Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-03-10; City Council; 6532; Proposed Annexation PolicyCITY OF CARLSBAD -- INITIAL AGENDA BILL NO: mHD. IL.& CTY. ATTY. vf?& MARCH 10, 1981 -- DATE : DEPARTMENT : PLANNING II-- SUBJECT : PROPOSED ANNEXATION POLICY FOR THE CITY OF CARLSBAD - STATEKENT OF THEMATTER: The resolution of the property tax split with San Diego County brings the matter of updating the Annexation Policy to the City Council. following issues to assist the City Council in adopting a city policy: The staff has identified the 1. Should any of the county area within the Coastal Zone be encouraged to annex at this time? 2. 3. Should agricultural properties be encouraged to annex at this time? What should the role of the City be in participating in annexation? The staff has concluded (see Exhibit'A) that no coastal properties should be encouraged to annex at this time. encouraged to annex. of contiguous county lands in the northeast quadrant of the city. All county properties outside the coastal zone should be The city should take an active role in processing the annexation FISCAL IMPACT The city would absorb an unknown amount of the processing costs for the northeast quadrant of the city including the anticipated cost of a consultant (estimate $7,000 to $10,000) to assist staff in dealing with WCO (Local Agency Formation, Commission) and the costs of administrating an Environmental Impact Report (estimate $40,000 if city pays entire cost). The increased property taxes resulting from the additional property taxes would offset these costs. applications for development would be conditioned for full public improvements and the payment of a public facilities fee. Further ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This action is exempt from environmental review. ATTACHMENTS 1. 2. 3. Exhibit A dated February 19, 1981 Exhibit B, Coastal Zone County Island Map Exhibit C, Selected Large Ownerships RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends the City Council adopt the following policy: The city does not encourage the annexation of properties within the Coastal Zone at this time. The city encourages the annexation of properties outside the Coastal Zone. The city of Carlsbad will actively pursue the coordination of the annexation in one unit of all contiguous county land in the northeast quadrant of the city. AGENDA BILL NO. 6532 Page 2 CouncilAction: 3-10-81 Council directed staff to send a letter of inquiry to all property owners of land in unincorporated areas in the City's Sphere of Influence regarding their possible desire to annex. Council agreed that all expenses of annexation be borne by the property owners and that annexation be considered on a City-wide basis. MEMORANDUM % DATE : February 19, 1.981 TO : Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council FROM : Frank Aleshire, City Manager RE: PROPOSED ANNEXATION POLICY BACKGROUND The city of Carlsbad and the county of San Diego have reached an agreement on property tax exchange. The Council has re- quested staff to research and propose what would be the best annexation policy for the city to adopt. The staff at a recent City Council workshop briefly presented alternative policies on annexation as follows: 1. Encourage to annex all property within the sphere of influence as rapidly as possible, encouraging owners to make application. 2. The city of Carlsbad initiate proceedings to incorporate all lands in'the sphere of influence. 3. Encourage to annex all property outside the Coastal Zone. 4. Encourage to annex all property not containing agriculture uses. We can develop many variations of the above alternative policies but the key to developing a city policy evolves around the following points: a. Should any of the Coastal Zone properties be encouraged to annex at this time. b. Should agricultural properties be encouraged to annex at this time. EXHIBIT A c. To what degree should the city participate. COASTAL ZONE This continues to be a frustrating problem for the city to deal with. At this time we are attempting to reach some form of accord with the Coastal Commission. In staff's opinion there is no significant reason to pursue the annexation issue at this time in the Coastal Zone. After the many coastal issues are resolved we should reconsider this position. AGRICULTURAL POLICY Many of the unincorporated areas contain agricultural uses. IiAE'CO has indicated that before major agricultural properties can be annexed the city should adopt an agricultural policy. We have currently adopted an interim agricultural policy and are formulating a more permanent one. It is reasonably clear that agricultural lands abutting or surrounded by urban development may be approved while remote agricultural lands will be viewed less enthusiastically. CITY INVOLVEMENT The city can initiate annexations or wait for applications to be filed. If city initiates an annexation it must pay the full cost of processing, environmental impact reports and additional staff involvement. The current method of waiting for an application requires a longer time to annex all the unincorporated lands but would require less fiscal and staff resources. In analyzing the above points, staff has concluded that we cannot recommend to the Council that the city initiate or actively encourage any land within the Coastal Zone to annex to the city, with the exception of Macario Park, when we own the land and have a completed park plan and Environmental Impact Report. Individual applications can be accepted and processed but not encouraged in all other areas of the Coastal Zone. In addition, the county islands in the northeast quadrant of the city currently are experiencing active interest of developers. Calavera Hills is commencing development which, along with the development proposed in the county areas, creates a need to effectively coordinate the utility and circulation system in the northeast quadrant of the community. It is our recommendation that the city take the lead in annexation of all the county land in the northeast quadrant. -2- We would approach the proposed developers to contribute toward a Master Environmental Impact Report on a per acre basis and waive the filing fee. Estimated Environmental Impact Report $40,000. The other major land holdings in the county outside the Coastal Zone are the Bressi property on the southeast corner of Palomar Airport Road and El Camino Real and the Signal Landmark property south of Palomar Airport. We recommend the city not pursue initiation of these properties but encourage them to annex at their discretion. JCH : ar -3- A ? .. -. A , -UHICORPORATED .LAND * . + COASTAL ZONE COUNTY ISLAND MA'&) 2. Virginia Robertson and Elsie Kelly 3, Alan Kelly and Katherine Kelly 4, Dan Bowler . 5, Maxy Bressi a *. .