• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About

LAFCo: The Developers’ Best Kept Secret

August 7, 2012 By Eric Caine 4 Comments

California Association – Local Agency Formation Commission

Ask a Stanislaus County resident what LAFCo is, and there’s a 99% chance you’ll draw a blank look. That same resident may lament the ongoing loss of local farmland and the  blighted appearance of empty houses and brown yards but never know that there exists a local government agency charged with preserving farmland and preventing sprawl. Unfortunately, that agency has been the developers’ best kept secret.

By the 1950s, the people of California had realized that growth in the Golden State threatened the very resources that made California such a desirable destination. By 1959, the problems posed by urban growth were so severe that Governor Edmund Brown established the Commission on Metropolitan Area Problems to recommend remedies for runaway growth and its negative effects on the environment. The Commission found that growth and jurisdiction problems in California warranted the establishment of “Local Agency Formation Commissions,” or “LAFCo.”

LAFCo became a reality in all 58 California counties in 1963. Today, two of its chief objectives are “To Preserve Agricultural Land Resources” and “To Discourage Urban Sprawl.”

And while all California counties have a LAFCo, the role of LAFCo in each county varies widely. In counties like Napa, Ventura, and Yolo, LAFCo has been a major force for the establishment of firm urban boundaries and the enduring preservation of farmland. In Stanislaus County, LAFCo has been rendered impotent by the Asphalt Empire and lack of media scrutiny.

The biggest impediment to LAFCo’s influence is public ignorance about its existence and mandate, but a close second is the domination of its board by developers and promoters of urban expansion. Typical LAFCo commissioners include two county supervisors, two city council members from cities within the LAFCo county jurisdiction, and a member of the public.  At least since the late 1980s, the Stanislaus County political arena has been dominated by developers who have backed politicians who oppose urban boundaries, oppose mitigation for losses of agricultural land, and oppose adherence to the values encoded in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). These politicians in turn actively seek places as LAFCo Comissioners.

When Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini became a LAFCo Commisioner several years ago, he was stunned at its failure to achieve its mission. He also found there are consequences to being an outspoken advocate of farmland preservation. DeMartini has been smeared on You Tube, sued on the basis that his campaign to preserve farmland represents a conflict of interest (DeMartini is a farmer), and the target of a phony scandal featuring a young woman and celebrity attorney Mark Geragos. He’s even been busted by the Modesto Bee’s Civility Police.

DeMartini is convinced that most of the harassment he’s endured has been instigated by those who oppose urban boundaries and mitigation for agricultural losses. Because he funds his own campaigns and seems uninterested in a political career as his primary occupation, DeMartini has been far harder to discourage than most politicians.

“I don’t need the job,” he says, in response to those who ask whether his forthright candor might jeopardize his political future.

But despite his dogged determination and a work ethic that keeps him on the job long past the time when most would have given up, DeMartini hasn’t been able to achieve any measure of success in getting LAFCo to fulfill its state-mandated mission.

“They haven’t done anything,” says DeMartini in frustration as he lists example after example of cases when LAFCo should have intervened to halt sprawl and protect farmland.

Recently, environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Audubon Society have taken a greater interest in farmland preservation, and DeMartini welcomes their presence. “I need all the help I can get,” he says often.

Nonetheless, without greater public awareness of LAFCo’s failures, it’s very likely to remain not only the developers’ best kept secret, but one of the Asphalt Empire’s greatest allies.

Next: Your tax dollars at work—for the Asphalt Empire

 

 

Filed Under: Featured, Politics Tagged With: Jim DeMartini, Stanislaus County LAFCO

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Roland L. Enz says

    August 7, 2012 at 10:10 pm

    How can we get the one lone civilian on the board? When we were dealing with the 108 by-pass we were able to get a spot at the table. It doesn’t have much weight but it brings the people out to the meetings.

    Reply
  2. Michael Jurkovic says

    August 8, 2012 at 6:03 pm

    How can I get involved? This is very important to me, as ir should be to all Californians. I just heard about this and want to help the cause.

    Reply
  3. Athens Abell says

    August 11, 2012 at 2:16 am

    Thank you for keeping on top of local entities, and reporting on their dealings. Without people like you Eric, we’d be in the dark. I look forward to your next article, The Asphalt Empire!

    Reply
    • Eric Caine says

      August 11, 2012 at 2:21 am

      Thank you Athens. You are doing a great job via different media. I think people will be shocked to see how the mission of LAFCo has been perverted.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

White House plan to fight antisemitism takes on centuries of hatred in America
White House plan to fight antisemitism takes on centuries of hatred in America
Recommended steps include raising awareness of antisemitism now and in the past, expanding knowledge of Jewish heritage in the US
www.timesofisrael.com
Oath Keepers leader Rhodes sentenced to 18 years for Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy
Oath Keepers leader Rhodes sentenced to 18 years for Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes faces a prison sentence up to 25 years in the first punishments for seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
www.washingtonpost.com
Opinion | America?s Poverty Is Built by Design
Opinion | America’s Poverty Is Built by Design
How did the U.S. become a land of economic extremes with the rich getting richer while the working poor grind it out? Deliberately.
www.politico.com
Republican Jewish Coalition Blasts Gosar Over Staffer's Ties To White Supremacist: Fuentes Has 'No Place' In Congress
Republican Jewish Coalition Blasts Gosar Over Staffer’s Ties To White Supremacist: Fuentes Has ‘No Place’ In Congress
The Republican Jewish Coalition slammed Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) following a  TPM…
talkingpointsmemo.com
Newsom restores floodplain funds, adds $290 million to flood control budget
Newsom restores floodplain funds, adds $290 million to flood control budget
After widespread, bipartisan criticism, the governor revised his budget to include $40 million to restore San Joaquin Valley floodplains.
calmatters.org
New Study Finds a High Minimum Wages Creates Jobs
New Study Finds a High Minimum Wages Creates Jobs
Conventional wisdom had long suggested the opposite.
nymag.com
Spiraling in San Francisco?s Doom Loop
Spiraling in San Francisco’s Doom Loop
What it’s like to live in a city that no longer believes its problems can be fixed.
www.curbed.com
San Diego to open homeless camp sites at two parking lots near Balboa Park
San Diego to open homeless camp sites at two parking lots near Balboa Park
The two lots could accommodate about 500 tents and would be an alternative to congregate shelters
www.sandiegouniontribune.com
K-12 enrollment: Does the increase in homeless students indicate a worsening trend?
K-12 enrollment: Does the increase in homeless students indicate a worsening trend?
California’s overall K-12 enrollment declined, but a lack of affordable housing may be fueling an increase in homeless students.
calmatters.org
Sugar Justice: The Clarence Thomas Story
Sugar Justice: The Clarence Thomas Story
Did you see the latest Clarence Thomas bombshell? To head off any…
talkingpointsmemo.com
California's colossal snowpack has yet to melt: 'Less and less places for that water to go'
California’s colossal snowpack has yet to melt: ‘Less and less places for that water to go’
Only about 12 inches of Caliornia’s snow water equivalent melted in April, leaving most of the Sierra Nevada snowpack poised to flow down downhill.
www.latimes.com
The fastest-growing homeless population? Seniors
The fastest-growing homeless population? Seniors
Included in the increasing number of homeless seniors are those experiencing homelessness for the first time after age 50.
calmatters.org

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design