Summary
The City Council adopted Resolution No. 2025‑45 approving the City of Imperial’s 2025 Service Area Plan (SAP). The plan projects population growth to 2045, identifies service shortfalls for administrative, police, parks and wastewater systems, and records LAFCO’s acceptance and recommendations on fiscal analysis for future annexations.
The City Council voted to adopt Resolution No. 2025‑45, approving the City of Imperial’s 2025 Service Area Plan (SAP), after a presentation by planner Yvonne Cordero. The plan covers a 20‑year planning horizon (through 2045), presents existing capacity and future demand across eight service areas, and lists proposed annexation phases within the city’s sphere of influence.
Key findings presented by Cordero included a population projection that the city could grow from a current population stated as 22,853 to 43,061 by 2045, with a total build‑out population cited at 70,224. The SAP lists specific facility and service shortfalls at the time data were gathered: an administrative space shortfall of 8,754 square feet; a police staffing shortfall of four officers and a facility deficit of 3,322 square feet; and a parks acreage shortfall (current five‑acre deficit with 129.2 acres needed at full build‑out). The plan also noted that the wastewater treatment plant is expected to reach capacity by 2045 and that the water supply is currently adequate but will require upgrades as growth occurs.
Cordero told council that LAFCO conducted an independent review and, at a public meeting on June 26, 2025, accepted the submitted SAP, reaffirmed the existing sphere of influence and found the document exempt from further CEQA review. LAFCO recommended conditioning future annexations on demonstrated service capacity and fiscal sustainability; it also urged public‑facing dashboards and resident satisfaction surveys to improve transparency.
Financial snapshot presented to the council (audit year fiscal 2022–23) included figures provided in the SAP presentation for several funds and liabilities; staff presented those numbers to indicate fiscal capacity and noted the plan recommends use of impact fees, community facilities districts (CFDs), user rates and grants to fund future infrastructure. Council discussion was brief; a motion to adopt Resolution No. 2025‑45 carried by voice vote, recorded as 5‑0.
Taper: The plan establishes a framework for planned annexations and infrastructure financing, and LAFCO’s recommendation that annexations demonstrate fiscal sustainability will be part of future annexation conditions. Council members thanked staff and the planning commission for the condensed presentation of a multi‑hundred‑page report.
