Project Description
The project site consists of approximately 363.11 acres located adjacent to the southern portion of the City between State Route 113 and the Springlake residential community within the City of Woodland sphere of influence (SOI) of unincorporated Yolo County. The project site is bounded by existing residential development to the north and east, State Route 113 to the west, and active agricultural land to the south. The project site is mostly undeveloped and actively farmed, except for one residence, barn, and shop building.
The City of Woodland approval changed the general plan land use designation from Agriculture to Specific Plan 1A - Woodland Research and Technology Park. Correspondingly, the parcel has also been pre-zoned to a mix of residential, mixed use, commercial, research & technology park, and open space districts consistent with the Specific Plan. The project includes development of approximately 1,600 new dwelling units, 2.2 million square feet of non-residential building space, and 17.6 acres of parks and other types of open space.
Factors to be Considered
In accordance with Government Code Section 56668, the factors to be considered in the review of a proposal shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
- Population, land use, natural boundaries, proximity to other populated areas, and likelihood of significant growth in the area during the next 10 years;
- The need for organized community services, the adequacy of governmental services and controls in the area, the probable effect of annexation and alternative courses of action;
- The effect of the proposed action (and alternative actions) on the adjacent areas, social and economic interests and local governmental structure of the county;
- The conformity of the proposal and its effects with adopted commission policies on providing planned, orderly and efficient patterns of urban development;
- The effect of the proposal on maintaining the physical and economic integrity of agricultural lands;
- The definiteness of the boundaries with parcel lines and the creation of any "islands" or corridors of unincorporated territory;
- A regional transportation plan;
- The proposal's consistency with city or county general and specific plans;
- The sphere of influence of any applicable local agency;
- The ability of the receiving entity to provide services and the sufficiency of revenue for those services;
- Availability of water supplies;
- The extent to which the proposal will affect a city in achieving its regional housing needs as determined by its council of governments;
- Any information or comments from landowners, voters or residents of the affected territory;
- Any information relating to existing land use designations;
- The extent to which the proposal will promote environmental justice, meaning the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures and incomes with respect to the provision of public services; and
- Any local hazard plan or safety element of a general plan that identifies land as a very high fire hazard zone.
Yolo LAFCo's local standards of evaluation for proposals (Section 2.0) elaborates on these state-mandated factors with the following additional standards:
- Favoring municipal services by cities in urbanized areas rather than the County or special districts;
- Consider not only present service needs of the area under consideration, but shall also consider future services which may be required to take care of future growth or expansion;
- Requiring a service plan that describes the extension, financing and timing of services;
- SACOG's regional housing needs for the agency, recent update (and certification) of the agency's housing element, whether the agency's inclusionary housing ordinance complies with SACOG's Affordable Housing Compact, the degree to which the proposal meets the agency's "low income" and "very low income" housing targets, and the extent to which the proposal advances or inhibits the agency's housing element; and
- Consistency with the Agricultural Conservation Policy.
Analysis
The proposed annexation area is within the City's SOI and is a logical and orderly extension of the City’s urban area. The City has the capacity and is the appropriate agency to provide urban services for the proposed development. The subject territory is mostly surrounded by existing city jurisdiction and the proposal does not create any "islands" or corridors of unincorporated territory. The project is consistent with the regional growth projections prepared by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) and is consistent with the City's General Plan land use designations. The City of Woodland has pre-zoned the territory consistent with its General Plan.
LAFCo Policy No. 4.4 requires LAFCo to review projects based on a number of considerations to promote the Yolo LAFCo's Agricultural Conservation Policy’s goal that “boundary changes for urban development should only be proposed, evaluated, and approved in a manner which, to the fullest extent feasible, is consistent with the continuing growth and vitality of agriculture within the county.” The project site is undeveloped and is actively used for agricultural uses. Future development of the Project would result in the conversion of approximately 346 acres of Prime Farmland to new urban development, and the off-site South Regional Pond would convert 4 acres of Prime Farmland to a detention basin. The proposed project is within the City’s SOI and its impacts were included as part of the cumulative analysis contained in the City’s 2035 General Plan and Climate Action Plan Environmental Impact Report, which LAFCo relied upon when adopting the City’s SOI Update. There are no substantial changes to environmental conditions, regulatory updates, or that the proposal requires additional cumulative analysis or mitigation.
