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Title:
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Discussion and Direction to Staff Regarding a Request by the Studio Court Homeowners Association to Annex Property Located at 3780 Lenawee Avenue from the City of Los Angeles to the City of Culver City.
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City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
A3-1
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council (the “Council”) reject a request by the Studio
Court Homeowners Association (the “Association”) to annex its property located at
3780 Lenawee Avenue from the City of Los Angeles to the City of Culver City.
BACKGROUND:
In July 2007, the Council received a request from the President of the Association,
Ms. Cynthia Harris, to annex its property from the City of Los Angeles to the City of
Culver City. The property is comprised of eight townhomes that are depicted in the
attached graphic.
DISCUSSION:
The annexation of property is a complicated and time intensive effort. The
annexation process involves the City of Culver City, the City of Los Angeles, the
County of Los Angeles, and the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO)
which oversees annexations for the County of Los Angeles. The process includes
the following steps:
• The City of Los Angeles considers the property owner’s request for de-
annexation. The process may proceed only if the City of Los Angeles agrees
to the de-annexation.
• The Council adopts a resolution applying for the annexation for submittal to
LAFCO.
Meeting Date:03/10/03 Item Number: A-3
AGENDA ITEM: Consideration of a Request by the Studio Court Homeowners
Association to Annex Property Located at 3780 Lenawee Avenue from the City of
Los Angeles to the City of Culver City.
Contact Person/Dept.: Todd Tipton Phone Number: (310) 253-5783
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Public Notification: Supervisor Yvonne Burke’s Office; LAFCO, City of Los Angeles;
Master Notification List (03/05/08).
Department Approval:
Sol Blumenfeld (02/28/08)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (03/04/08)
Fiscal Impact Review:
Jeff Muir (by N. Kimball)(03/05/08)
City Manager Approval:
Jerry B. Fulwood (03/05/08) City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
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• The Council adopts a pre-zoning ordinance, establishing a zone for the area
being annexed.
• The City of Culver City performs a California Environmental Quality Act
review.
• Parcel Maps and legal descriptions are prepared for submittal to LAFCO as
part of the application submittal process.
• Upon receipt of the above documents, LAFCO determines whether or not the
annexation application is complete.
If LAFCO determines that the application is complete:
• All City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County Agencies are notified (i.e.
public safety, public works, recorder, etc.)
• The Los Angeles County Assessor determines the tax implications for the City
of Culver City and Los Angeles.
• Upon receipt of the tax implications report prepared by the Los Angeles
County Assessor, Los Angeles County negotiates a tax sharing agreement
with the City of Culver City.
• The Council adopts the tax sharing agreement by resolution.
• The City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County adopt a tax transfer
resolution making the tax sharing agreement effective.
• A public hearing with LAFCO is held and the annexation is complete.
Depending on the responsiveness of each agency involved, the process is
anticipated to take between 8-18 months to complete.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
On average, residential properties are a net loss to the City’s General Fund as the
revenue generated from utility and property taxes (the main sources of revenue from
residential units) is typically less than the cost to provide services to those properties
(primarily public safety).
Currently, the City’s annexation fee from the Planning Division is $8,901, subject to
the 4% technology fee, plus any fees associated with the environmental review
process. This covers staffing costs associated with Planning only. The City
Attorney’s Office has estimated that it would not be unreasonable for them to spend
100-200 hours on the legal aspect of the proposed annexation.
If in-house staff were used, the current rate for a Deputy City Attorney in the City’s
adopted fee resolution is $115 per hour. However, considering the current workload
of the City Attorney’s office, outside counsel may be needed. If outside counsel City of Culver City, California
City Council Agenda Item Report
A3-3
were to be used, the fee would likely be approximately $200-250 per hour. The City
may explore the possibility of recovering these costs from the applicant(s).
Additionally, there may be County, City of Los Angeles, and State Board of
Equalization fees.
Based upon the potential short and long term costs to the City and the current
financial realities facing the City (including deferred maintenance of existing
infrastructure), staff does not recommend the City Council pursue annexation at this
time.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Request for annexation from Mrs. Cynthia Harris dated July 19, 2007.
2. Aerial photo of 3780 Lenawee Avenue.
MOTION:
That the City Council:
Reject a request by the Studio Court Homeowners Association to annex the
property located at 3780 Lenawee Avenue from the City of Los Angeles to the
City of Culver City.