15 Desk Item - County Island Annexation ProcessDATE:
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
DECEMBER 5,2005
MEETING DATE:12/5/2005
ITEM NO.15
DESK ITEM
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
DEBRA 1.FIGONE,TOWN MANAGER 1Iitf"'ltirr~~~
PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF REGARDING THE COUNTY ISLAND
ANNEXATION PROCESS
Attached for your information a copy of the Santa Clara County Resolution of Intent which was
inadvertently omitted from report that was previously forwarded.Also attached are two additional
e-mails that were received on this matter.
Attachments:
1.Santa Clara County Resolution of Intent
2.12/4/05 e-mail from Paul and Eleanor Grams
3.12/5/05 e-mail from Mehrdad Mavandad
PREPARED BY:
fJ~&.Sr;)1.u;h.<J
PAMELA S.JACOBS
Assistant Town Manager
PSJ:pg
N:\MGR\AdminWorkFiles\cnclrpts\12-05-05.deskitem#15.wpd
Reviewed by:__Assistant Town Manager __Town Attorney __Clerk Administrator
_~Finance __Community Development Revised:12/5/05 3:12 pm
Reformatted:5/30/02
A RESOLUTION OF THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE
COUNTY OF SANTA CLAR;\IN SUPPORT OF THE FUTeRE,
EVALUATION,CONSIDERATION AND AMENDME::"lT
OF COUNTY ZONING ORDINANCE REGULATIONS
REGARDING RESIDENTIAL DEVELpPMENT STANDARDS
WITHIN THE URBAN UNINCORPORATED ISLANDS
("URBAN POCKETS")
WHEREAS,the Santa Clara County General Plan has long supported and encouraged
the annexation of urban unincorporated lands located within the Urban Service Areas of the
fifteen cities of Santa Clara County,defined in State law as urban unincorporated isl,mds or
"pockets;"and
WHEREAS,the County and Cities have agreed through countywide urban growth
management and urban development policies originating in the 1970's that the annexation of
urban pockets by the cities is in the general public interest and welfare,and that the continued
existence of such urban pockets results in (a)inefficient and illogical political boundaries,(b)
costly,inefficient,and impractical provision of urban services and infrastructure,(c)unnecessary
division of urban communities and neighborhoods,(d)the disenfranchisement of those
unincorporated citizens of the County who are unable to vote for city elected officials and unable
to receove certain city-provided services for benefit of the community,(e)differences in land
development outcomes,and (f)other related inequities;and
WHEREAS,.the State Legislature,in recognition of the significant disadvantages of
retaining urban unincorporated islands,has enacted legislation signed into law which facilitates
annexation of certain urban islands of up to 150 acres which cannot be contested by resident
protest or election,and these "streamlined,"reduced-cost annexation procedures are available to
cities through the end of2006;and .
WHEREAS,the County of Santa Clara:nd the Santa Clara County Local Agency
Formation Commission (LAFCO)have further agreed to facilitate annexation by providing
procedural and financial assistance to cities that successfully complete the annexation of their
qualifying urban pockets within the 2005-2006 time period,including waiving of fees,payment
of mapping costs and other related processing costs,and road surface improvements;and
'WHEREAS,differences in residential development standards between the County's
Zoning Ordinance regulations and those of certain cities have been a hindrance to annexation
efforts in the past,and such differences may continue to inhibit the actions of certain cities to
armex pockets eligible for the streamlined annexations,because such differences may
significantly contribute to residents'desires for their urban islands to remain unincorporated;and
WHEREAS,the cities,County and LAFCO believe the present favorable opportunities
for island annexation are unprecedented and limited in duration due to the aforementioned
circumstances,and that all effective,practical efforts should be made to facilitate actions by the
cities to complete island annexations during this window of opportunity;and
WHEREAS,for those urban islands not eligible for streamlined annexation provisions of
State law,the cities,County,and LAFCO recognize that annexation of these islands may require
Page 1 of2
ATTACHMENT 1
more concerted,strategic planning by those agencies in the near future,but which are not the
immediate priority during the period 2005-2006.
