Bakersfield.com: Kern County news, events, classifieds, shopping, & search

Lois Henry: The real problem? General Holding

BY LOIS HENRY, Californian staff writer
e-mail: lhenry@bakersfield.com | Saturday, Apr 26 2008 4:34 PM

Last Updated: Saturday, Apr 26 2008 6:59 PM

I’m officially begging.

Please, please please! Can’t Castle & Cooke, or the Nickel family or some other reputable development company buy out General Holding Inc. and put an end to our long, local nightmare?

Since Sacramento-based General Holding came to town and bought the land above Hart Park to develop its “The Canyons” project, we’ve had nothing but trouble.

Now, there are three lawsuits against the city involving General Holding and a Bakersfield city councilman is facing a possible recall for his underhanded maneuvers to try to manipulate the Planning Commission in The Canyons’ favor.

I’m 100 percent for the recall of Ken Weir, who has clearly shown his disdain for his constituents and the credibility of his office.

A recall effort has begun, by the way, according to retired minister Willard Winn, the effort’s unofficial spokesman.

The group is still forming, he said, but things are happening fast.

They’ve pulled the necessary paperwork, hired an attorney from Los Angeles who specializes in political campaigns to set up the committee’s legal structure and act as treasurer, and they anticipate filing all the paperwork and fees with the city next week.

They don't have a candidate and are still sorting out logistics, but they're planning to hold a meeting next week — time, date and place to be announced as soon as they get a big enough venue. Winn invites those interested to call him at 872-6626, or e-mail him at willard_winn@hotmail.com.

Winn and others grew concerned right from the start when Weir refused, until ordered by the state, to release a conflict of interest statement that included his highest-paying clients. Their concerns have only increased over time.

Ward 3 voters knew exactly where former Councilman Mike Maggard stood on development, Winn said.

But with his vague answers on the Hillside Ordinance and refusal to discuss his position on The Canyons, Weir flew into office under the radar.

“I really feel like a stealth candidate got through and we didn’t realize who he was or what he was about.”

I agree. Weir does not deserve to remain in that council seat.

But I also think Weir is a symptom. The disease is General Holding. Weir says he is not beholden to the company, but I believe his actions say otherwise.

As far back as 2000, nearly a decade now, General Holding was talking about its plan to build on the bluffs. It didn’t submit an actual plan with the required environmental documents to the city, but it sure talked about it a lot.

Meanwhile, it fought the city over its trails plan, fought over park locations, fought over roads and launched a scummy, misleading ad campaign against then-councilman-now-Kern-County-Supervisor Mike Maggard, which went kablooey when he won his county seat in 2006 by a healthy margin.

And, of course, there are the lawsuits against the city over its slightly enhanced Hillside Ordinance.

What General Holding didn’t do, until recently, was get its environmental docs in order and actually move through the process. Finally, the EIR will go to the Planning Commission on June 19.

We went through one of the biggest real estate booms in Bakersfield’s history and instead of building and selling homes, General Holding pouted and argued.

This is Bakersfield, for Pete’s sake, not Berzerkeley. There’s no one named Butterfly chaining herself to a cactus on the bluffs and facing down bulldozers.

And the city has not tried to thwart the developers’ efforts, either. On the contrary, General Holding, and its point man Robert Kapral, seem to be their own worst enemies.

In just one example, a simple request by planning staff for legal land descriptions set off a nearly monthlong letter-writing fit by Kapral, who seemed to see something more sinister in the request. Kapral even sent a critique of The Canyons’ own EIR, which means the city has to stop, back up and answer that critique, further dragging out the process.

It’s almost as if General Holding is trying not to get this done.

I can’t help but think if this had been a Castle & Cooke development (say what you will about them having far too much sway with the city, and you may be right), it would be done already.

Maybe it would have tussled over some aspects, but it would be done and I bet you anything the trails would have been added and made part of a major marketing campaign — “‘The Bluffs,’ luxury living and wide-open vistas.” OK, so there’s a reason I’m not in marketing, but you get the picture.

General Holding came in here and thought it could run the show its way. It found a willing accomplice in Weir, unfortunately.

But as it, and Weir, are discovering, we do have some standards here.

Lois Henry’s column appears Wednesdays and Sundays. Comment at people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/noholdsbarred, e-mail her at lhenry@bakersfield.com or call her at 395-7373.