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LAFCO approves Burenda/Brenda Mesa Water District annexation and matching sphere-of-influence amendment
Summary
The Kern County Local Agency Formation Commission approved annexation of about 372.46 acres into the Burenda/Brenda Mesa Water District and a concurrent sphere-of-influence amendment after staff and the district argued the change would formalize long-standing recharge use and support groundwater management.
The Kern County Local Agency Formation Commission on Feb. 19 approved Burenda/Brenda Mesa Water District Annexation No. 35 (LAFCO file 1842) and a matching sphere-of-influence amendment (file 1841) to bring roughly 372.46 acres used as water-recharge ponds into the district.
The change, which the district said has 100% landowner consent, covers property along the west side of Allen Road south of Stockdale Highway and north of Ming Avenue. Executive Officer Mr. Knox recommended approval subject to the conditions in his report and asked the commission to consider the environmental document the applicant filed; staff handled CEQA via a notice of exemption.
Why it matters: adding the recharge ponds to the district’s boundaries gives the water district formal jurisdiction over a site it already operates for groundwater recharge, which district representatives said will help local groundwater management and allow the district to pursue adjustments to its groundwater sustainability area boundaries under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Knox told the commission the annexed property is zoned agricultural, consistent with applicable plans and LAFCO policies, and that notices required under the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act were provided to affected agencies; no outside agency comments were received. He also noted functional overlap with the City of Bakersfield — both the city and the district provide water services — but said the property is used for storage/recharge rather than municipal retail water service.
Alex Dominguez, appearing on behalf of Brenda Mesa Water District, gave the commission a history of the parcels, saying the district first acquired and developed the recharge project in the 1980s and previously withdrew an annexation attempt because of overlapping boundaries with another water entity. He said boundary changes since then have removed that overlap and that Rosedale‑Rio Bravo Water Storage District submitted a letter of support. Dominguez said bringing the acreage inside the district will allow Brenda Mesa to work with the Department of Water Resources and revise GSA boundaries to support SGMA implementation.
Commissioner Clark asked whether tax revenues for the annexed area will be paid by existing parcel owners or assessed separately; Dominguez replied that because the parcels are inside the City of Bakersfield they are taxed now and the district has been covering the taxes through water rates passed to its landowners and that practice will continue. Commissioner Endicott confirmed the district owns all the parcels in the proposal.
A motion to approve the annexation and the corresponding sphere-of-influence amendment, and to consider the applicant’s environmental document, passed on a roll-call vote with all commissioners voting yes. The record indicates the district requested waiver of a protest hearing and presented 100% landowner consent.
The commission’s action allows Brenda Mesa Water District to pursue the procedural next step with the Department of Water Resources to adjust groundwater sustainability area boundaries as needed for SGMA compliance. The executive officer’s report and the district’s environmental filing are part of the administrative record.