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of the County
of Santa Clara,State of California,as follows:
SECTION 1.The Board of Supervisors strongly encourages the Cities of Santa Clara
County to initiate and complete the alU1exations of urban unincorporated islands located within
cities'Urban Service Areas,consistent with countywide urban development and growth
mana.gement policies,and more particularly,during the period 2005~20()6,to annex those islands
or pockets eligible to be alU1exed under the State's 2005-2006 streamlined anJ1exation laws.
SECTION 2.Consistent with the County General Plan goals and policies for the urban
wlincorporated areas,particularly Policy U-LM 9,the Board of Supervisors supports the
evaluation,cOl1sideration,and amendment of County Zoning Ordinance regulations governing
residential·development standards for Hre·pl$tpose ofeliminating signi fkant di fferertces between
'the standards and development outcomes pdssible under County Zoning regulations and·those of
each city,potentially including,but necessarily limited to,such regulations as floor area
definitiOns and floor area ratios governing house size,building height,story limits,lot coverage,
setbacks from property lines and rights-of-'-ways,and review procedures.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the<BoardofSupervisors of the County bfSanta Clara,
State of California on by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
Liz Kniss,Chair
Board of Supervisors
Signed and certified that a copy of this document
has been delivered by electronic
or other means to the chair,Board of Supervisors:
ATTEST:
Phyllis Perez
Clerk,Board of Supervisors
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
~6~~Cj-:n-05
Lizanne Reynolds
Deputy County Counsel
Attachments:
Exhibit A '-Excerpt from County General Plan
Page 2 of2
1---
I Uninc.
"'--1
Exhibit A to Resolubon of lnt.:nt-
County Pockets Development StJndards
General Land Use Management
Urban Unincorporated Area IsslIes and Policies )
Strategy #2:
Ensure Conformffy of Development
Wrfh CiHes'General Plans
consistent as possible with the policies and
regulations of the city involved and will not
present future problems for either the property
owner,the city,or adjacent residents.
Policies and Implementaflon
Within cities'Urban Service Areas,the County
does not apply any General Plan designation or
classification of prescriptive land uses or densi-
ties to unincorporated parcels.Instead,allow-
able land uses and densities are determined by
the applicable city's general plan.This artange-
ment reflects one aspect of the division of
authority beh'Veen the dties and the County
under the jointly-adopted countywide "urban
development policies."Assuming that all urban
unincorporated areas will eventually be annexed
.by the cities,it is appropriate that the city which
vviU have ultimate jurisdiction over an area have
the ongoing authority to plan for what are
presently unincorporated areas.
The responsibilities of the jurisdictions (County
and city)are fairly straightforward.Por urban
unincorporated lands ineligible for annexation
or for which annexation has been refused or
deferred,the County is obligated to administer
current planning functions,such as permit
processing,zoningadrninistration,and code
enforcement;whereas,each city addresses
through itS general plan the long range planning
issues of land use,density and other issues.
In order to ensure'that development permitted
under County jurisdiction is generally in con~
formance with what would be permitted accord-
ing to each city's general plan,the County
applies zoning districts and development
regulations compatible :with the applicable city's
general plan designation.Give,n the variety and
complexitY of some cities'development regula~
tions,it is.infeasible for the County to attempt to
administer the actual regulations of the cities.
When there are differences between County and
city development regulations of some conse-
quence,such as for setbacks,building height
and bulk restrictions,or other standards,the
County may be able to adjust its standards to
minimize those inconsistencies.In any case,the
County strives to work cooperatively with the
applicant~the city and other interested parties to
ensure that the resulting development is as
R-6
[±]
------------~
U-IM6
County [and use and development regulations
within a city Urban Service Area shall be gener-
ally compatible with the applicable city's
general plan designations and accompanying
policies.
U-IM7
Subdivisions,use pennits and zone changes for
unincorporated property within a dty Urban
Service Area shall conform with the applicable
land use and density criteria of the city's general
'plan.
U-LM8
County zoning,land development,and building
regulations should be designed and adminis-
tered to:
a.preserve and enhance the quality of existing
urban unincorporared areas;and
b.maintain community identity,through
heritage resource preservation,conservation
of historic structures and places,and other·
similar measures.
