) and State Board of Equalization fees ($800) will be paid through the General Fund. Staff anticipates no other expenses associated with this annexation process.
Prior Council Action:
On June 7, 2021, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2021-30, initiating Annexation No. 2021-01 (Sycamore Heights), authorizing the detachment of property from Tulare County Service Area No. 1, and authorizing the City Manager to enter into a Pre-Annexation Agreement between the City of Visalia and the property owners.
Other (Community Outreach):
Staff provided an information mailer to each resident and property owner in the remaining annexation area. The mailer invited the public to an informational meeting with City staff. The community outreach meeting was held on December 7th at the City Council Chambers from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Three property owners attended the meeting and asked several questions of staff including the following:
1. Will property addresses be changed based on their current addressing (e.g. 2401 N. Linwood Street Lot G).
2. Allowance to continue use of their private water wells.
3. Will they be required to connect to City sewer if their septic system fails and/or is in need of repair.
4. How will building permit review/final occur if initiated under the County.
In anticipation of frequently asked questions (FAQ), staff provided a FAQ sheet in the mailer that was sent to property owners for the December 7th meeting in an effort to address questions prior to the meeting. A copy of the FAQ is attached per Exhibit “C”.
During the meeting, staff provided responses to the questions raised during the meeting. Staff informed the property owners in attendance that further research is required regarding the addressing question due to the uniqueness of the addresses as currently numbered under the County’s addressing system. In addition, City staff informed the property owners that we will work with County staff on any building permit issued that is currently under County jurisdictional review on how to finalize building permits in the event the area is annexed prior to the building permit being completed.
Regarding connection to city sewer, connection to the City's sanitary sewer system will be required by individual properties when their existing septic systems fails, and if the sewer line is within 200-feet of their property line. A sewer line is available in Akers Street and a sewer line is in a portion of Linwood Street just south of Delaware Avenue.
Alternatives:
The City Council may, in lieu of the recommended motion, consider the following:
1. Move to direct staff to notify Tulare County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) that the City does not desire to annex the remainder of the Akers/Ferguson/Linwood County Island at this time. Doing so could hinder future annexation application filings since LAFCO could fault the City for failing to abide by the conditions of approval it adopted on the Sycamore Heights Subdivision Annexation.
2. Continue the item to a future City Council meeting.
3. Take no action at this time.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to approve Resolution No. 2023-61, to initiate proceedings for Annexation No. 2023-03, authorizing the detachment of property from County Service Area No. 1.
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Environmental Assessment Status:
The project is exempt from further review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) (common sense exemption), as the proposed annexation represents a change in a jurisdictional boundary for a completely surrounded County Island to be annexed into the City of Visalia which will not in and of itself have a significant impact on the environment.
CEQA Review:
The project is exempt from further review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) (common sense exemption), as the proposed annexation represents a change in a jurisdictional boundary for a completely surrounded County Island to be annexed into the City of Visalia which will not in and of itself have a significant impact on the environment. Notice of Exemption No. 2023-57 has been prepared for the project.
Attachments:
1. Resolution No. 2023-61, initiating the proceedings for Annexation No. 2023-03 and Detachment from County Services Area No. 1
2. Exhibit “A” - Annexation Legal Descriptions and Maps for the County Island areas
3. Exhibit “B” - City Council Voting Districts
4. Exhibit “C” - Frequently Asked Questions
5. Notice of Exemption No. 2023-57
6. General Plan Land Use Map
7. Zoning Map
8. Aerial Map
9. Vicinity Map