RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA CERTIFYING THE FINAL
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE WESTSIDE
ANNEXATION AND NORTH LANCASTER INDUSTRIAL
SPECIFIC PLAN, ADOPTION OF THE FINDINGS AND
STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS AND
MITIGATION MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM;
APPROVAL OF ANNEXATION NO. 24-002 ANNEXING 7,153
ACRES FROM UNINCORPORATED LOS ANGELES COUNTY
INTO THE CITY OF LANCASTER; APPROVAL OF GENERAL
PLAN AMENDMENT NO. 24-002 AND PRE-ZONE NO. 24-001
IN ACCORDANCE WITH EXHIBIT 1; APPROVAL OF
SPECIFIC PLAN NO. 24-002; APPROVAL OF DEVELOPMENT
AGREEMENT NO. 24-001 TO ESTABLISH SPECIFIC
DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS FOR PLANNING AREAS 2, 4, 6, 7
AND 8 OF SPECIFIC PLAN NO. 24-002; AND APPROVAL OF
THE TAX TRANSFER RESOLUTION FOR LANCASTER
REORGANIZATION NO. 2024-08
WHEREAS, the subject property is approximately 7,153 acres generally bound by Avenue B, Avenue G, 30th Street West, and Sierra Highway/Edwards Air Force Base and identified in Exhibit 1; and
WHEREAS, on July 9, 2024, the City of Lancaster City Council authorized the filing of annexation a
pplication for 7,153 acres from unincorporated Los Angeles County to the City of Lancaster;
WHEREAS, the annexation application was filed with the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) of Los Angeles County on August 28, 2024; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 3.c. of City Council Resolution No. 93-07, the City of Lancaster initiated an application for a General Plan Amendment (GPA No. 24-002) to amend the General Plan land use designations for the subject property from the County designations of Rural Land 10 (RL10), Rural Land 20 (RL20), Rural Land 2 (RL2), Public and Semi-Public (P), Residential 5 (H5), Mixed Use – Rural (M-UR) and Light Industrial (IL) to City designations of Non-Urban (NU), Mixed Use (MU), Light Industrial (LI), Public (P), Multi-Residential, 6.6-15.0 dwelling units/acre (MR1), and Specific Plan (SP); and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 17.24.040 of the Lancaster Municipal Code (“LMC”), the City of Lancaster has initiated an application for a Pre-Zone (PZ No. 24-001), and requested that the City of Lancaster Planning Commission (“Planning Commission”) consider pre-zoning the subject pr
operty Rural Residential (RR-2.5), Mixed Use – Employment (MU-E), Light Industrial (LI), Public (P), Mobile Home Park (MHP), and Specific Plan (SP); and Resolution No.
WHEREAS, the City of Lancaster has prepared the North Lancaster Industrial Specific Plan (SP No. 24-002) for an 1,860 acre subset of the annexation area bound by Avenue D, Avenue F-8, 20th Street West, and Sierra Highway in order to implement the SP zoning and provide design guidelines and development standards; and
WHEREAS, the City of Lancaster wishes to enter into a Development Agreement (DA No. 24-001) to establish specific development rights and concessions for Planning Areas 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 of Specific Plan No. 24-002; and
WHEREAS, the City of Lancaster wishes to enter into a Tax Transfer Resolution with Los Angeles County for Lancaster Reorganization 2024-08; and
WHEREAS, staff has performed the necessary investigations, prepared a written report and recommended approval of the annexation, general plan amendment, pre-zone, specific plan, and development agreement; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §21000 et seq.) and the State CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15000 eq seq.) (“CEQA”), a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (SCH# 2024081372) was prepared fo
r the Westside Annexation Project in compliance with CEQA and circulated for a 45- day public review ending on July 7, 2025. Due to an omission in the Draft EIR, a two week extension was granted to the public review period until July 21, 2025 in order to provide the full 45-day review on the complete document; and
WHEREAS, copies of the Draft EIR were available during the public review period at City Hall, the Lancaster Library, the City’s website, and the State Clearinghouse website; and
WHEREAS, the public review period closed on July 21, 2025 with an additional comment letter received from an interested agency on July 25, 2025. All comments received from the public and responsible, trustee, and interested agencies were considered and responded to in writing in the Final EIR; and
WHEREAS, said Final EIR was released and provided to all commenting entities on August 8, 2025; and
WHEREAS, three additional comment letters were received on August 15, 2025 and August 18, 2025. All comments were responded to in a Revised Final EIR which was released and provided to
all commenting entities on October 3, 2025; and
WHEREAS, a notice of intention to consider granting approval of an Annexation, General Plan Amendment, Pre-Zone, Specific Plan, Development Agreement, and Tax Transfer Resolution has been given as required by law; and
WHEREAS, public notice was provided, as required by law, and a public hearing was held by the Planning Commission on August 18, 2025; and
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WHEREAS, the Planning Commission recommended to the City Council certification of the Final EIR and adoption of the Findings/Statement of Overriding Considerations and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program; and approval of the annexation, general plan amendment, pre- zoning, specific plan and development agreement; and
WHEREAS, public notice was provided, as required by law, and a public hearing was held by the City Council on October 14, 2025; and
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LANCASTER, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE, DETERMINE AND ORDER, AS FOLLOWS:
