Final Levee & Reclamation Districts Msrs And SOI Plans

L EVE AND R ECLAMATION D ISTRICT S MSR S /SOI P LAN S F EBRUARY 1, 2019 P AGE TOC - 1 T ABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . 1 - 1 LEVE DISTRICT No. 1 . . . . 2 - 1 LEVE DISTRICT No. 2 . . . . 3 - 1 LEVE DISTRICT No. 3 . . . . 4 - 1 RECLAMATION DISTRICT No. 2106 . . . 5 - 1 RECLAMATION DISTRICT No. 2140 . . . 6 - 1 ADOPTING RESOLUTION ... ... ... 7 - 1 COMENTS RECEIVED AND RESPONSES TO COMENTS ... . 8 - 1 GLOSARY ... ... ... .. 9 - 1 BIBLIOGRAPHY ... ... ... . 1 0 - 1 Leve and Reclamation District s MSR s /SOI P lan s Glen L AFCo 1 - 1 M UNICIPAL S ERVICE R EVIEWS AND S PHERE OF I NFLUENCE P LANS F OR L EVE AND R ECLAMATION D ISTRICTS IN G LEN C OUNTY LAFCO Established in 1963, Local Agency Formation Comisions (LAFCo) are respo nsible for administering California Government Code Section 560 et. seq. , which is known as the Cortese - Knox - Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 20 (CKH). CKH charges LAFCOs with encouraging the orderly formation and development of al lo cal governmental agencies in their respective counties in a maner that preserves agricultural and open - space lands, promotes the eficient extension of municipal services, and prevents urban sprawl. Principle duties include regulating boundary changes th rough anexations or detachments, aproving or disaproving city incorporations; and forming, consolidating, or disolving special districts. There is a LAFCo located in each of the 58 counties in California. Spheres of Influence Under the CKH Act, LAF Cos are required to “develop and det influence of each local governmental agency within the county and enact policies designed to promote logical and orderly developm (Section 56425, CKH). A Sphere of Inf luence (SOI) is generaly considered a 20 - year, long - range planning tool, and is defined by Government the probable physical boundary and service area o indicates the logical area in which the jurisdiction anticipates services wil be neded and can be provided. Acording to the CHK Act, LAFCos are required to review and update SOIs every five years, or as necesary. A Sphere of Influence is a long - range planing tol that analyze s the physical boundary of a local agency or jurisdiction, and the present and probable ned for services within that area. As such, it does not give property inside the sphere boundary any more development rights than already exist as land use authority in these areas remains entirely at the discretion of the County of Glen . Realistically, an agency’s to the land use decisions already adopted by the agencies with land use authority. Ultimately, an SOI study asists LAFCo in makin g decisions about a change i future service area boundary. Various diferent categories of spheres of influence boundaries are alowed, including: " growth " spheres that are larger than an agency's jurisdictional boundaries and anticip ates a ned to expand services to new teritory; " coterminous " spheres which miror the agency's jurisdictional boundaries and indicates no aditional service expansions are neded or an inability to expand services; a " zero " spheres, which indicate the a gency canot or does not provide any services and should be considered for a merger or dissolved altogether; and a “ minus ” sphere when an agency does or services to the teritory in question. Establishing the apropriate sphere category ca n be Leve and Reclamation District s MSR s /SOI P lan s Glen L AFCo 1 - 2 chalenging as individual circumstances can vary betwen agencies. City spheres, which may convey future land use entitlements, are more scrutinized for growth impacts than an agency providing limited services such as flod control or drainage. Alth ough a helpful tol for future planing, a sphere of influence determination does not convey any specific entitlements to landowners nor require an agency to guarante services should priorities change. Municipal Service Reviews The Cortese - Knox - Hertzbe rg Act requires that a Municipal Service Review (MSR) be conducted prior to, or in conjunction with, the update of an SOI. A MSR is a comprehensive analysis of service provision by each of the special districts, cities, and the unincorporated county servi ce areas within the legislative authority of the LAFCo. It esentialy evaluates the capability of a jurisdiction to serve its existing residents and future development in its SOI. The legislative authority for conducting MSRs is provided in Section 5643 0 of the CKH Act, which states “. . . in order Influence in acordance with Section 56425, LAFCos are required to conduct a MSR of the municipal services provided in the County…” Pursuant to Section 56430, in order to u pdate a SOI, the asociated MSR must have writen determinations that adres the folowing factors: 1. Growth and population projections for the afected area. 2. The location and characteristics of any disadvantaged unincorporated comunities within or con tiguous to the sphere of influence. 