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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 07231985 - X.14 P TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: Supervisor Tom Torlakson Contra July 23 , 1985 Costa DATE: County SUBJECT: PROPOSAL FOR PROVIDING POLICE SERVICES TO NEW SUBDIVISIONS IN UNINCORPORATED AREAS SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION BACKGROUND INFORMATION: It has become increasingly clear, as we face the annual severe financial cuts and grapple with the annual "budget crisis, " that we are not able to adequately keep up with the essential service level of Sheriff patrol in the -unincor- porated area. Instead, more and more new subdivisions are approved which create a greater and greater dilution of services in the unincorporated areas. To add to what as become the "expected" annual crisis inadequacies , we now also have before us the "super" crisis of funding a new jail and staffing it which will have overwhelming fiscal impacts on the county and Sheriff ' s budget for at least five years. The Sheriff recently requested we approve close to three quar- ters of a million dollars to begin plans for the new jail. To accomplish this, resources had to be shifted out of the Sheriff ' s Department and many patrol vacancies, as well as other important positions, have been left unfilled. The community desperately needs greater protection. I believe we have an ability to provide this protection through our authority in the land development process to set conditions at the subdivision stage. A policy should be instituted that would require subdivisions in the unincorporated area (perhaps above 20 parcels in size) to be included in a special subdistrict or zone of Police District 6 (P-6 ) and that a level of service be determined for that subdivision. This policy should require the applicant to show that the property is bonded and committed by vote of the property owner( s) into the P-6 District at a certain level of funding to meet the defined service level before the building permits are taken out for construction and the lots are sold. For instance, in the Big Break area, over 1300 homes were proposed for construction. If we defined the area as needing one full-time patrol person, that would amount to approximately $45 , 000 annually or $35 per home. If this was quadrupled to provide nearly 24-hour coverage, the amount would only be close to $138 per year for the new homeowner for the provision of a guaranteed, extra level of protection for their defined subdivision area. This is only $11 . 50 per month. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: x YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) ACTION OF BOARD ON - July 21., 1 9R5 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS i X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT TII ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: County Administrator ATTESTED _�� ' d3 //`c/j_ County Counsel / Community Development .Department J.R. o AND EX COUNTY CLERK X OFFICIO CLERK OF THE BOARD Sheriff-Coroner M3e2/7•e3 B;,<� -ctJ G�t�(la , DEPUTY PROPOSAL FOR PROVIDING POLICE SERVICES TO NEW SUBDIVISINOS UNINCORPORATED AREAS July 23 , 1985 Page TWO The subdivider would not be penalized financially to any great extent by this policy. In complying with the conditions and proposed Board policy, the builder would, in fact, guarantee police protection to future residents at their cost on their annual tax rolls. This will, in my opinion, be a selling point for those homes in that subdivision. Furthermore, I believe the eventual homeowner will not want to eliminate this service but find it such a high advantage that the propertyowner would be willing to continue this service. The exist- ing unincorporated communities would benefit by not having a further dilution of patrol services. I propose that this policy be implemented as quickly as possible and could be discussed as part of the upcoming budget deliberations as part of a solution to the dire needs for greater Sheriff patrol which are not included at all so far in this year ' s proposed budget. I further believe that we should write to all existing subdivi- sions that have not been built yet and propose that even though we do not have the power to mandate such a program, that we strongly encourage at this point those subdivisions that have not been built or sold yet to implement this as soon as possible. I think that we will get a large degree of compliance from subdividers and property- owners who will see this as a benefit. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Refer this proposal to the County Adminis- trator, the Sheriff, County Counsel and Community Development Depart- ment for comment and for details on how such a program could actually be implemented as soon as possible. TT:gro \ofc\polsrv.pei)