1. That the foregoing Recitals are true, correct and a substantive part of this Resolution.
2. That the City Council hereby certifies that it has reviewed and considered the information in the Revised Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for the proposed Westside Annexation Project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the State Guidelines for the Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act prior to taking action and hereby finds, pursuant to Section 21082.1 of the Public Resources Code, that the Final EIR prepared for the proposed Westside Annexation reflects the independent judgement
of the City of Lancaster.
3. That the City Council hereby finds that the Revised Final EIR determined that the Westside Annexation Project could have a significant effect on the environment; however, with incorporation of the identified mitigation measures the effects would be reduced to less than significant levels with the exception of Air Quality, Greenhouse Gases, and Noise impacts.
4. That the City Council certifies the Revised Final EIR for the Westside Annexation and North Lancaster Industrial Specific Plan, adopts the associated Findings and Statement of Overriding Considerations, and adopts the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program.
5. That the Community Development Department staff is hereby authorized and directed to prepare, execute, and file a Notice of Determination pursuant to CEQA (including its implementing guidelines).
6. That the City Council hereby adopts the following finding in support of Annexation No. 24-002:
The Westside Annexation Project consists of the annexation of 7,153 acres from unincorporated Los Angeles County, establishing General Plan land use designations and zoning for the subject property, and adoption of a specific plan for a subset of the annexation area. The proposed g
eneral plan designations were identified based on similarity to existing County designations, existing uses on specific parcels, and the City’s need to provide living-wage jobs and economic growth for the community.
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7. That the City Council hereby adopts the following General Plan Amendment findings, pursuant to Section 17.24.140 of the LMC, in support of approval of this application:
a. Information presented at the public hearing shows that such amendment is necessary to implement the general plan and/or that the public convenience, the general welfare or good zoning practice justifies such action.
There are no goals, objectives, policies, or specific actions of the General Plan that would conflict with the Westside Annexation project and associated approvals. The general plan amendment would allow for the economic growth and would not require a major investment to provide access or public infrastructure to the area. Access to the annexation area already exists from Sierra Highway, Avenue D, Avenue F, and Avenue G with the Antelope Valley Freeway bisecting the area in the north-south direction. Additionally, any necessary public infrastructure such as water, sewer, and electricity lines would be brought to the area through public-private agreements as improvements for individual developments.
For the current Housing Element Cycle, the City of Lancaster was assigned overall Regional H
ousing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation of 9,023 units. Within the annexation area, approximately 5,120 acres currently designated as Non-Urban (NU) under the City’s General Plan (sphere of influence). Assuming that this designation would be implemented with the RR-2.5 zoning (largest minimum lot size under them LMC), this could result in approximately 2,048 single family residences. By contrast, the existing County land use designations would allow for residential on approximately 3,281 acres with much of the zoning requiring lots larger than 2.5 acres. If it is assumed, for comparison purposes, that one house could be built for every 2.5 acres, the total number of housing units allowable under the existing County zoning is 1,312 dwelling units. While the total number of housing units that would be allowed under annexation buildout conditions is less than would be allowed under the current sphere of influence land use designations, it is higher than the current County zoning would permit. Therefore, there would be no net loss of residential units.
