Tehachapi News

“This is the first development approved since the new charrette process was put in place,” said Councilman Ed Grimes after the council authorized the annexation of 30.55 acres and a extensively revised tentative tract map for 74 residential lots.

The project, located at just west of the Cherry Lane Estates at Cherry Lane and Pinion Street, was started in 2005 and was put on hold while the community charrette process and the resulting Interim Community Design Plan (ICDP) was put into effect. The developer, Cardiff Equities, has taken the community’s suggestions in stride.

According to Collee Foglaar of Cardiff Equities, “The cost for the redesign was considerable. When the charrette redesign came through our infrastructure cost went up because of roads and our mitigation fees went up by about 14 percent because of [traffic] circulation.”

The new design allows for better traffic flow and better access to both Cherry Lane and Pinion Street. It also includes a 1.5-acre centrally located park that will be built by the developer.

“It definitely cost us additional money but if it’s what the community wants and they’re happy with it, then I would say it was money well spent,” said Foglaar.

The council approved the project 4-1, with Councilman Stan Beckham abstaining.

There were no major objections to the project from the public, and several residents commented that they were happy to see that Cardiff was willing to do the redesign to meet the requirements set by the city under the ICDP.

The development was approved by the Tehachapi Planning Commission at the April meeting.

Tehachapi’s Director of Community Development David James estimated about two years before Cardiff Equities will be able to break ground due to various requirements for environmental impact studies and final design considerations.

Also at May 5 city council:

Tehachapi Police Chief’s Report

The council approved $35 in monthly funding for the Tehachapi Police Department (TPD) to participate in the County Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS), “the gateway to most of Kern County law enforcement databases.”

TPD Chief Jeff Kermode also noted that the department had received a Kern County Sec-1B Transit Grant of $10,700 that would help equip a trailer used in conjunction with the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

“It will give us our first phase of equipment in the trailer, emergency radios and the ability to have a voice over an internet phone system that operates from the trailer via a wireless connection. It’s the first step in expanding our EOC and the ability to respond to emergencies,” said Kermode.

New helicopter tie down

Approval was granted to Jan Mensink to rent a space at the Tehachapi Airport to tie down his privately owned helicopter. This will be the second helicopter to call the airport home. The Kern County Fire Department’s Heli-408 from Keene uses the airport as a tie down location in the summer months.

Water tanks on budget

A change order to the T&T water tank project was approved by the council to retrofit the existing Curry tank site with ladders to meet current CAL/OSHA requirements. The change order also compensates the contractor for lost time due to weather over the past several months. The net result of the change order is a credit to the city.

“This the first change order and the project has had no over runs, it is with in the nearly three million dollar budget,” said Greg Garrett said.