Supervisors Approve Tejon Ranch Project

BAKERSFIELD, CA-The Kern County Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to approve plans for Tejon Mountain Village, a project of Tejon Ranch Co. and Scottsdale, AZ-based DMB Associates that would be developed on a 26,417-acre site on Tejon Ranch, 40 miles south of Bakersfield in the Tehachapi Mountains. The project would create up to 3,450 new homes, ranging from resort condominiums to multi-acre custom lots, along with 160,000 square feet of commercial space and new tourist and resort facilities, plus recreational amenities including golf, horseback riding, hiking and bicycling.

The approval by the Kern County Supervisors follows the recent recommendation by the county’s planning commission that the supervisors approve the project. The plan will preserve 80% of the land as open space, an area roughly one-third the size of Bakersfield. The developed portion of the community will consist ofresort and recreational facilities, including up to 750 hotel rooms, golf and equestrian facilities and about 75 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails. Residential and commercial development will include up to 3,450 new homes, ranging from resort condominiums to multi-acre custom lots, and 160,000 square feet of publicly accessible commercial space.

The project is expected to generate an estimated 3,100 new jobs, including 1,600 construction jobs during the expected build-out of 15 to 20 years, and 1,500 permanent positions. The community will also provide funding for public services such as fire stations and equipment, sheriff facilities, libraries and schools as well as provide improvements to local interchanges along Interstate 5. The homes in Tejon Mountain Village will also help fund the Tejon Ranch Conservancy, an independent body established to guide the stewardship of up to 90% of the ranch (240,000 acres) that will be conserved as open space.

With the approval by the supervisors, developers say the next step for Tejon Mountain Village is to begin obtaining a number of discretionary permits and approvals from regional, state and federal agencies, along with beginning the detailed engineering work necessary for construction to begin.