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Community Matters: Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO)

Unincorporated areas can become cities by petitioning to the Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO. LAFCO is the county-wide regulatory agency that is responsible for coordinating logical and timely changes in local governmental boundaries, including: annexations and detachments of territory; incorporations of cities; formations of special districts; and, consolidations, mergers, and dissolutions of districts. LAFCO is also responsible for reviewing ways to reorganize, simplify, and streamline governmental structure. The Los Angeles LAFCO was established by state law (Cortese/Knox-Hertzberg Act of 2000) to discourage urban sprawl and encourage the orderly formation and development of local government agencies. For more information on LAFCO, please visit www.lalafco.org.