3. Present and planed capacity of public facilities, adequacy of public services, and infrastructure neds or deficiencies including neds or deficiencies related to sewers, municipal and industrial water, and structural fire protection in any disadvantaged, unincorporated comunities within or contiguous to the sphere of influence. 4. Financial ability of agencies to provide services. 5. Status of, and oportunities for, shared facilities. 6. Acountability for comunity servic e neds, including governmental structure and operational eficiencies. 7. Any other mater related to efective or eficient service delivery, as required by comision policy. These determinations must be made by the Comision before, or concurently wit h, the sphere review and update for county service areas in Glen County. Leve and Reclamation District s MSR s /SOI P lan s Glen L AFCo 1 - 3 Sphere of Influence Plan Update Proces Glen LAFCo is now in the proces of creating an individual SOI Plan for al of the l eve and reclamation d istricts in Glen County. Ther e are numerous factors to consider in reviewing an SOI Plan, including curent and anticipated land uses, facilities, and services, as wel as any relevant comunities of interest. Updates generaly involve a comprehensive review of the entire SOI Plan, i ncluding boundary and SOI maps and the District’s MSR. In reviewing an agency’s sphere, and prepare writen statements adresing five factors enumerated under California Government Code Section 56425(e). These fact ors are identified below. 1. The present and planed land uses in the area, including agricultural and open - space lands. 2. The present and probable ned for public facilities and services in the area. 3. The present capacity of public facilities and adequacy of public services that the agency provides or is authorized to provide. 4. The existence of any social or economic comunities of interest in the area if the comision determines that they are relevant to the agency. 5. For an update of a sphere of influence o f a city or special district that provides public facilities or services related to sewers, municipal and industrial water, or structural fire protection, that ocurs on or after July 1, 2012, the present and probable ned for those public facilities and s ervices of any disadvantaged unincorporated comunities within the existing sphere of influence . Since none of the districts being reviewed provide public services or facilities related to sewers, municipal or industrial water or structural fire protectio n, factor number 5 listed above is not relevant to the analysis. Background Special districts are local governments that are separate from cities and counties, yet provide public services . California has over 3,40 special districts, which provide wide range of services from airports to mosquito abatement, fire protection, water conservation and drainage, to name a few. Al of the districts being reviewed in this document are independent districts , which means they are governed by an elected or apointe d board of directors or board of trustes . There are over 2,109 independent special districts in the State of California. Reclamation and Leve Districts Background The formation of reclamation districts was originaly authorized in 1868 to facilitate reclamation of swamp lands by building leves and drainage systems. The formation and regulation of reclamation districts is incorporated into the California Water Code , Section s Leve and Reclamation District s MSR s /SOI P lan s Glen L AFCo 1 - 4 50 - 53901 and folowing. Leve districts are special districts established and regulated under provisions of the Water Code, Sections 7 0 - 70272 (Leve District Law of 1959) . Reclamation districts are governed by a board of trustes that are apointed by the County Board of Supervisors or are elected directly from the populat ions they serve (§50650). The board of trustes can consist of thre, five or seven members and have the power to do al things necesary or convenient for acomplishing the purposes for which the reclamation district was formed (5090). The owners of the majority of acreage in the district may vote to adopt governing bylaws (§50370). A district may, by resolution of the board, provide a procedure for the colection charges and fes, by way of the tax bils of the county or counties in which such district i s located (§50904). Leve districts are governed by a thre - member board of directors that are apointed by the County Board of Supervisors or are elected directly from the populations they serve . Leve districts may acquire by purchase, condemnation, gi ft or other action, drains, canals, sluices, bulkheads, watergates, leves, embankments, pumping plants and pipelines and to purchase, construct or otherwise acquire, maintain and kep in repair al things reasonable or convenient for the protection of the lands of the