The following is a press release from the Rossmoor Community Services District
The following is a press release from the Rossmoor Community Services District
After many months, the Rossmoor Community Services District has received an Attorney General Opinion, which states that the District may contract for police services with the OC County Sheriff. Orange County Counsel has opined that the Sheriff cannot withdraw “core” services from an unincorporated area, but rather the District can only contract for “enhanced services.”
The Attorney General Opinion states, “…the county sheriff’s department currently fulfills its core statutory duties within the District’s unincorporated territory, the District maintains that its proposal to exercise latent law enforcement powers will call for a level of dedicated law enforcement presence and services within District boundaries that is significantly greater than—and therefore not “substantially similar” to—the core services currently provided by the county sheriff.”
The essence of the Opinion is that it gives the District the prerogative to ask for latent powers from the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) once County Counsel withdraws its opinion. “This is a milestone”, said District Board President Alfred Coletta, “and we owe a debt of gratitude to Assembly member Jim Silva who requested the opinion on behalf of the District”.
Further negotiations with the County, the Sheriffs Department and LAFCO will need to take place prior to the District’s application for latent powers. Once approval is obtained, the Rossmoor community will be able to enjoy negotiated police services much like any small city in the county.
The second Attorney General Opinion deals with the question of whether a LAFCO can divide a county island into parcels of 150 acres or less, so at to avoid the rights of residents and/or property owners to protest an annexation. This should put to rest the desire of the City of Los Alamitos and Supervisor Moorlach to have the only business district in Rossmoor annexed to Los Alamitos. The only option left would be to attempt to annex all of Rossmoor, which has been repeatedly opposed by the residents of Rossmoor.
Moreover, the Public Records Act Requests recently submitted to the County are intended to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Rossmoor is a donor community to the County. Such a finding would provide ample evidence that there are sufficient resources to support negotiated agreements with the County for the funding of latent powers.
“The pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together,” President Coletta said. “There is now a clear legal path for charting the future autonomy of Rossmoor in accordance with the expressed sentiments of the community.”