Opinion AGO 08-106 (2009).

• Case Date: June 29, 2009
• Court: California

California Attorney General Opinions 2009. Opinion AGO 08-106 (2009). TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL State of California EDMUND G. BROWN JR. Attorney General No. 08-106June 29, 2009EDMUND G. BROWN JR. Attorney General TAYLOR S. CAREY Deputy Attorney GeneralTHE HONORABLE TOM HARMAN, MEMBER OF THE STATE SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question:Where voters are asked to dissolve an existing community services district and, in the same election, to establish a new city encompassing the same territory as the district and providing all services presently provided by the district, may an individual stand for election on the same ballot to both the existing district board of directors and the proposed city council?(fn1) CONCLUSIONS Where voters are asked to dissolve an existing community services district and, in the same election, to establish a new city encompassing the same territory as the district and providing all services presently provided by the district, an individual may stand for election on the same ballot to both the existing district board of directors and the proposed city council, because only one of the two offices could exist after the election. ANALYSIS Community services districts are a species of public agency, created by statute and designed to meet the public's need for facilities and services that "promote the public peace, health, safety, and welfare."(fn2) The Rossmoor Community Services District (District) serves some 10,500 residents in an unincorporated area located within Orange County consisting of approximately 989 acres. In April of 2007, the District applied to the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to incorporate as the City of Rossmoor.(fn3) The essential idea was to change Rossmoor from one kind of public agency into another, initially covering the same area and the same services, but ultimately having different organizational principles and powers.(fn4) Specifically, the application called for the entire area served by the District to be incorporated as the City of Rossmoor; for the new city to take over all administrative services previously provided by the District; and, upon incorporation, for the District to be dissolved, leaving no institutional or jurisdictional overlap between the District and the new city. In May of 2008, LAFCO approved the District's application for incorporation as the City of Rossmoor and the matter was placed on the ballot for voter approval in the November 4, 2008 election,(fn5) at which point it was rejected by the voters. Although the 2008 proposal was not approved by the voters, a similar situation could recur, either in Rossmoor or elsewhere...