LAFCO of Santa Clara County
Longterm land planning
for the good of the whole.
In June 2020, the Plan was awarded the Northern California APA Section Award of Excellence for a Communications Initiative. Our plan was recognized as one of the outstanding winners for its “fresh ideas that are transferable to other communities and represent a guidebook toward a more inclusive, accessible and equitable planning future.”
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In 1963, the California Legislature mandated the formation of Local Agency Formation Commissions, or LAFCOs, in each of the 58 counties in the state with a mission to promote orderly growth and development. Over the past several decades, LAFCO of Santa Clara County has curbed the loss of productive agricultural lands, encouraged the densification and walkability of urban areas, and increased regional climate resilience as the county’s population doubled.
Santa Clara County was once the largest fruit production and packing region in the world. In the 1960s, fruit orchards were replaced with manufacturing facilities to produce silicon chips and the region has since become known as “Silicon Valley.” As the population of the county is expected to continue to grow putting increasing development pressure on working lands and open space, a renewed focus on the important role of LAFCO is needed to sustain quality of life for everyone in the county.
The New Agency team was engaged to develop a Communications and Outreach Plan to better articulate the mandate of LAFCO and to enhance its effectiveness in Santa Clara County. After an 8-month process that involved surveys of LAFCO Commissioners, interviews with LAFCO constituents, and a facilitated public workshop, the final plan was adopted by the Commission.
Since the Communications and Outreach Plan for Santa Clara LAFCO was the first of its kind, our team and LAFCO representatives were invited to share insights and outcomes at the CALAFCO annual conference to benefit other counties around the state.
STORY OF PLACE PRESENTATION: At the 2019 CALAFCO conference, Marianna Leuschel of New Agency spoke about the power of storytelling to help shape an envisioned future of place.
“The New Agency team has empowered us to have a more positive, productive conversation and I believe that their counsel will help shape how LAFCO evolves over the next few years. ”