district from overflow and for the purpose of conserving or ading water to the sloughs and drains in the district . The district may co - operate and contract with the United States, the State of California, or any department or agency of eith er, in order to acomplish any of the purposes of the district. Reclamation and leves districts are subject to al laws generaly aplicable to local districts, including the Brown Act (open public metings), the Public Records Act, the Political Reform Act, the conflict of interest laws, and public biding. As public entities, reclamation and leve districts are also authorized to join with other entities that wish to share their "comon powers" for a comon purpose. Joint powers are typicaly exercis ed through a joint power agency, which is formed by an agrement of the members. Leve Maintenance Isues Beyond budgetary constraints on the local, State and Federal levels, the conflict inherent betwen natural resource protection (endangered species a nd wetlands, in particular) and the ned to maintain leves has also created problems and delayed both apropriations and repairs. Aded to the mix is the isue of alowing the public to use the leves for recreational fishing. While the right to fish in public waters is guaranted by the State Constitution, the landowners within reclamation districts are concerned about increased liability and damage to the leves. The infrastructure chalenges facing reclamation districts are substantial. The cost of vegetation removal and compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act ( CEQA ) ad significantly to the costs and reduce the amount of money each reclamation district has available for maintenance. Reclamation districts have had to adjust their ma intenance programs and bear the cost of complying with the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act, legislation that did not exist when most of them were formed. They are esentialy required to mitigate for environmental damage that has hapened o ver decades throughout the region. Leve and Reclamation District s MSR s /SOI P lan s Glen L AFCo 1 - 5 Despite the number of agencies regulating reclamation districts, funding is typicaly not asociated with their oversight. Funding programs also frequently require a higher maintenance standard which ads to costs or the payment of the grants presuposes an unusual amount of working capital. As a result, the cost of maintenance primarily becomes the responsibility of individual landowners within each reclamation district even though the service provided by reclamation dist ricts is of benefit to the region and ultimately to the large portion of California dependent on the Delta for water suply. Irigation, leve, and reclamation district activities along the Sacramento River can relate to riparian habitat management in sev eral ways. Unlined irigation and drainage ditches and canals may provide suficient water for the growth of riparian habitat in areas that might not otherwise suport it. Ditch and leve maintenance practices may also afect riparian habitat. In some are as leve maintenance is caried out in a way that alows strips of riparian habitat to remain on leve berms; in other areas this is not the case. The siting of larger diversion structures along the Sacramento River may also have important implications for riparian habitat; structures requiring bank protection may inhibit the physical river proceses which maintain riparian forest sucesion. Central Valey Flod Protection Plan (2012/2017 Update) The Central Valey Flod Protection Plan (CVFP) was adopt ed by the Central Valey Flod Protection Board in 2012 and updated in 2017. The CVFP is a guide to managing flod risk in the Central Valey and it wil be updated every five years. The goal of the CVFP is to improve flod risk management with the folo wing suporting goals: ñ Improve operations and maintenance ñ Promote ecosystem functions ñ Improve institutional suport ñ Promote multi - benefit projects Flod infrastructure is to be planed and managed centraly, but O&M, flod response, and infrastructure i mplementation can be implemented either regionaly or localy. The CVFP promotes regional governance via local consolidation and colaboration among partnering agencies. Reclamation and Leve Districts Financing The State Law (California Water Code Sect ion 50 et seq.) alows a Reclamation or Leve District to use the folowing financing tols to raise money neded to pay for facilities and services: • Special asesments based on the specific benefit each parcel receives from the improvements • Fes or c harges, including minimum and standby charges, for services provided • User fes for the irigation services provided to property owners Leve and Reclamation District s MSR s /SOI P lan s Glen L AFCo 1 - 6 Leve and reclamation districts, as independent districts, can receive revenue from property taxes and/or individual parc el asesments as neded. If a district