Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Fire Department

SAMPLE LETTER TO LAFCO

To our honorable Board of Supervisors, LAFCO commissioners and DPLU director,

I am writing as a landowner and registered voter in Elfin Forest. I live within the boundaries of CSA 107 - Elfin Forest and recently became aware of the plans outlined in LAFCO's Micro Report. After carefully considering the various alternatives proposed in LAFCO's Micro Report (SSP plan, county plan, CSA 135, and status quo), I strongly encourage you to remove CSA 107 - Elfin Forest from the Phase I implementation of this report and place it into Phase 2. I also request that you remove CSA 107 - Elfin Forest from the DPLU's Conceptual Reorganization of San Diego County Fire Services Plan. My reasons are listed below:

1. The Elfin Forest / Harmony Grove communities are unique in that our fire department is a key component of our community character. Most residents know Chief Twohy and our many captains by their first names. Our fire house is our community gathering place for our annual 4^th of July parade, Christmas party, many fundraisers, and our monthly Town Council meetings. Volunteers have created a Fire Wise garden at the fire house for the use and enjoyment of other residents. Residents know they can call their fire personnel for information and advice on many safety topics.

2. We believe in our local fire personnel. They live here, work here, and have fought many fires here. They are the people we want making the important fire decisions for our community, and showing up at our front door when there's an emergency.

3. This entire community has a strong volunteer ethic, of which our firefighters are only a part. We have a network of volunteer block captains who are the phone tree for the fire department, disseminating information in the event of an emergency. Volunteers run so many other aspects of our community - our Town Council, our Community Foundation, our Landscape Foundation.

4. If you look at the map of fire districts that would be affected by the Micro Report, they are all contiguous and east of the I-15, except CSA-107 – Elfin Forest. We are an island (in many ways) in the middle of incorporated communities. We've fought hard to stay that way so we could maintain control of our density and zoning. And we have also built relationships with our neighboring fire departments, with whom we have more in common than we do with the expanse of unincorporated county east of the I-15. We don't belong in a district tailored for the open country east of I-15.

5. Our fire personnel and our community take responsibility for having a superior fire response capability. Years ago, our community approved an additional property tax for fire department funding; our fire department recently obtained their ISO certification. We know what needs to be done, and are willing to do it.

For these and many other reasons, please remove CSA 107 from the Phase 1 implementation of LAFCO's Micro Report, and from DPLU's Conceptual Reorganization of San Diego County Fire Services Plan.

To ensure we remain on par with other fire districts, please also ensure that we have access to all existing funding and future revenue (mitigation fees, developer fees, CFDs), as well as the existing funds and future revenue recommended by the LAFCO Micro Report.

Thanks for your support,

	In case of emergency call 911	Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Fire Department *Breaking News*
News FAQ Incident Reports Kids Page Photo Gallery Volunteer CSA 107 Map CSA 17 Map Contact Us Links Firefighter of the Year 2008 Octavio "Henry" Vanzanni
	20223 Elfin Forest Rd. Elfin Forest, CA 92029 Phone: 760-744-2186 Fire Chief: Frank Twohy
	Sample Letter to County re Proposal to Reorganize Fire Service Send your petition by April 6, 2007 Fire Board letter to Bill Horn Fire Board Resolution 2007 1.1.07 SAMPLE LETTER TO LAFCO To our honorable Board of Supervisors, LAFCO commissioners and DPLU director, I am writing as a landowner and registered voter in Elfin Forest. I live within the boundaries of CSA 107 - Elfin Forest and recently became aware of the plans outlined in LAFCO's Micro Report. After carefully considering the various alternatives proposed in LAFCO's Micro Report (SSP plan, county plan, CSA 135, and status quo), I strongly encourage you to remove CSA 107 - Elfin Forest from the Phase I implementation of this report and place it into Phase 2. I also request that you remove CSA 107 - Elfin Forest from the DPLU's Conceptual Reorganization of San Diego County Fire Services Plan. My reasons are listed below: 1. The Elfin Forest / Harmony Grove communities are unique in that our fire department is a key component of our community character. Most residents know Chief Twohy and our many captains by their first names. Our fire house is our community gathering place for our annual 4^th of July parade, Christmas party, many fundraisers, and our monthly Town Council meetings. Volunteers have created a Fire Wise garden at the fire house for the use and enjoyment of other residents. Residents know they can call their fire personnel for information and advice on many safety topics. 2. We believe in our local fire personnel. They live here, work here, and have fought many fires here. They are the people we want making the important fire decisions for our community, and showing up at our front door when there's an emergency. 3. This entire community has a strong volunteer ethic, of which our firefighters are only a part. We have a network of volunteer block captains who are the phone tree for the fire department, disseminating information in the event of an emergency. Volunteers run so many other aspects of our community - our Town Council, our Community Foundation, our Landscape Foundation. 4. If you look at the map of fire districts that would be affected by the Micro Report, they are all contiguous and east of the I-15, except CSA-107 – Elfin Forest. We are an island (in many ways) in the middle of incorporated communities. We've fought hard to stay that way so we could maintain control of our density and zoning. And we have also built relationships with our neighboring fire departments, with whom we have more in common than we do with the expanse of unincorporated county east of the I-15. We don't belong in a district tailored for the open country east of I-15. 5. Our fire personnel and our community take responsibility for having a superior fire response capability. Years ago, our community approved an additional property tax for fire department funding; our fire department recently obtained their ISO certification. We know what needs to be done, and are willing to do it. For these and many other reasons, please remove CSA 107 from the Phase 1 implementation of LAFCO's Micro Report, and from DPLU's Conceptual Reorganization of San Diego County Fire Services Plan. To ensure we remain on par with other fire districts, please also ensure that we have access to all existing funding and future revenue (mitigation fees, developer fees, CFDs), as well as the existing funds and future revenue recommended by the LAFCO Micro Report. Thanks for your support,
Click here to DONATE
Copyright 2007-9. All rights reserved. Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Fire Department. Web design by ALL.EA.