Planning Department
Sphere of Influence Amendment and Master Planning
Project History
This page describes the Sphere of influence Amendment process up to the submittal of the application to LAFCo on May 21, 2008. An archive of documents relating to the south area master planning is also provided.
- Project Background
- Urban Study Areas
- City Council Direction in 2007
- February 2008 City Council Direction
- Clarification on Boundaries
Project Background |
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The Elk Grove General Plan identifies two areas designated as Urban Study Areas that are envisioned as areas in which urbanization, to some extent, could occur (see map below). The General Plan does not identify a formal land plan for these areas but lays out policies to guide the study of future development in cooperation with the public and other agencies and parties.
Urban Study Areas |
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The following map illustrates the Urban Study Areas as identified in the General Plan.
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City Council Direction in 2007 |
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Over the course of 2007, the City Council directed staff to begin the process of comprehensively planning the Urban Study Areas as outlined in the General Plan. Part of this direction included:
- An intensive public participation plan that would involve residents, property owners, and other stakeholders in the process
- Updating the City’s Sphere of Influence (SOI) to include the entire Urban Study Area.
- Completing a expansive master planning process that would cover both urbanized and un-urbanized areas of the Study Area
In June 2007, the Council identified a more refined Urban Study Area as described in the figure below. Further, the Council identified a limit of ultimate urban development within the Urban Study Area (blue area in the figure).
Click here for a PDF of the map
February 27, 2008 City Council Action |
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On February 27, 2008, the City Council formally directed staff to submit an application to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) to amend the City's Sphere of Influence. As part of the direction, the Council amended the boundaries of the application with respect to its previously defined map (see above) to include those areas generally described as:
- Between Interstate 5 and Highway 99 north of Eschinger Road to the existing City boundary; and
- East of Highway 99 to just past Freeman Road north of the Cosumnes River.
The specific area of the proposed Sphere of Influence amendment selected by the Council at that time is shown in the following map:
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The intent of the Sphere of Influence amendment is to provide a planning area for future study of both urban growth and preservation of agricultural and open space south of the current City limits. Amending the City's Sphere of Influence is the beginning of a comprehensive and lengthy planning process to establish a vision for the future of the area. Changing the Sphere of Influence does not change the jurisdiction of the area - Sacramento County will remain the land use agency.
On January 23, 2008, the City Council heard testimony from property owners, stakeholders, and other agencies in regards to the Sphere of Influence amendment and directed staff to return with a resolution for application to LAFCo. On February 27, 2008, the City Council adopted a resolution directing staff to submit a Sphere of Influence Amendment application and requesting LAFCo to process the application.
The next steps in this process would involve analysis and consideration of the Sphere of Influence amendment by LAFCo After the approval of the Sphere of Influence amendment, the Master Planning process would begin and include an intensive public participation process.
Clarification on Boundaries of Sphere of Influence Amendment |
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On March 27, 2008, the City of Elk Grove sent a letter to Peter Brundage, Executive Director of Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission, regarding the extent of Elk Grove's pending application to amend its Sphere of Influence (SOI). The purpose of the letter was to clarify that is was not Elk Grove's intent to expand the City’s SOI south of the Cosumnes River. A copy of the letter is available by clicking here.
In defining the SOI area, the City was guided by LAFCo policies and a request by Sacramento County, which both called for a boundary based on parcel lines in order to avoid a situation where parcels would be split by the proposed SOI into two jurisdictions. As a result, a portion of the proposed SOI boundary was effectively placed on the south side of the river.
A provision in LAFCo policy was later identified that would allow for exceptions from the parcel boundary policy when the exceptions are necessary due to unique circumstances. In the letter to Director Brundage, the City requested the use of this provision, since the parcels are already split by the river. This request was accepted by LAFCo staff and the City amended the proposed Sphere of Influence amendment area accordingly.
The application was submitted to LAFCo on May 21, 2008 and is available on this website by clicking here.
The following map illustrates the revised SOI area (Note: This map was also updated to reflect Elk Grove's annexation of the Franklin Crossing area. Annexation of Franklin Crossing, a new development in the East Franklin Specific Plan area, was a separate process from the Sphere of Influence project.)
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Last updated: 10/20/09 11:12 AM
