In 1963, the California Legislature created the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), an important state agency which regulates when and where cities can expand their borders in the state’s 58 counties.
LAFCOs must consider the effect that any proposal will produce on existing agricultural lands. By guiding development toward vacant urban land, LAFCO assists with the preservation of our valuable agricultural resources while addressing urban infill. In 2016, Stanislaus LAFCO granted Riverbank a 1,479-acre annexation and Sphere of Influence expansion intended to accommodate the city’s growth for the next 20 years.
In 2021, the City of Riverbank requested yet another border expansion. The majority of the newly proposed 1,535-acre Sphere of Influence expansion is to accommodate River Walk, a proposed senior living development with 2,400–2,800 residences. LAFCO raises serious concerns about increased traffic and how it can possibly be mitigated on McHenry, Coffee and Patterson Avenues.
One of LAFCO’s main charges is to protect and promote agriculture. The majority of Riverbank’s proposed 1,535-acre Sphere of Influence expansion area is prime farmland.
Before granting any expansion to its borders, Stanislaus LAFCO is requiring Riverbank to identify a range of alternatives that focus on lands within the Sphere of Influence on non-prime lands. LAFCO cites ample acres in the city’s 2016 expansion, within city limits, to accommodate housing. This is demonstrated in Riverbank’s Housing Element inventory of 6,712 potential housing units.
LAFCO’s Sphere of Influence policy states that boundaries “shall, to the extent possible, maintain a separation between existing communities to protect open space and agricultural lands and the identity of an individual community.” Riverbank’s proposed expansion extends along the Stanislaus River to McHenry Avenue, adjacent to development in the unincorporated Del Rio community area. If the county’s community plan and Riverbank’s proposed expansion were developed to their extents, no separation of communities or agricultural land would remain north of Patterson and Ladd Roads.
— Jeani Ferrari
