WHAT IS LAFCO?

The Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO for short, is a regulatory agency in every county in California. It was established by the State Legislature in 1963 to oversee logical and timely changes to local government boundaries, discourage urban sprawl, and promote the efficient provision of services like water, sewer, and fire protection. This helps protect agricultural lands while ensuring that services are provided in an orderly and efficient manner. LAFCO operates under the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg (CKH) Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, which is outlined in the Government Code §§ 56000 et seq. The Riverside LAFCO is an independent state-mandated legislative agency separate from county government.

WHAT DOES LAFCO DO?

LAFCO is responsible for the important task of reviewing and approving any changes made to jurisdictional boundaries such as annexations, detachments, and the formation of new cities or special districts. They also oversee consolidations, mergers, and dissolutions of existing districts. LAFCO further reviews and approves service agreements and determines spheres of influence for each city and district. They have the authority to initiate proposals involving district consolidation, dissolution, the establishment of subsidiary districts, mergers, and reorganizations. In 2000, new legislation charged LAFCOs with the responsibility to conduct Municipal Service Reviews (MSRs). These reviews assess the quality and adequacy of governmental services provided to the region or sub-region. LAFCO develops service reviews for each city and special district within the county which can be used by LAFCO, other governmental agencies, and the public to better understand and improve service conditions.

WHAT IS A SPHERE OF INFLUENCE?

A sphere of influence is a planning tool adopted and used by LAFCO to designate the future boundary and service area for a city or special district.

CONTACT LAFCO

For more information or if you have any questions about Riverside LAFCO please contact their offices directly at 951.369.0631.

Coachella South Sphere of Influence

The City of Coachella is initiating discussion with residents, property owners, stakeholders and the Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) regarding 1,207 acres bounded by Harrison Street, Avenue 54 Grapefruit Boulevard, and Airport Boulevard within the existing City of Coachella Sphere of Influence.  The City of Coachella will host community meetings throughout the year to determine feasibility of annexation into the City.

CURRENT STATE & AREA P7

The City of Coachella has engaged in ongoing discussions with residents, property owners, and the 
Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) regarding 231 acres of land known as Area P7. P7 is located between the Cities of Indio and Coachella. These properties are situated to the south of Avenue 50, to the north of Avenue 52, to the east of Jackson Street, and the west of Calhoun Street as illustrated by the map below.

Currently, these properties are unincorporated and fall within the jurisdiction of Riverside County.

This area was formerly in the City of Coachella’s sphere of influence and is part of the City’s current general plan planning area. Although residents in area P7 have always had a City of Coachella postal code, this area is not currently in the City of Coachella Sphere of Influence.

The City approved a General Plan land use for the P7 area for the Coachella General Plan that mirrors Riverside County General Plan land use for the area that was considered by the City of Coachella Planning Commission Wednesday, July 5, 2023 and adopted by the City Council Wednesday, July 26, 2023.  The Estate Rancho General Plan Land Use designation was established for this area for consistency with the County’s Estate Density Residential general plan designation.  An Estate Rancho land use designation allows for a residential density of 1.0-2.2 dwelling units an acre and allows for single-family dwellings, limited agriculture, and animal keeping under the consistent (R-E) Residential Estate zoning district.  Suburban Retail general plan land use designation was applied to the Forest Lawn CV parcel with a maximum Floor Area Ratio of 1.0 and allows a range of local and regional serving retail uses with the consistent General Commercial zoning district.

The City submitted a Sphere of Influence Amendment application to LAFCO for consideration of adding the P7 area to the City of Coachella Sphere of Influence and LAFCO approved the Sphere of Influence Amendment on February 22, 2024. The City is preparing an annexation application for the P7 area and will be holding community outreach meetings with area residents until a decision on the annexation application occurs with LAFCO.

Approved City of Coachella General Plan Land Use Designations for P7 Area

In addition to the proposed land use for the P7 area, the City of Coachella approved General Plan land use for other General Plan planning areas that previously had identified land use in the northern and southern planning areas as follows:

Northern City of Coachella Planning Area approved land use

 

Southern City of Coachella Planning Area approved land use

 

Upcoming Community Meeting

 

 

Past Community Meetings

 

CONTACT
For more information or if you have any questions please contact Gabriel Perez at 760.398.3102 or through email at gperez@coachella.org.