8. That the City Council hereby adopts the following pre-zone findings, pursuant to Section 17.24.120 of the LMC, in support of approval of this application.
a. That modified conditions warrant a revision in the zoning plan as it pertains to the area or district under consideration.
The City of Lancaster has proposed to annex 7,153 acres from unincorporated Los Angeles County into the city limits. As part of that process, the City is required to pre-zone the property to align with the proposed land use designations.
b. That a need for the proposed zone classification exists within such area or district.
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A need for the proposed zone classifications exists within the annexation area in order to establish consistency with the proposed General Plan designations, replacing the existing County zoning.
c. That the particular property under consideration is a proper location for said zone classification within such area or district.
The particular property under consideration is a proper location for said proposed zone classifications as they are based on similarity to existing County zoning and developments on individual parcels. The layout of the zoning with the industrial/specific plan zoning south of Avenue D and the residential zoning predominantly north of Avenue D ensures that proposed industrial zoning is located adjacent to existing industrial zoning within the City limits (e.g., Heavy Industrial south of Avenue G and Fox Field Specific Plan west of 25th Street West, etc.) and more sensitive land uses are not unduly impacted by industrial employment generators.
d. That placement of the proposed zone at such location will be in the interest of public health, safety, and general welfare and in conformity with good zoning practice.
Th
e placement of the proposed zones at the specified locations will be in the interest of public health, safety, and general welfare and in conformity with good zoning practice. The location of the proposed zones takes into consideration the County zoning and existing uses within the annexation area. Specifically, the locations developed with the Leisure Lakes Mobile Home Park (plus expansion area) and the Mitchell Avenue E RV Park are proposed to be zoned MHP and RR-2.5, respectively, to accommodate the existing uses. Additionally, all property developed with the Lancaster Wastewater Treatment Plant, holding ponds, or owned by the Sanitation District has been zoned as P to accommodate their operations.
The remainder of the annexation area has been zoned as either RR-2.5 or LI/SP with a small area of MU-E. This is similar to the existing County zoning. The MU-E zone is located on both sides of Avenue D just west of the Antelope Valley Freeway. The RR-2.5 zone is located predominantly north of Avenue D; although there is a small area between Avenue D and Avenue E east of Sierra Highway which has been zoned as RR -2.5. These areas were chosen for low intensity rural residential zoning as the property connects to other rural residential and agricultural zones in further away from the annexation area and provides a buffer between Edwards Air Force Base/Piute Ponds and the higher intensity development closer to the existing City boundary.
The area south of Avenue D to Avenue G and between 25th Street West and Sierra Highway has been zoned as either LI or SP. These zoning designations make logical sense as the property to the west of 25th Street West is zoned SP 95-02 (Fox Field Specific Plan) with underlying Light Industrial and the property to the south of Avenue G is located in the City of Lancaster and zoned for Heavy Industrial Uses.
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This ensures a logical continuation of uses and the conflicting uses are not placed adjacent to each other.
9. The City Council hereby approves ANX No. 24-002 to annex 7,153 acres from unincorporated Los Angeles County to the City of Lancaster.
10. The City Council hereby approves GPA No. 24-002 to redesignate the subject property from NU, MU, LI, P, MR1, and SP in accordance with Exhibit 1.
11. The City Council hereby approves PZ No. 24-001 to prezone the subject property to RR-2.5, MU-E, LI, P, MHP, and SP in accordance with Exhibit 1.
12. The City Council hereby approves SP No. 24-002 to allow for the development of up to 38.5 million square feet of industrial uses within eight planning areas.
13. The City Council hereby approves DA No. 24-001 to establish specific development rights for Planning Areas 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 of SP No. 24-002.
14. The City Council hereby approves the Tax Transfer Resolution for Lancaster Reorganization No. 2024-08.
1 5. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its passage.
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PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this ______ day of ___________________, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
ATTEST: APPROVED:
______________________________ ______________________________ ANDREA ALEXANDER R. REX PARRIS
City Clerk Mayor
City of Lancaster City of Lancaster
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss
CITY OF LANCASTER )
CERTIFICATION OF RESOLUTION
CITY COUNCIL
I, _____________________________, _________________________ City of Lancaster, California, do hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original Resolution No._____________, for which the original is on file in my office.
WITNESS MY HAND AND THE SEAL OF THE CITY OF LANCASTER, on this ____________ day of _____________________, _________.
(seal)
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