Notice of Public Hearing

Notice is hereby given by the Sonoma Local Agency Formation Commission that the Commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, April 3, 2019, at or after 2:00 p.m., in the Sonoma County Administration Building, 575 Administration Drive, Room 102A, Santa Rosa, California.

The purpose of the hearing is for the Commission to receive any written protests filed against the following proposal:

File No. 2018-14: Roseland Fire Protection District Reorganization No. 18-01 (Roseland FPD) Involving Dissolution of the Roseland Fire Protection District, Annexation of the Portion of the District outside the City of Santa Rosa to the Rincon Valley Fire Protection District, and Allocation of the Assets of the District to the City of Santa Rosa

The board of directors of the Roseland Fire Protection District (Roseland FPD or District) sought reorganization involving dissolution of the District because the District does not have the operational or financial capability to efficiently or effectively serve the territory that remains in the District after territory was annexed to the City of Santa Rosa (City) as part of the 2017 Roseland Area Annexation.

The overall boundary of the District was generally located south of State Highway 12, west of U.S. Highway 101, and north of Hearn Avenue. The two remaining areas in the District outside the City include one area that is west of the City, south of State Highway 12, north of Ludwig Avenue, east of Llano Road, and west of South Wright Road; and a second area that is along Yuba Drive, south of Barndance Lane, north of Ludwig Avenue, and west of Stony Point Road. A map of the reorganization area is available on the Sonoma LAFCO website.

The District supports annexation of the areas outside Santa Rosa to the adjacent Rincon Valley Fire Protection District as an interim step in a larger reorganization involving formation of a single fire district in the central portion of Sonoma County. That district would be called the Sonoma County Fire District, previously erroneously identified as the “Sonoma County Fire Protection District,” and would provide fire protection and emergency services to territory currently in the Windsor, Bennett Valley, and Rincon Valley Fire Protection Districts, and portions of County Service Area No. 40 (Fire Services). The remaining areas of the Roseland FPD would also be included.

Owners of property annexed to the Sonoma County Fire District would be subject to parcel taxes currently in place for the Windsor Fire Protection District. Owners of property within the City would not be subject to similar parcel taxes due to the dissolution of Roseland FPD.

The Commission approved the reorganization on February 6, 2019, by Resolution No. 2698, which sets forth a full and complete description and the terms and conditions of the Commission’s approval. The Commission found the proposal exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, pursuant to Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15320 of the State California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines.

How to File a Protest

Any registered voter or owner of land within the territory proposed to be reorganized may file an official protest. All protests must be made in writing and must be received during the official protest period, which begins as of the date of this notice and ends on April 3, 2019, at the close of the protest hearing.

Protests submitted by a registered voter must be signed, dated, and include the name of the voter and the voter’s residence address. Protests submitted by a landowner must be signed, dated, and include the name of the landowner, the street address of the land owned within the affected territory, and the Assessor’s Parcel Number or other description to identify the location of the land.

If you are both a registered voter and landowner within the affected territory, you may file both types of protests. Protests are counted in the two categories for the purposes of evaluation. It is not necessary to state a reason for filing a protest. Anyone who has filed a protest may withdraw it at any time before the end of the April 3, 2019, hearing. If sufficient protests are filed within the protest period, confirmation of the reorganization may be placed before registered voters through an election, or the reorganization may be terminated.

Protest forms can be accessed on the Sonoma LAFCO website, www.sonomalafco.org, or at the LAFCO office. Use of a protest form is not required, but a protest must meet all of the requirements described in this notice.

Written protests can be mailed to Sonoma LAFCO, 111 Santa Rosa Avenue, Suite 240, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, or delivered in person during business hours Monday through Thursday. Protests can also be submitted at the protest hearing. Protests cannot be accepted by fax or email. Any protest that does not meet the conditions stated in this notice will be considered invalid.

Copies of all related documents are on file and may be reviewed at the office of the Sonoma Local Agency Formation Commission. For questions, call Sonoma LAFCO: (707) 565-2577.

Map of Roseland Fire Protection District(PDF: 539 kB)

More about the Rosland Fire Agency Reorganization

By: Mark Bramfitt, Executive Officer