A Step Toward Rational Growth

California has a baffling maze of local public agencies: 58 counties, 473 cities, some 4,800 special districts of varying purpose and 1,000 school districts. All that public structure is overwhelmed by change, and there is no state or regional blueprint for growth.

The state has hesitated to get involved with local planning and zoning, but this year’s Legislature has taken an important step to help bring some logic, order and efficiency to accommodating growth, reordering boundaries and delivering public services.

Assembly Bill 2838, by Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks), provides the first significant reform in 35 years of the process by which local government alters boundaries and authorizes the provision of services such as water, sewers and police and fire protection. The vehicle for this reform is one of the most obscure local agencies of all, the Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO. AB 2838 does not go as far as it should in controlling sprawl, but it is an improvement over the present chaos and deserves the signature of Gov. Gray Davis.

Every county except San Francisco--which is both a city and county--has a LAFCO. The agency must approve the creation of new cities, annexations and, on occasion, efforts to secede from an existing city, as in the case of the San Fernando Valley’s effort to split off from Los Angeles. LAFCOs also determine “spheres of influence” that indicate the future boundaries of cities and special districts and determine which agencies should provide services in those areas.

Hertzberg’s is a long and complex bill, but here are a few of the important reforms: LAFCOs would consider regional growth policies in carrying out their duties and discourage uncontrolled sprawl (the original language mandated certain growth controls). New purposes for LAFCOs include the preservation of open space and agricultural lands and assurances that water is available in new growth areas. To the extent that their fees do not cover costs, LAFCOs would be financed by counties, cities and special districts rather than solely by the cash-strapped counties.

The legislation was developed from the report of the Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century, chaired by former San Diego Mayor Susan Golding. In the absence of effective regional and statewide planning, Hertzberg’s bill provides a step toward more rational growth if the LAFCOs take this opportunity to be more effective. But first Gov. Davis, who has not announced a position on the bill, must sign the legislation. The sooner the better.