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Santa Barbara LAFCO authorizes state grant for agricultural-land planning, initiates dissolution of inactive service area
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Summary
The commission authorized its executive officer to enter a California Department of Conservation grant agreement for sustainable agricultural-land planning and initiated dissolution proceedings for inactive County Service Area No. 32, with both measures approved unanimously.
The Santa Barbara County Local Agency Formation Commission voted Dec. 11 to authorize its executive officer to enter into a grant agreement and related subagreements with the California Department of Conservation to implement a Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Planning grant for a county agriculture and natural-resource initiative.
Executive Officer Mike Prater said the Department of Conservation awarded the grant on Oct. 8, 2025, and staff revised the work plan and budget to allocate more time and funding to an initial planning and policy task so the mapping, outreach and framework work can be completed thoroughly. "The goal is to have the grant agreement go into effect sometime in January '26, with periodic status updates to be presented as the work progresses," Prater said.
Commissioners asked about core partners; Prater identified city and county staff from Lompoc, Santa Maria, Goleta and Buellton, local nonprofit partners including land trusts and community gardens, and the local Resource Conservation District. Commissioners also asked whether agricultural agencies participated; staff said a broader stakeholder group and public workshops will be engaged as the work proceeds.
Separately, the Commission adopted a resolution to initiate dissolution proceedings for County Service Area (CSA) No. 32, which staff described as inactive since 2011 and listed on the State Controller's office list of qualifying districts for dissolution. Staff said the county CAO concurred with initiating the action and the Commission agreed to docket the formal dissolution for the January meeting.
Both actions—the grant authorization and the initiation of dissolution proceedings—were approved by roll call with unanimous votes among commissioners present. The commission then recessed into closed session for a performance review of the executive officer; counsel later reported there was no reportable action from closed session.
Staff said it will return periodic status updates on the grant and handle the CSA-32 proceedings through the special dissolution process scheduled to continue in January.
