The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 3-1 to reject the City of Santa Maria’s tax proposal for the 43.7-acre Richards Ranch development, halting the annexation effort.
The decision came during the Board’s April 7 meeting, following unsuccessful mediation and an advisory arbitration process over a property tax exchange.
Without a tax-sharing agreement, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) cannot approve the annexation, which now has effectively stalled the project…