AGENDA TITLE:
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Public Hearing to Consider a Resolution Authorizing the Filing of an Annexation Request to Annex Approximately 96.1 acres (PL2024-023 A) of Land South of West Vine Street, North of West Kettleman Lane and West of South Lower Sacramento Road(the “Project Area”), Consider Waiving the First Reading and Introducing an Ordinance to pre-zone approximately 9.2 acres to General Commercial (GC), 19.91 acres to Mixed Use Corridor (MCO), 10 acres to Public and Community Facilities (PF), 49.8 acres to Residential Low Density (RLD) and 7.2 acres to Residential Medium Density (RMD) within the Project Area, to Consider a Resolution to detach the Project Area from the Woodbridge Rural Fire Protection District, and to Direct staff to prepare and submit an annexation application to the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) (Applicant: Dobbins Properties, Inc., PL2024-023 A CEQA Determination: Section 15183 - project is consistent with the development intensity established by a General Plan or Zoning for which an environmental impact report (EIR) has been certified) (CD)
MEETING DATE:
October 7, 2026
PREPARED BY:
Matt Diaz, AICP, Acting Planning Manager (Contract Planner), and Cynthia Marsh, Deputy Director/City Planner
recommendation
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Public Hearing to Consider a Resolution authorizing the filing of an annexation request to annex approximately 96.1 acres (PL2024-023 A) of land south of West Vine Street, north of West Kettleman Lane and west of South Lower Sacramento Road (the “Project Area”) as more specifically identified on the map attached as Attachment 1, Consider waiving the first reading and introducing an Ordinance to pre-zone approximately 9.2 acres to General Commercial (GC), 19.91 acres to Mixed Use Corridor (MCO), 10 acres to Public and Community Facilities (PF), 49.8 acres to Residential Low Density (RLD) and 7.2 acres to Residential Medium Density (RMD) within the Project Area, to Consider a Resolution to detach the Project Area from the Woodbridge Rural Fire Protection District, and to Direct staff to prepare and submit an annexation application to the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). Upon City Council approval of the requested actions, staff will prepare and submit the annexation application to the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) for consideration.end
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The applicant proposes an annexation request for 20 properties totaling approximately 96.1 acres into the City of Lodi (the “City”), as well as a Zoning Amendment (pre-zone) for the project area as shown in (Attachment 2 - Annexation Exhibit). The proposed annexation area is bounded by West Kettleman Lane to the south, South Lower Sacramento Road to the east, West Vine Street to the north, and properties within the County of San Joaquin (“County”) to the west (the “Project Area”). The Project Area is adjacent to the City to the north, south and east and includes the following Assessor Parcel Numbers (APNs): 027-050-01, 027-050-02, 027-050-03, 027-050-10, 027-050-11, 027-050-12, 027-050-15, 027-050-16, 027-050-18, 027-050-19, 027-050-20, 027-050-21, 027-050-22, 027-050-24, 027-060-01, 027-060-02, 027-060-03, 027-060-05, 027-060-45, 027-060-46, together with the Taylor Road Right-of-Way West of West Drive.
As part of the Project, the applicant is proposing to pre-zone the Project Area to General Commercial (“GC”), Residential Low Density (“RLD”), Residential Medium Density (“RMD”), Public and Community Facility (“PF”), and Mixed-Use Corridor (“MCO”). The current County zoning designation for the Project Area is Agriculture-Urban Reserve (“AG-20”). The purpose of the AG zone is to retain agriculture in areas planned for future urban development to ensure compact, orderly urban development.
On August 12, 2026, the Lodi Planning Commission heard testimony from city staff, residents, owners, and the applicant on the project's merits. Topics discussed at the meeting included the process and standards used by the San Joaquin County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), potential impacts on the community and development implications from annexation into the City. At the conclusion of the testimony, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 (one vacancy and one absence) to recommend approval of the project to the Lodi City Council.
The written materials presented to the Planning Commission identified the Mixed Use Corridor portion of the Project Area as approximately 19.1 acres in one location and approximately 19.9 acres in another, and identified the total Project Area as approximately 95.3 acres. The correct acreages are approximately 19.91 acres for the Mixed Use Corridor portion and approximately 96.1 acres for the total Project Area, as reflected in the corrected prezone exhibit. These corrections reconcile the acreage figures in the written materials with the prezone exhibit considered by the Planning Commission and clarify why Attachment 2 identifies the total Project Area as approximately 96.1 acres rather than 95.3 acres. These clerical corrections do not change the annexation boundary, proposed zoning boundaries, land use designations, or the Planning Commission’s recommendation.
