Amidst the complex tapestry of Southern California’s water management issues, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) embarks on a pivotal municipal service review (MSR) of the San Diego County Water Authority (CWA).
Weeks after North County residents voted to secede from the San Diego County Water Authority by a margin of 19 to 1 early last month, county water officials directed their lawyers to resolve a lawsuit challenging the divorce.
San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission requires a deposit to process applications to LAFCO for jurisdictional changes, and the Rainbow Municipal Water District approved an additional deposit amount during the Tuesday, Feb. 28, Rainbow board meeting.
The board’s 5-0 vote approved the additional payment of $32,648.91, bringing the total Rainbow payment to $245,932.10. Rainbow and the Fallbrook Public Utility District are sharing the processing costs.
Ramona Municipal Water District directors at their Sept. 14 meeting were critical of a report that recommends a different form of governance for Ramona, but did consider whether the plan could bring tax benefits.
During a presentation by the Local Agency Formation Commission, analyst Priscilla Allen shared highlights of the LACFO report that makes 14 recommendations, chief among them to reorganize the water district into a Community Services District — an intermediary step that would give unincorporated Ramona more local control and a potential segue into incorporation.
A proposal to transition Ramona from an unincorporated town run by the county into a community overseen by a Community Services District is being explored by the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission.
Priscilla Allen, a LAFCO analyst, introduced Ramona Community Planning Group members to the idea at the group’s Aug. 5 meeting. The plan is based on Ramona’s growing population and trend toward urbanization, Allen said.
The creation of a Community Services District is included in 14 recommendations being submitted by LAFCO staff to the San Diego LAFCO Commission.
San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission requires a deposit to process applications to LAFCO for jurisdictional changes, and the Fallbrook Public Utility District will be providing an additional deposit to process the application for FPUD to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority and annex into the Eastern Municipal Water District.
A 5-0 FPUD board vote, Monday, Aug. 24, authorized an additional $62,220 deposit to LAFCO. The deposit is expected to cover an additional 510 hours of LAFCO staff time at LAFCO’s rate of $122 per hour.
The April meeting of the Rainbow Municipal Water District board included an out-of-agency service agreement for Rainbow to serve Pardee Homes’ Meadowood development, which is currently within the boundaries of the Valley Center Municipal Water District. The May 26 Rainbow board meeting included a 4-0 vote, with Helene Brazier not able to participate in the meeting, to submit an application to annex the Meadowood area.
The motion directed Rainbow general manager Tom Kennedy to prepare and submit an application to San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission to annex the Meadowood land. The April 28 action included direction to district staff to prepare an application to LAFCO, and a preliminary application was presented to the board for the May 26 meeting.
When the proposal for the Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority and annex to the Eastern Municipal Water District is heard by San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission, a public vote will follow any LAFCO board approval.
LAFCO’s board voted 8-0 to call for a public vote, May 4, and the motion also included the creation of a technical advisory committee. LAFCO executive officer Keene Simonds will draft proposed tasks for the committee and a proposed membership composition, and LAFCO is scheduled to approve that criteria June 1.
The water agencies that serve the Fallbrook and Rainbow areas of North County have officially filed applications to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority, an unprecedented move with potential financial implications for almost all water customers in the county.
The Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District filed “reorganization” applications with the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) on Wednesday. The filing has been expected for months and will likely trigger a lengthy process that could culminate, should the Water Authority have its way, with a vote of all customers served by any of the 24 water districts that belong to the umbrella water agency.
Chula Vista, Calif. – Two of Sweetwater Authority’s Governing Board Members were recently appointed to local advisory committees for watershed restoration and local agency formation.
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