In addition, LAFCO must review and approve contractual service agreements, determine the spheres of influence for each city and district, and may initiate proposals involving district consolidation, dissolution, establishment of subsidiary districts, mergers, and reorganizations. In other words, if a city is to grow from its current boundaries- it must go through LAFCO first. The California State Legislature directs the LAFCO to promote orderly growth and development, Discourage urban sprawl while preserving open space and agricultural lands and encouraging efficient service areas for local governments. LAFCO is an independent commission that is not a part of county government. Each Commissioner is independent when weighing and reviewing information and when making determinations.

The Amador County LAFCO has been in transition after having been a somewhat under utilized commission. With the sudden boom in commercial development in the Martell area, as well as many residential projects proposed countywide, local cities have been scrambling to develop spheres of influence that will allow them to provide services to potential developments, as well as maintaining a valuable tax base. The Commission was the subject of a Grand Jury Report in 2005-2006 after concerns were raised regarding the implementation of the state’s laws on the matter here in the county. Amador County’s LAFCO now has a new life and according to its new Executive Director Roseanne Chamberlain it’s a new day for the commission. Over the last few months Chamberlain has reviewed the minutes of all meetings since taking note of changes that were made through a commission vote but were never implemented on new maps. One such example states Chamberlain is the Q Ranch area in the Ione area.

The city was unaware that the ranch had been included in the city’s sphere of influence as part of its approval process when adjustments were made to the ranch years ago. Current maps show the Ranch part in the Ione City Sphere and partly out- but in reality, through chasing down decisions made in the past, Chamberlain was able to resolve that the Q Ranch dilemma id not a dilemma at all, but a done deal. Chamberlain is quick to note that the original LAFCO adoption process was done correctly by then planner Bruce Baracco and this has given the commission a good foundation from which she can build. At this Thursday’s LAFCO meeting the spheres of influence for each city will be formally adopted based on what she has found in all of the documents she has researched. Once approved, the commission will have a solid base from which to operate and respond as more developmental challenges and pressures hit the county. Chamberlain states that this review is critical to establishing development and the efficient use of services for those developments in the future. The LAFCO meeting is this Thursday at 7pm at the County Administration Building in Jackson. For more information contact LAFCO at 418-9377