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Public Hearings 7.
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| LAFCO |
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| Information |
| SUBJECT |
| Change of Organization to Dissolve the Yolo-Zamora Water District Effective June 30, 2014 (LAFCo No. 916) |
| RECOMMENDED ACTION |
1. Receive staff presentation on the requested dissolution.
2. Open the Public Hearing for public comments on the item.
3. Close the Public Hearing.
4. Consider the information presented in the staff report and during the public hearing. Discuss and direct staff to make any changes deemed appropriate.
5. Find that the project is exempt from environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).
6. Move to adopt Resolution No. 2014-01 to dissolve the Yolo-Zamora Water District without an election or protest proceedings, effective June 30, 2014. |
| FISCAL IMPACT |
| At the October 24, 2013 LAFCo meeting when the Commission adopted the Combined MSR/SOI for the Yolo County Water Districts (LAFCo No S-038), the action included authorizing the Executive Officer to waive processing fees for the District to request dissolution. Waiving the application fees resulted in a loss of approximately $2,000 of revenue to LAFCo. If there are any remaining funds after the District pays all their other obligations at their regular April Board meeting, the balance will go towards the LAFCo processing fees which would partially offset this impact. |
| REASONS FOR RECOMMENDED ACTION |
The Yolo-Zamora Water District board president approached staff in 2012 regarding its need to be dissolved. It never acquired water rights to provide service and is depleted of the financial resources to continue to perform basic administrative functions. LAFCo prepared a MSR/SOI (adopted in October 2013) in order to study potential dissolution, create a "road map" and resolve any issues that may result.
On October 28, 2013 the Yolo-Zamora Water District adopted a resolution of application initiating proceedings for dissolution of the District. Section 57077.1(c)(1) of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act provides for an expedited process authorizing LAFCo to order the dissolution immediately without protest proceedings or an election when dissolution is initiated by the District board. Establishing June 30, 2014 as the effective date of dissolution coincides with the end of the fiscal year and provides sufficient time for the District to wind up their affairs at their regular board meeting in April.
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| BACKGROUND |
The dissolution of the Yolo-Zamora Water District has been discussed off and on for many years. The District was created in 1955 but never received a water allocation from the Tehama-Colusa Canal and has never provided the water service it was intended for. Staff's understanding is that at the time, the landowners balked at the cost of installing the needed infrastructure to carry the water, so it never was constructed. Apparently, the District has continued to exist in the hopes that perhaps the situation may change and someday water could be provided. Some feared that the District needed to remain intact to be able to have standing to obtain water from the Central Valley Project.
In 2005, a LAFCo Municipal Service Review (MSR) recommended the District be dissolved but it was never acted on. In 2012, District Board President Twyla Thompson approached staff requesting dissolution, indicating the District's finances were dwindling and that she had sometimes used her personal funds to keep the District solvent. So in 2013, LAFCo conducted another MSR that once again concluded that dissolution was recommended and divided up the District territory and added it to the SOI's of the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and the Dunnigan Water District.
As part of the 2013 MSR process, staff spoke with Rich Robertson with the US Bureau of Reclamation office in Willows and he indicated that the Yolo-Zamora Water District would not lose any standing by dissolving, and moreover, the Dunnigan Water District has staff resources that would be able to negotiate a potential water transfer (if the infrastructure was ever constructed). This information was memorialized in an October 23, 2013 memo to the LAFCo Commission (see attached).
With LAFCo adopting the MSR and new sphere of influence boundaries, and any residual concerns regarding potential water allocation resolved, the Yolo-Zamora Water District Board unanimously adopted a resolution on October 28, 2013 requesting LAFCo initiate proceedings to dissolve the District.
Agency/Public Involvement
The application for dissolution was routed to all agencies with boundaries that coincide with the Yolo-Zamora Water District territory. Five responses were received (attached for review) but none of them indicated any concerns with the proposal. A public hearing notice was published in the Davis Enterprise and mailed directly to all landowners and registered voters in the District and so far staff has received three telephone calls.
One resident complained that the notice inaccurately stated that the District has not collected property tax revenue when indeed it had (actually, the District used to collect special assessments but that ended in FY 1990/91). Another resident voiced concern about all the tree orchards being planted, new wells and subsidence issues, and that without the District, no one would look after these issues. However, once staff explained that the District was unable to respond to these issues and that the landowners could be better served by the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and the Dunnigan Water District, she seemed to agree with the proposed approach. The third call was requesting that the meeting time be changed to the afternoon.
CEQA
The proposed dissolution will not result in any land use changes or physical improvements or construction, therefore, staff recommends the project is not subject to CEQA per Section 15061 (b)(3).
FINDINGS
1. Finding: The Project does not have the potential to cause a significant effect on the environment, and is therefore not subject to CEQA in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).
Evidence: The project involves dissolution of the Yolo-Zamora Water District which has never constructed, owned or operated any physical improvements or infrastructure. Nor has the District ever provided water service. Therefore, dissolving the district does not have the potential to cause an effect on the environment.
2. Finding: The change of organization to dissolve the Yolo-Zamora Water District is appropriate considering the purpose of LAFCo to ensure the efficient provision of government services and encouraging the orderly formation and development of local agencies, and such dissolution is consistent with all applicable state law and local LAFCo policies.
Evidence: The project was processed consistent with the requirements in the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act for a change of organization and dissolution proceedings. The proposed dissolution is consistent with the recommendations of the 2013 Combined MSR/SOI for the Yolo County Water Districts and all applicable Yolo LAFCo policies and adopted Standards for Evaluation. The dissolution promotes public access and accountability for community services needs and financial resources. The Yolo-Zamora Water District has never provided water services and no longer collects special assessments for revenue. On October 28, 2013 the Yolo-Zamora Water District adopted a resolution of application initiating proceedings for dissolution of the District. Section 57077.1(c)(1) of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act provides for an expedited process authorizing LAFCo to order the dissolution immediately without protest proceedings or an election when dissolution is initiated by the District board. |
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