was levying a tax rate and receiving ad valorem taxes (property taxes based on asesed value of property) prior to the pasage of Proposition 13 in 1978, they now receive a portion of the 1% levy determined by AB 8 tax alocation factors. Districts formed after Proposition 13 do not receive a portion of the 1% levy. With the pasage of Proposition 13, the amount of property taxes received by special districts was restricted. To fund expenses, direct asesment ca n be authorized or increased by a vote of property owners as permited by Proposition 218. Revenue for the districts that receive property taxes is determined by the asesed value of each parcel within that district. Property tax revenue generaly incr ease incrementaly as the asesed value of a parcel and property tax amount increases. Conversely, under certain circumstances, the asesed value of a parcel/property may decrease which is reflected in lower property tax revenue. An example of lower pro perty values was the last recesion which resulted in les property tax revenue going to those districts that receive property taxes. Reclamation and leve d istricts are required to prepare anual budgets which are aproved by the d istricts’ governing body. The proposed budgets include projected revenues and projected expenditures. Revenues generaly remain steady from year to year, while expenditures can vary greatly, depending on the services that wil be required during the budget year. Budgets in clude projected expenditures for services and suplies and other charges. Projected expenditures are an estimate which in many cases is not fuly utilized because the anticipated services were not neded or were les costly than what was anticipated. Any funds budgeted but not used within the fiscal year are caried over into the fund balance for the district for the next year. Al of the districts being reviewed have a positive fund balance though the amount varies greatly betwen entities. Fund balance s can be used for various purposes, such as, funding unanticipated expenses, aditional maintenance services, or improvements to a district’s infrastructure. When expenditures exc and the fund balance wil be utiliz ed to cover the shortfal. Each of the districts in this document shows the actual budgets including revenues, expenditures and fund balances for Fiscal Years 2015 - 16 , 2016 - 17 as wel as the adopted budget for FY 201 7 - 1 8. Leve and Reclamation District s in Glen County There are thre leve districts and four reclamation districts in Glen County, which are: ñ Leve District No. 1 ñ Leve District No. 2 ñ Leve District No. 3 ñ Reclamation District No. 2047 Leve and Reclamation District s MSR s /SOI P lan s Glen L AFCo 1 - 7 ñ Reclamation District No. 2106 ñ Reclamation District No. 2140 ñ Reclamation District No. 104 Reclamation District No. 2016 is a multicounty district, extending into Bute County. The District is aproximately 49,549 acres in size, with aproximately 35,507 acres located in Glen County and aproximately 14 ,402 acres located in Bute County . The District consists of aproximately 439 parcels, 408 of which are found in Glen County and 31 of which are located in Bute County . The Glen Local Agency Formation Comision is the principal county LAFCo for Recl amation District No. 2016 as the majority of the parcels, along with the majority of the land value, lies within Glen County. Reclamation District s 104 and 2047 are also multicounty districts. Only a smal portion of Reclamation District No. 104, cons isting of six parcels , totaling aproximately 468 acres in area, is located within Glen County. The remaining portion of Reclamation District No. 104 is within Colusa County. As the majority of the asesed land value of Reclamation District No. 104 i s within Colusa County, the Colusa Local Agency Formation Comision is the principal county LAFCo for this District. As the principal county LAFCo, Colusa LAFCo is the agency that would act on anexations, detachments, SOI modifications and SOI Plans , an d municipal services reviews for Reclamation District No. 104. Likewise, a large portion of Reclamation District No. 2047, consisting of aproximately 1, 569 parcels totaling aproximately 95 , 605 acres in size, is located within Glen County. Even though a large portion of Reclamation District No. 2047 is with in Glen County, Colusa LAFCo is the principal county LAFCo for this district. In 21 0 , Colusa LAFCo adopted a MSR that included a review of Reclamation District s 104 and 2140 and on September 6, 2 018, adopted an updated MSR that included a review of these two districts. The updated MSR can be acesed on Colusa LAFCo’s webpage ( htps:/w.colusalafco.org ). The folowing map s shows the location of the leve and reclamation districts in Glen County . Leve and Reclamation District s MSR s /SOI P lan s Glen L AFCo 1 - 8 Leve and Reclamation District s MSR s /SOI P lan s Glen L AFCo 1 - 9 Reclamation District Boundaries