Canyons a go; new hurdles loom
| Wednesday, Sep 09 2009 09:56 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Sep 09 2009 09:58 PM
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With a 6-1 vote, it was over: the Canyons had been approved.
Wednesday night's city council vote marked a finish line of sorts for the controversial northeast Bakersfield housing tract nearly two decades in the making.
The vote also marked a new starting point for developers, who say the first house remains years away. Massive grading and infrastructure work will come first. An environmental lawsuit is likely.
The Canyons will put more than 1,330 homes on 889 acres that include bluffs near the Kern River. The project divided those who support development rights and those who want to conserve the unique topography of Bakersfield's bluffs.
Councilmember Sue Benham cast the lone "no" vote without elaboration.
"I followed my conscience," she said after the meeting.
Councilmember Ken Weir, whose ward includes the site, called the vote an "opportunity to convert fallow land marred by the remnants" of mining.
"Twenty years from now I can stand on one of the many vantage points in the northeast with my grandkids and say: 'Look what we did,'" Weir said.
Councilmember Harold Hanson, a banker, questioned the project's financial viability but ultimately voted in favor.
"I'm haunted by City in the Hills, McAllister Ranch, 10 Section," Hanson said, referring to other high-profile projects that faltered or failed. "What I'm concerned about is a half-developed project."
In other business, Councilmember Irma Carson requested a report on former Bakersfield firefighter Robby Pratt be sent to the Personnel Committee. A jury found city officials allowed discrimination, retaliation and harassment before they fired Pratt.