City Council authorization is required to initiate the formal annexation process with the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). If authorized, City staff will prepare and submit the necessary materials to LAFCO for consideration.
ANALYSIS
General Plan and Growth Consistency
The proposed annexation Project Area has been within the City's Sphere of Influence since 2008 and does not propose a change to the existing General Plan land uses of Commercial, Low Density Residential, Medium Density Residential, Public/Quasi-Public - Parks/Open Space, and Mixed Use Corridor land use designations, which were updated by the City in 2025 as part of changes to the City’s General Plan Land Use Map (Attachment 3 - General Plan Land Use Exhibit).
In addition to land use designation consistency, the Project Area is identified as Phase 1 of the City's Growth Management Plan, representing the highest-priority area for urban expansion during the City's 5- to 10-year planning horizon. The Project Area is the last remaining Phase 1 growth area that is substantially surrounded by the City, with existing City boundaries on three sides, and municipal infrastructure is already located along the perimeter of the Project Area. Public roadways, water, wastewater, and electrical facilities currently serve the adjacent developed areas and can be efficiently extended into the Project Area as development occurs. This is reflected in the City’s 2022 Municipal Services Review, the 2022 Sphere of Influence Update, the 2025 General Plan Amendment and associated General Plan EIR, and the Municipal Code amendments necessary to facilitate orderly urban development.
Future development within the annexation area will continue to require comprehensive master planning consistent with the General Plan. Accordingly, the proposed annexation implements nearly two decades of coordinated planning and is consistent with the City's internal planning horizon, adopted Sphere of Influence, and LAFCO's policies promoting logical, orderly, and efficient urban growth.
Zoning Consistency
Pursuant to the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, cities are required to pre-zone territory proposed for annexation. State law further requires that the proposed pre-zoning be consistent with the adopted General Plan land use designations.
As part of the Project, the applicant is proposing to pre-zone the Project Area to General Commercial (GC), Residential Low Density (RLD), Residential Medium Density (RMD), Public and Community Facilities (PF), and Mixed Use Corridor (MCO) (Attachment 4 - Pre-Zoning Exhibit). The result of the pre-zoning will be zoning districts with intents and boundaries consistent with the Project Area’s General Plan land use designations. The Public and Community Facilities (PF) zoning district is proposed for the approximately 10-acre public facility site to accommodate civic and public service uses needed to support future growth on the City's west side. Consistent with the City's long-term planning for the area, the annexation will be conditioned on the reservation of approximately two (2) acres of the Project Area for the future location of a fire station. Construction and funding of the fire station itself will occur separately and are not conditions of the annexation. The future fire station is anticipated to include a co-located satellite police substation within the same building to improve the efficient delivery of emergency and public safety services to the growing west side of the community.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
The City has determined no further environmental review is required for the proposed Project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15183. For projects that are consistent with the development density, land use, and applicable policies established by an adopted General Plan, community plan, or zoning for which an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been certified generally do not require additional environmental review, except as necessary to examine project-specific significant effects that are peculiar to the project or its site.
In 2025, the City Council certified an Environmental Impact Report (Subsequent EIR) for the City-initiated General Plan Amendment (2024-04 Z GPA), which redesignated approximately 19.91 acres within the Project Area from Office to Mixed Use Corridor and evaluated the associated environmental effects of the remaining residential, commercial, and public uses. The proposed project will not amend these adopted land uses and is consistent with the development expectations of the 2025 EIR update. In addition, the 2010 General Plan identified the project site as Phase 1 of the City's Growth Management Plan, the highest-priority area for urban expansion during the City's 5- to 10-year planning horizon. Future development of the Project Area will occur through comprehensive master planning and subsequent discretionary and ministerial approvals, all of which will be required to comply with applicable City standards, conditions of approval, and mitigation requirements, including the City's agricultural mitigation program.
Therefore, the City has reviewed the proposed Project pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15183 and has determined that there are no project-specific significant effects peculiar to the Project or its site that were not previously analyzed in the certified GP EIR and Amendment EIR, nor have any new significant environmental impacts or substantially more severe impacts been identified. Accordingly, no additional environmental review is required pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15183.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
The following outlines the outreach efforts for the annexation request and some of the results of feedback received.
• 2025- Landowner poll on support for the project.
• March 31, 2026 - Community Meeting on the project.
