Notice of Public Hearing

Protest Hearing Date: Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Time: at or after 2:00 p.m.
Location: Sonoma County Administration Building, 575 Administration Drive, Room 102A, Santa Rosa, California

Notice is hereby given that the Sonoma Local Agency Formation Commission will hold a public hearing on the following:

File No. 13-03: Amendment No. 1 to the Sphere of Influence of the Sotoyome-Santa Rosa Resource Conservation District and Sotoyome-Santa Rosa Resource Conservation District Reorganization No. 2013-01 Consisting of Dissolution of the Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District and Annexation of Its Territory and Specified Island Areas Surrounded by the Sotoyome-Santa Rosa Resource Conservation District to the Sotoyome-Santa Rosa Resource Conservation District

By resolution, the boards of directors of the Sotoyome-Santa Rosa Resource Conservation District and the Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District initiated the application for reorganization consisting of dissolution of the Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District and annexation of its territory to the Sotoyome-Santa Resource Conservation District. The Commission amended the proposal to include annexation to the Sotoyome-Santa Rosa Resource Conservation District of specified island areas which are surrounded by the Sotoyome-Santa Resource Conservation District. The short-form designation for the proposal is Sonoma Resource Conservation District Reorganization No. 2013-01 (Sotoyome-Santa Rosa and Southern Sonoma County RCDs).

The affected territory encompasses approximately 919,000 acres in Sonoma County, extending from the northern to the southern County boundary, excluding an approximately 215-square mile area in the western portion of the County. The island areas surrounded by the boundaries of the Sotoyome-Santa Rosa Resource Conservation District include the following Tax Rate Areas: TRAs 001-000 and -011 in the City of Cloverdale, generally located north of Healdsburg Ave/South Street, east of Franklin St and Hillside St, south of North Street and west of Hwy 101; TRAs 002-001 and -016 in the City of Healdsburg, generally located north of Healdsburg Ave, east of Hwy 101, south of Powell Ave and west of Hidden Acres; TRAs 004-001, -007, -023, -025, -051, -053, -055, -056, -057, -188, -214, -247, -296, -297, -299, and -300 in the City of Santa Rosa, generally located west of Farmers Lane, south of Pacific Ave, east of Dutton Ave and Briggs Ave and north of Hwy 12; TRA 065-003 generally located on River Road south of Asti and including APNs 117-100-001, -002, -003, -004 and 117-090-002; TRA 087-009 generally located south of Geyserville and including APNs 140-030-010 and 140-050-007; TRA 097-010 generally located south of the City of Healdsburg on Grant Ave and including APNs 086-020-007, -009, -010 and 086-040-009; TRA 065-006 generally located south and west of Lake Sonoma on the northern side of Stewarts Point Skaggs Springs Road; TRA 087-006 generally located south of Rockpile and Kelly Roads, north of Wickersham Road and west of Lake Sonoma; TRAs 179-020 and 179-021 generally located south of the City of Healdsburg and including APNs 066-321-012, -013, 066-310-022, -024 and 110-090-006. A map is available at the Commission office.

The Commission approved the amended proposal on June 5, 2013, by Resolution No 2626. A full and complete description of the proposal and the terms and conditions of the Commission’s approval are set forth in the resolution. The reason for the proposal is to provide more consistent and efficient resource conservation services and to correct historical errors and inconsistencies, to allow the district to continue to provide services and collect property tax revenues.

Any owner of land within the affected territory or any registered voter residing within the affected territory may file a written protest against the proposal with the Executive Officer of the Commission at any time prior to the conclusion of the public hearing described in this notice. Any owner of land or any registered voter residing within the affected territory who has filed a written protest may withdraw that protest at any time prior to the conclusion of the hearing described in this notice. Each written protest shall state whether it is made by a landowner or registered voter and the name and address of the owner of the land affected and the street address or other description sufficient to identify the location of the land or the name and address of the registered voter as it appears on the affidavit of registration. Protests may be made on behalf of an owner of land by an agent authorized in writing by the owner to act as agent with respect to that land. Protests may be made on behalf of a private corporation that is an owner of land by any officer or employee of the corporation without written authorization by the corporation to act as agent in making the protest. Each written protest shall show the date that each signature was affixed to the protest. All signatures without a date or bearing a date prior to the date of publication of this notice shall be disregarded for purposes of ascertaining the value of any written protests. Protest forms are available at the Commission office and on the Commission website at www.sonomalafco.org. 

Copies of all related documents are on file and may be reviewed at the Sonoma Local Agency Formation Commission office. If you cannot attend the public hearing described in this notice, you may submit written comments prior to the hearing. Please direct comments, questions, and requests to review documents to the Sonoma Local Agency Formation Commission, 575 Administration Drive, Room 104A, Santa Rosa, CA 95403, (707) 565-2577.

All Interested persons are hereby invited to be present and heard on the matter described in this notice.

If you challenge the actions of the Sonoma Local Agency Formation Commission on the environmental determinations and the proposal in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the Sonoma Local Agency Formation Commission at, or prior to, the hearing.

By: Mark Bramfitt, Executive Officer