Because the project would result in the conversion of active agricultural land to urban use, this is a significant impact. Multiple policies are identified in the 2035 General Plan to manage agricultural land conversion, including an urban limit line that is designed to protect agricultural land surrounding the city limits, which would reduce the potential impact associated with conversion of agricultural land. The 2035 General Plan also requires mitigation for lost farmland within the urban limit line at a rate of one acre of permanently conserved farmland for every acre converted to urban development or non-agricultural uses.
Although the project is required to mitigate to the extent feasible, the City has adopted a Statement of Overriding Considerations as the impact remains significant and unavoidable. The subject property is surrounded by existing city development, State Route 113, and the City’s voter-adopted urban limit line and, therefore, will not be growth inducing. Therefore, the proposal is consistent with Yolo LAFCo's Agricultural Conservation Policy.
The City's EIR analyzed the capacity and availability of public services and utilities and concluded that the City has the capacity to serve the project. The territory is intended to be developed with approximately 1,600 new dwelling units, 2.2 million square feet of non-residential building space, and 17.6 acres of parks and other types of open space. The Project will help the City in achieving its regional housing needs. The City’s Specific Plan and Development Agreement commits at least 279 units will be developed at 30 dwelling units to the acre or higher to qualify for the “extremely low, very low, and low income” income category. The remaining housing units will help the City meet its needs in the moderate and above moderate income categories. The proposed boundary does not exclude any existing communities that should be provided equal access to municipal services. The proposal area is not identified as a "very high fire hazard zone." Finally, the City and County have approved a property tax exchange agreement.
For all these reasons, staff recommends that the reorganization proposal complies with required state factors and local standards of evaluation.
Correspondence
The Yolo County Department of Community Services submitted a letter seeking delineation of agency responsibilities and jurisdiction related to: (1) An offsite drainage pond required by the City's Drainage Master Plan and triggered by this project, but is located in the adjacent unincorporated area; and (2) The Proposal area includes two parcels where only a portion are being reorganized into the City (future parcel maps will create a more definite parcel line along the annexation boundary). The City of Woodland has agreed to these items, and they have been memorialized as conditions of approval in the resolution as they pertain to clarifying agency responsibilities with the reorganization. LAFCo corresponded with City staff via email regarding its Regional Housing Needs Allocation. In addition, the Auditor's Office submitted its required response indicating a new tax rate area (TRA) will be required for the subject territory and lists the agencies and amount of the 1% tax rate before and after reorganization.
Action Without Notice and Waiver of Protest Proceedings
The application includes written consent signed by all the landowners that represent 100% of the affected territory. Notice was provided to all landowners within the project territory plus a 300' radius and all registered voters, as well as to all affected agencies, and no written opposition has been received. The notice includes the Commission's intent to waive protest and election proceedings, as provided in Government Code section 56662.
CEQA
The reorganization is a discretionary action subject to CEQA. On September 5, 2023, the Woodland City Council adopted Resolution No. 8147 certifying the environmental impact report (EIR) for the Woodland Research and Technology Park Specific Plan Project, and adopting Findings of Fact, Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP), and Statement of Overriding Considerations which analyzes and discloses the significant environmental effects associated with development in the proposal area. LAFCo is considered a "responsible agency" under CEQA, which means a public agency, other than the "lead agency" (i.e. the City), which has responsibility for carrying out or approving a project. In other words, LAFCo approval (i.e. the annexation) is required for the City to carry out development under its project approval. Pursuant to Government Code Section 15096, LAFCo as a responsible agency complies with CEQA by considering the EIR prepared by the City and reaching its own conclusions on whether and how to approve the annexation. LAFCo is required to make findings for each significant environmental effect of the project. CEQA requires the decision-making agency to balance the economic, legal, social, technological, or other benefits of a proposed project against its unavoidable environmental effects when determining whether to approve the project. If the benefits outweigh the adverse effects, they may be considered "acceptable". The City's EIR identified significant and unavoidable impacts at the project site related to aesthetics, agricultural resources, and air quality. The City's EIR and associated documents have not all been attached due to size considerations, but can be found here: https://www.cityofwoodland.gov/585/Documents. Staff provided comments to the Notice of Preparation to ensure the EIR is consistent with LAFCo policy. |