• August 12, 2026- Planning Commission Hearing with notice to owners.
• September 16, 2026- Neighborhood meeting on the project.
• October 7, 2026- City Council hearing.
• TBD- LAFCO meeting for approval.
In 2025, as part of the landowner poll, at the direction of LAFCO, the City with the help of the applicant, conducted a survey of property owners to gauge support for the annexation prior to initiating formal proceedings. The scope of the poll included all unincorporated properties shown in Attachment 5 - West Side Annexation Survey Results. While the western portion of the project site expressed support for the annexation, the eastern portion of the site indicated in the poll that they did not support annexation. Because of this, LAFCO advised the City to revise the annexation boundaries to exclude the properties that were not interested in the current annexation proposal, resulting in an unincorporated "island" within the City's Sphere of Influence that may be considered for potential annexation in the future.
On March 31, 2026, City staff hosted a community meeting at the Lodi Police Department Community Room to provide information on the proposed annexation area, the annexation process and timeline, applicable General Plan policies, required Municipal Code amendments, and the remaining issues that must be addressed before annexation occurs. During the community meeting, staff presented the current annexation proposal and answered attendees' questions. The community meeting was well attended, with representatives present from nearly all twenty (20) properties in the proposed annexation area, as well as neighboring property owners and other interested members of the public. Questions and discussion focused primarily on the annexation process and anticipated timeline, the purpose and effect of the proposed Municipal Code amendments, infrastructure planning, future development opportunities, and the potential impacts of annexation on existing property owners. Staff also received valuable community input, which has helped inform the ongoing annexation effort.
On August 12, 2026, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing to consider the proposed annexation. Several members of the public provided comments. Topics raised included a perceived easement dispute between private property owners and interest from nearby property owners in potentially being included in future annexations. However, although City staff conducted outreach and formally polled adjacent property owners for their interest in annexation, no additional responses were received. Following the public hearing, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 (one vacancy and one absence) to adopt a resolution recommending the Lodi City Council approve the request and forward the project to LAFCO for processing (Attachment 6 - Planning Commission Approval Resolution).
On September 16, 2026, City staff conducted an additional neighborhood meeting at a property owner’s home to speak with residents and owners about the proposed project. Questions raised involved potential impacts to existing property owners, property taxes, the development process, and anticipated growth within the City.
SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS
The following summarizes the remaining steps before urban development may occur if the annexation is approved by the City Council and LAFCO.
• LAFCO Submittal and Approval. Required per State Law to finalize the annexation and allow the City approval authority over the project site. Following City Council approval, the City will apply to the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) requesting approval of the proposed annexation and associated reorganization.
• Subsequent Entitlement and Permit Review. If LAFCO approves the annexation, the City will have jurisdiction to review and act on future entitlement and building permit applications. Future subdivision maps would require formal approval and public hearings with all future development and application fees paid for by the applicant.
• Cancellation of existing Williamson Act Contracts. As shown in Attachment 7 - Prime Farmland and Williamson Act Contracts within the Project Area, three parcels totaling approximately 40 acres within the Project Area are currently subject to Williamson Act contracts. Historically, the City's Municipal Code has not included procedures for assuming Williamson Act contracts following annexation. To address this issue, the Planning Commission and City Council are considering the Phase 4 Code Amendments, which establish procedures for the City to assume, administer, nonrenew, and cancel Williamson Act contracts within annexation areas in accordance with State law. The contracts will remain in effect following annexation, allowing the property owners to continue receiving the associated property tax benefits. Before urban development of the affected properties, the Williamson Act contracts must be nonrenewed or canceled in accordance with the California Land Conservation Act (Williamson Act) and the City's Municipal Code.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Annexation processing costs are funded by applicant deposits. Future development will be subject to applicable City fees and financing requirements. No immediate General Fund impact is anticipated from the requested actions.
FUNDING AVAILABLE:
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 - Aerial Map
Attachment 2 - Annexation Exhibit
Attachment 3 - General Plan Land Use Map
Attachment 4 - Pre-Zoning Exhibit
Attachment 5- West Side Annexation Survey Results Map
Attachment 6 - Planning Commission Approval Resolution August 12, 2026
Attachment 7 - Prime Farmland and Williamson Act Contracts within the Project Area
Attachment 8 - Resolution Approving the Annexation and Detachment from Woodbridge Rural Fire Protection District
Attachment 9 - Ordinance Approving the Pre-Zoning