1---
I Un:nc.L __,
Urbatl U,.,itlcorporated Area Lssues and Polich:.:;
'---..1.-1
General Land Use Management
Exhibit A to Resolution of Intent-
County Pockets Development Standards
,/
.~I,
U-LM9
In cases where significant differences exist
between Cotmtyand city development stan-
dards (i.e,setbacks,height,bulk regulations),
resulting in potentially inappropriate develop·
ment or conflicts,the County should consider
adjustingor modifying its ordinances and
Sla11dards to minimize problems and achieve
greater conformance with city standards.
U-1Ml0
,No applications {or subdivisions,use permits or
zdnec1'Uu1.g~for property wi!h1n any city's
Urban Service Area may be accepted by the
County for processirig unless it is accompanied
by a statement from the applicable citY affirmirig
citY general plan conformance.
Implementation Reeotnmendatlon
U-LM(i)9
Review all present COlmty zoning districts
applied within Urban Service Areas and com-
pare with applicable city general plan designa-
tions..Id~ntify signUicant inconsistencies and if
nee<ioojrezone inappropd~tely zoned areas to
zoning.districts that conform with city general
pI~,.
U-LM(i)10
Worm cities of Coimty general plan conform.-
ance policies so that policies and authority are
fully understood by city staff and officials.
U-IM(i)11
Evaluate County and City development stan-
dards and regulations for possible inconsiSten-
.des of significance and modify County regula-.
fions where necessary to rectify or minimiZe the
.impacts of inconsistencies.{relates to policy 6}
Sfrategy #3:
Provide Services a,s Effic~(!)nf(y and "
Equitably as PossIble
Although Joint County,city,ancl LAVCO policies
promote the annexation of urban JJpockets/,
pai"tly on the basis that urban services are most
efficiently provided by dties(in reality many
developed urban unincorporated areas may not
be anne~ed in the inunediatel)'foreseeable
future.In the interim,the County should ensure
that neceSSary urban.ServicEi~and facilities are
provided as efficiently and cost"'€ffectively as
pos?ible to these areas.Not only does tl1.e
County have a responsibility to Provil:le basic
levels of urban services to urbariunincbrporated
area residents,but by mainminfug and upgrad-
Ing existing ser'Yh:es and facilities,the Cotmty
and the cities faCilitate the ultimate annexation
of these areas.
Nevertheless(it remains difficult for local
governments to pay {or basic urban services,
much less itnpcove upon them,lfllightqf
outcomes of Prop IS.Since the pa$(3age oJ
Proposition 13 in 1978,new funding sources
have become virtually n~m-existent('due to the
2/3 voter approval requirement for new ,taxes
and.reduced growth In property tax revenues
overall.Because it is recognized that cities
should not be expected to provide services
without compensation,the financial burden falls
to the County,Therefore(cooperation among
jurisdictions to explore creative,cost effe<:tive
measures be<:omes the only option to casUy
provision of services in the unincorporated
urban areas.
Page 1 of2
Patsy Garcia -Island Annexations
From:
To:
Date:
Subject:
"paul grams"<pgrams@hotmail.com>
<dmcnutt@losgatosca.gov>,<jpirzynski@losgatosca.gov>,<sglickman@losgatosca.gov>,
<bspector@losgatosca.gov>,<mwasserman@losgatosca.gov>.
12/4/2005 11 :04 PM
Island Annexations
To:Town of Los Gatos Mayor and Town Council
-..~...
We are opposed to annexation.
Inthe last Town annexation attempt our island voted 100%against annexation.All other annexations that were voted
on also failed.A petition showing 100%of voters in our representative island being against annexation has been
submitted.
Conducting annexations by "precluding the possibility of resident protest or elections to contest annexations"and
supporting making us subject to Town building regulations where we are not represented is repulsive to voters.Voters
will remember you if you supported the annexation process,not only in the next election,but also throughout your
political career.
With all the time constraints the Town and County have why spend limited funds and time and effort on something
voters have always overwhelmingly opposed.The County Resolution ofIntent on Urban Pockets that only encourages
annexation passed by only one vote,and our County Supervisor,Donald Gage,voted No.When State Assembly Bill
(AB)1555,which started this new annexation process,was first voted on Jim Cunneen,our State Assembly
Representative at the time also voted No.
