UPDATE: DOCUMENTS about ‘warehouse complex’ for Gateway to Mountain Communities-

  • This is the second —corrected—notice from Kern County Natural Resources and Planning Department, which changed the words

    Image 1 of 5
    This is the second —corrected—notice from Kern County Natural Resources and Planning Department, which changed the words "categorically exempt" from CEQA to "qualifies as a special situation..."

  • Click on image to magnify. This is the letter from the county sent to one member of the Mountain Communities, received May 21, 2022.

    Image 2 of 5
    Click on image to magnify. This is the letter from the county sent to one member of the Mountain Communities, received May 21, 2022.

  • This is one of three maps Kern County sent to one member of the Mountain Communities, received May 21, 2022. Click on image to magnify. A request for extension of time to review the proposal is being drafted from members the community.

    Image 3 of 5
    This is one of three maps Kern County sent to one member of the Mountain Communities, received May 21, 2022. Click on image to magnify. A request for extension of time to review the proposal is being drafted from members the community.

  • This is the second of three maps Kern County sent to one member of the Mountain Communities, received May 21, 2022. Click on image to magnify. A request for extension of time to review the proposal is being drafted from members the community.

    Image 4 of 5
    This is the second of three maps Kern County sent to one member of the Mountain Communities, received May 21, 2022. Click on image to magnify. A request for extension of time to review the proposal is being drafted from members the community.

  • This is the third of three maps Kern County sent to one member of the Mountain Communities, received May 21, 2022. Click on image to magnify. A request for extension of time to review the proposal is being drafted from members the community.

    Image 5 of 5
    This is the third of three maps Kern County sent to one member of the Mountain Communities, received May 21, 2022. Click on image to magnify. A request for extension of time to review the proposal is being drafted from members the community.

UPDATE—Lebec, CA (Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 8 a.m.)—Please click through the documents at right for the Kern County Natural Resources and Planning Department information. At the end is a note from the planners that there had been a mistake in the first document, with a correction, which we’ve posted here also, changing the phrase “categorically exempt” to “a special situation” which qualifies to avoid the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act. The documents are in the images at right.
UPDATE—Lebec, CA (Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 8 a.m.)— A letter from TriCounty Watchdogs has been sent to the Kern County Planning Department requesting an extension of the comment period and an extension for the hearing date.

UPDATE—Lebec, CA (Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 6 a.m.) —On Monday, May 23, The Mountain Enterprise received a legal notice from Kern County to print in this week’s May 27 newspaper. It is about the June 1 suggested deadline for comments about what appeared to be described as a warehouse project on Frazier Mountain Park Road. That is 5 days notice at the same time that families are engaged in preparations for graduation. Worse, the community has still not been provided with a visual depiction of how the project will look from Frazier Mountain Park Road, members of the TriCounty Watchdogs said.

We were notified yesterday that comments will be received up to and at the Tuesday, June 21, 2 p.m. Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting. However, staff recommendations are being compiled for that meeting right now. There is no guarantee that your letter of comment will be read or considered by the board.

Kern County’s Natural Resources and Planning Department waived aspects of the Frazier Park / Lebec Specific Plan for this project. The Mountain Community neighbors worked for a year and a half (2002 through 2003) with Kern County planners to create that plan. It is a statement of how the people who live here want their community to look and feel. Having an attractive “Gateway to the Mountain Communities” is a strong component of that plan, Piñon Pines resident Eric Anderson said. Frazier Mountain Park Road is that gateway.

There was not notification to the community before the Kern County Planning Commission voted to recommend the board approve this waiver and the warehouse project. Questions of due process are being raised.

The planning department on Tuesday (yesterday) sent out a message that they had an error in the public notice they sent out Monday, about the basis for also exempting this project from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines that would require consultation with the public.

Lebec, CA (Sunday, May 22, 2022 at 10 a.m.) —The Mountain Enterprise received an email from a community member with a letter saying that the Kern County Planning Department is moving forward a proposed warehouse project on Frazier Mountain Park Road between Lebec and Frazier Park. The  letter says that public comments are to be submitted by June 1 and a public hearing before the Kern County Board of Supervisors is set for June 21 at 2 p.m.

Piñon Pines cinematographer Eric Anderson, a member of the TriCounty Watchdogs, called to sound an alert today about the three-acre warehouse project with parking lots. It is being planned for Frazier Mountain Park Road—”the gateway to our Mountain Communities.”

“It seems to be out of character for our area,” Anderson said. “They are seeking a zoning change. I get the feeling they are just ignoring the Frazier Park Specific Plan. This is an area that is planned as a forest area.” He and many other Mountain Community neighbors worked together with Kern County’s planning department to formulate the Specific Plan, which described the priority to have a visually attractive entryway to the mountain villages here.

Anderson said the project looks like it is being fast-tracked, leaving insufficient time for the community to learn about the project and to make comments before a public hearing in June. TriCounty Watchdog members are considering whether to submit a request for extension of time for the community to be able to review the proposal—and a request for the community to have an opportunity to reveiw and discuss a visual plan for what the project will look like from Frazier Mountain Park Road.

“Requiring public comments by about June 1 and a public hearing by June 21, does not give adequate time for the public to make comment,” Anderson said. “We have no idea what this will look like. The developer should show us pictures of what it will look like. The developer should come here and give a presentation. People should have a chance to comment.”
He said that the same person owns abut 70 additional acres, and that “Cornerstone is doing the surveying.” We are posting this breaking news on Sunday, so The Mountain Enterprise has sent inquiries to the planning department but has not yet been able to independently verify the details. See maps and the letter attached to this report.

This is part of the May 27, 2022 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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