After nine years of waiting, what’s another week? Carmel Valley residents who want to incorporate their town—and those who don’t—had hoped the Local Agency Formation Commission of Monterey County would made a decision about the issue at its special meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 25. But after listening to nearly three hours of presentations, public testimony and pomp, the LAFCO board unanimously voted to continue to hearing to Monday, Dec. 1.

Commissioners said they needed more time to read dozens of pages of new information that they had received 24 hours prior to the Nov. 25 meeting.

“We have approximately 20 pages of new information from staff, and a couple of new fiscal analyses that comment on the CFA [Comprehensive Fiscal Analysis],” said Seaside Mayor Ralph Rubio, who sits on the LAFCO board.

Quick back-story: after years of meetings and studies, in 2005 the LAFCO board determined that the incorporation proposal didn’t need an EIR. A year later, a new LAFCO board voted to require an EIR (along with several other new and costly studies) before the issue could go to voters. Shortly after, incorporation proponents sued LAFCO. In May, a Superior Court judge ruled LAFCO wrongly stalled the incorporation process by deciding that the proposed incorporation required a full-scale environmental review.

On Dec. 1 commissioners will vote on the incorporation proposal and ask the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to set an election in early 2009 for C.V. residents to decide whether they want to form their own town. The 4pm meeting will take place in the supervisors’ chambers, 168 W. Alisal St., Salinas, and no further public comment will be allowed on the issue. This likely comes as a relief to everyone involved.

The agenda and the executive officer’s report (which describes the incorporation process and the proposal) are available online at http://www.monterey.lafco.ca.gov