Consider Resolution No. 2026-02 approving the Wastewater Treatment Facility Annexation to the Esparto Community Services District and waiving Conducting Authority Proceedings, and find the project is categorically exempt from CEQA (LAFCo No. 26-01)

1. Receive staff presentation and open the Public Hearing for public comments on the item.
2. Close the Public Hearing and consider the information presented in the staff report and during the public hearing.
3. Adopt Resolution 2026-02 approving the Wastewater Treatment Facility Annexation to the Esparto Community Services District (LAFCo No. 26-01) and waiving conducting authority proceedings, determining that the project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per CEQA Guidelines Section 15319(a) (Annexation of Existing Facilities).

None. LAFCo will be reimbursed by the applicant for staff time and fees associated with processing this request in accordance with the adopted fee schedule.

The Esparto Community Services District ("District") owns four parcels within its sphere of influence that contain its wastewater treatment facility. Bringing the parcels within the district boundary would exempt the parcels from property taxes, reducing the District's expenses.

Esparto Community Services District (ECSD) was originally formed on May 12, 1960, as the Esparto Sanitary District. In 1969, it became the ECSD and expanded its services to provide water, wastewater, stormwater and street lighting services. The District also acquired recreation and parks powers in 2016 when the Madison-Esparto Regional County Service Area was dissolved. The town of Esparto is approximately 449 acres in size and is located on Highway 16 between the communities of Madison and Capay. The ECSD provides 1,001 water and 967 sewer connections to households and businesses with four active wells and ten sewer ponds.

The wastewater treatment facility, which includes the ten sewer ponds, covers four parcels with a total area of 83 acres. The parcels lie within the District's sphere of influence just east of the unincorporated community of Esparto. The land is designated and zoned for public and quasi-public uses by Yolo County. Yolo LAFCo recommended in the District's previous Municipal Service Review that it annex the wastewater treatment facility so that the parcels would be exempted from property tax and reduce District expenditures. Per Article XIII, Section 3(b) of the California Constitution, property owned by a “local government” (which includes special districts) is exempt from property taxes within its jurisdiction. This would save the District approximately $3,715 each year.

The annexation is in accordance with California Government Code Section 56668.3 and will be for the interest of the landowners and present and future inhabitants of the District by bringing its facilities within the district boundary to reduce expense. Additionally, the proposal will have no impact on land use, services, population, or any other factors listed for consideration in Government Code Section 56668. The proposal does not extend or duplicate services and no new development or change in land use is proposed. Therefore, the proposed annexation would not impact housing needs, water quality and availability, environmental justice concerns, or agricultural lands, or conflict with any Yolo LAFCo policies for proposals.


Public/Agency Notification and Waiver of Protest Proceedings
A notice was published on April 30, 2026 in the Woodland Democrat. Notices were also mailed to the District, which is the landowner, and each landowner and registered voter within a 300-foot radius of the project area. No objections from any affected or interested agency, landowner, or the public have been received. Pursuant to Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act Section 56662(a), the Commission may waive protest proceedings because the annexation is an uninhabited territory with 100% landowner approval as it is owned by the applicant district.

CEQA
The potential environmental impacts of the proposal have been reviewed by Yolo LAFCo as Lead Agency and a categorical exemption is recommended. The project would annex existing district-owned wastewater ponds and infrastructure into the ECSD. CEQA Guidelines Section 15319(a) (Annexations of Existing Facilities) provides a Class 19 categorical exemption for annexations to a city or special district of existing public or private structures developed to a density allowed by the current zoning of either the gaining or losing governmental agency. The parcels are currently and would remain zoned Public and Quasi-Public (PQP) under Yolo County’s zoning ordinance which permits utilities and services. The parcels are already part of the district’s infrastructure, and no further development is planned.