The Canyons, at last, to get council vote
| Tuesday, Sep 08 2009 06:36 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Sep 08 2009 06:38 PM
The controversial Canyons development, nearly two decades in the making, heads to the Bakersfield City Council tonight for likely approval.
The 889-acre project in the northeast will put more than 1,330 homes on rugged bluffs near the Kern River.
The tract has ignited debate since at least 2003, when the Sacramento-area developer derailed a pending habitat preserve along the bluffs.
Lawsuits and controversy followed over a beefed-up hillside ordinance, a trails plan and other issues that pitted property rights advocates against environmental advocates wanting to preserve the area's unique topography.
Tonight, the council is slated to vote on key elements that, if approved, mean the project is a go. Included are the environmental report, general plan amendments and cancellation of agricultural land-use contracts.
Stan Grady, the city's Development Services Director, said supporters and opponents will "undoubtedly show up" to comment.
One opponent, Michelle Beck, co-chair of the Bakersfield Bluffs and Open Space Committee, said she's been making the same comments for nine years now. The Canyons' bike path plan is still "very disappointing," she said: basically a dirt sidewalk next to roads and walls in a gated community.
Sacramento developer Don Hancock of General Holding Inc. secured buying rights for the bulk of the project in 1990. The plan picked up steam in 2000 and started its long chug toward tonight's vote.
In other business, the council will vote on:
* Judicial foreclosure proceedings for 135 parcels in the southeast Sydney Harbour tract of Lenox Homes, the business name for Stuart Thomas Inc. Homebuilder David Cates, president of the firm, said the nearly $147,000 in delinquent assessment district payments will be taken care of soon by lender San Joaquin Bank. The city's outside counsel on the matter, Fresno attorney David A. Roberts, said such proceedings rarely end up in a land sale; lenders usually pay off the delinquent money rather than lose the land.
* An agreement with Union Pacific and San Joaquin railroads for new warning devices and other improvements worth more than $465,000 at the Buena Vista Road crossing north of Harris Road.
* A $6.7 million contract to Klassen Corp. for the first phase of the Sports Village Project on Taft Highway. The phase will include eight soccer fields, a parking lot, restrooms, a concession stand and some lighting.
* Cancellation of the council's Oct. 21 meeting due to a lack of agenda items.
How to Go
The City Council meets at 5:15 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Ave.