Santa Clara County has greatly underestimated the costs of supporting annexation.John Curtis,Los Gatos Parks and
Public Works,estimated the costs to bring the island roads up to Town standards to be about $1,300,000.Pete Kuttas,
Santa Clara County Executive,estimated County cost for all fees,surveys,filings,road work etc.,to be less than
$1,000,000 for all 15 cities.Jane Decker,Santa Clara Deputy County Executive,stated that only $450,000 has been
budgeted for 15-20 centerline miles of.gocket roads needing improvements and with the $100+million County budget
deficit an increase is not even being considered at this time.Jane Decker also stated that the County would bring the
Pavement Condition Index (PCI)to only 70 in the pockets using a cheap thin slurry seal even though the last
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)survey states the average PCI in Santa Clara County is 86.Jane
Decker also stated that any work over this chea];2 level would have to be paid for by Los Gatos.The MTC states a PCI
of70 is "becoming worn to the point where rehabilitation is needed to prevent rapid deterioration."George Garcia,Los
Gatos Public Works staff,stated that standard quality road improvements are generally a minimum PCI of 80-90
"requiring only preventative maintenance"and are generally started in the 90+range.Los Gatos is going to be
burdened with expensive roads for a long time and accepting the County cheap slurry seal is like using cheap paint on a
house you are not selling,.
The island annexation study by John Curtis states that revenues would only be about $210,000 for all 15 islands and.
this will not cover all the costs and "given the Town's limited resources,an impact to service levels may occur."
Although we were not able to get a more detailed analysis of the costs for the Town a detailed representative study by
James Walgren,Community Development Director,City of Los Altos,states that the impact on their City ~enditures
would be twice the expected revenues.As in most Bay area cities property taxes and fees do not even come close to
covering costs.Why should the Town burden itself and new residents with higher costs for something the majority
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Page 2 of2
does not even want?
Some have a concern about the small single-story house next to the new big two-story house.Is it fair to take away
from a home owner what he thought was his.right to build the house of his dreams to Country Codes because the small-
house owner failed to research or ask about or just changed his mind about the building rights of the property next
door?If the proposed two-story house is close to a Town boundary and the majority of existing walls are not
maintained,or according to Santa Clara Ordinance Code Section CI-I0.l "The story height of the remaining walls may
not be changed,"the property would be subject to annexation and all Town rules.Also,we have seen so many owners
of large lots who could not deal with restrictive city codes sell out to developers who have the political,legal,and
connection skills to build even denser two-story housing.
The few that want to be annexed usually can at low cost and effort as others have by meeting the very liberal
requirements of abutting,across the street,or within 300 feet of a city boundary along a road.The fees are low
compared to the building permit costs.The Town of Los Gatos lot fees are cut in half for each successive lot.The first
lot may be $2,600 but the cost by the fifth lot is only $500.Other minor fees are also greatly reduced if done in volume.
Why should the majority of residents who are opposed to annexation pay for the few who want it?
You should work with the residents to find a cost effective solution and not facilitate annexation by "precluding the
possibility of resident protest or elections to contest annexations."Just because the State enacted legislation does not
force the Town to annex islands the majority oppose.
Please do what the vast majority of residents want and do not waste the Town's and our time and effort on this costly:
annexation effort.
Respectfully,
Paul and Eleanor Grams
Santa Clara County Island Resident
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Page 1 of 1
Patsy Garcia
From:
To:
Date:
CC:
<rnmavandad@aol.com>
<dmcnutt@losgatosca.gov>
12/5/2005 2:40 PM
<jpirzynski@losgatosca.gov>,<sglickman@losgatosca.gov>,<bspector@losgatosca.gov>,
<mwasserman@losgatosca.gov>·
Dear Ms.McNutt:
It was a pleasure speaking with you on the phone a little while ago.In follow up to our discussion regarding
the possible plans for the annexation of the parcel of land on Peacock Lane which my property is located on,
according to your advise I'm sending you and your fellow town council members a short note to raise
my objection to any such intent without my consent or vote.Unfortunately I'm not able to attend the Town
Council Meeting scheduled for this evening but would very much like to be kept informed of any possible future
meetings or plans concerning this matter.
Thank you for taking my concern into considertion in any decision that is going to be made on the matter at
hand.
Sincerely yours,
Mehrdad Mavandad
16370 Peacock Lane
Los Gatos,CA 95032
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