Sphere of Influence Amendment and Master Planning
Project History
Submission of the SOI Amendment application to LAFCo is the latest in a long series of events addressing master planning of the area south of the City of Elk Grove. This page explains what has led up to this point. 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
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.
The following map illustrates the Urban Study Areas as identified in the General Plan.
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City Council Direction in 2007
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 has identified a limit of ultimate urban development within the Urban Study Area (blue area in the figure).
February 27, 2008 City Council Action
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 to include those areas generally described as:
- Between Interstate 5 and Highway 99 north of Eschenger 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 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 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.
The Council's action was a follow-up to their meeting on January 23, 2008. During that meeting, the Council heard testimony from property owners, stakeholders, and other agencies and directed staff to return with a resolution for application to LAFCo.
In explaining the relevancy of the project and the reason for pursuing the amendment, Mayor Gary Davis, during the January 23, 2008 Council meeting, said “What we need to do as a community is develop a long-term master plan for the City of Elk Grove.” The Mayor also stated that the project is being undertaken now because when things are slow you can take the time to do them right.
The next steps in this process will involve analysis and consideration of the Sphere of Influence amendment by LAFCo, a county-wide inter-jurisdictional agency responsible for spheres of influence and annexations. After that, the next phase of the project (master planning) will begin and will include an intensive public participation process. During the January 23, 2008 City Council meeting, Council Member Sherman asked that everyone who is interested participate. “Let the City of Elk Grove decide what will go into the property,” she said.
Clarification on Boundaries of Sphere of Influence Amendment
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 that both called for a boundary based on parcel lines so that a situation where parcels would be split by the proposed SOI into two jurisdictions would not occur. In doing so, a portion of the proposed SOI boundary was effectively placed on the south side of the river.
A provision in LAFCo policy has been identified that allows for exceptions from the parcel boundary policy when the exceptions are necessary due to unique circumstances. In the letter to Director Brundage, the City has requested the use of this provision, since the parcels are already split by the river.
The final application will be submitted to LAFCo later in April and will be available on this website.
The following map describes this revised SOI area (Note: This map has also been updated to reflect Elk Grove's recent 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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