Council forwards tax‑sharing resolution to LAFCO for Spring Trails annexation; vote 5–1

The San Bernardino City Council on July 16 adopted a resolution forwarding a property‑tax exchange to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to begin annexation proceedings for the Spring Trails Specific Plan area and an adjacent 26‑acre island. The council approved the resolution 5–1, with Councilmember Knauss recorded in opposition.

City staff explained the action is a procedural step required by LAFCO and connected to a settlement agreement executed in October 2022. The settlement requires the city to file and “diligently process” annexation applications for the Spring Trails area; LAFCO requested a tax‑sharing resolution be adopted by city council to allow LAFCO to proceed. City staff said the Spring Trails specific plan dates to an earlier environmental review and planning process (final EIR approved in 2013) and the project has been proposed and reworked over many years. The staff report noted the site has environmental and infrastructure constraints, and that the specific plan includes mitigation measures previously identified in the environmental review.

Council members pressed staff on multiple operational points. Councilmember Canas said she lives near the project area and asked why annexation was necessary and what fiscal impacts would arise if the property remains undeveloped; staff explained the annexation application process and that some taxing‑district revenue flows would continue to go to special districts (for example fire services) while other property‑tax allocations would be negotiated in a tax‑sharing agreement. Councilmember Ortiz and others raised concerns about single‑access road points, wildfire and fault line exposure, and the age of the environmental approvals. Staff and LAFCO‑related counsel warned that failing to submit the tax‑sharing resolution by LAFCO’s requested date (Aug. 6) could result in the annexation application failing and could put the city on the wrong side of the settlement agreement.

Public testimony included reminders that Spring Trails has been under consideration for more than a decade and that residents near the “island” parcels opposed involuntary annexation. The council recorded a motion to forward the tax exchange to LAFCO; the motion passed 5–1 (Councilmember Knauss voted no). Staff said LAFCO will schedule a hearing; the annexation itself is not automatic and will be subject to public hearing and any protests at LAFCO.

The council’s resolution does not approve development on the site; it authorizes the administrative step of providing LAFCO the tax‑transfer documentation needed to open an annexation hearing. Any subsequent project approvals would require their own environmental and discretionary review and further council action.