Community Input

Results from Phase III Community Forums

Association of Realtors - April 12, 2000

Our Slogan

  • Pride…Vision…Community
  • A Place to Call Home
  • A great place to live!

Our Image

  • Example of a "turnaround…pride, progressive, thriving
  • Oil & Ag
  • Big city conveniences with small town feel
  • We care!

Our Reputation

  • Friendly - open to new people
  • Safest place to raise children
  • Low crime rate
  • Variety of career opportunities
  • Effective law enforcement

Business Environment

  • Technology replaces oil as major employer
  • KCSOS -Greater Bakersfield - California's Education Headquarters/spills over into local schools as state's BEST!

Arts & Culture

  • Diversified music center not just country
  • Broadway plays and musicals
  • Opera House

Education

  • Students with high marks
  • Lowest dropout rate in state
  • Family involvement and value
  • Charter schools
  • One language
  • Engineering classes

Heart of the City

  • Cultural diversity
  • Downtown - Riverwalk with water in river 365 days with shops and restaurants
  • New art museum
  • Baseball stadium/entertainment center adjacent to the Garden with parking
  • Nordstroms

Our Values

  • #1 Family
  • Ethical positive business environment
  • Churches - God
  • Wholesome but, open-minded

Technology

  • Available
  • Tech with/be oninternet - affordable
  • Most homes have high speed internet access

Transportation

  • Bullet
  • Complete freeway system
  • New form of transporation (electric, or?)
  • Downtown Trolley System
  • 4 lanes to Taft

Biggest Changes

  • Highways to go somewhere
  • Healthcare
  • Retirement
  • Trees
  • 4 lanes for Hwy 46
  • See Mountains!

Break Thrus

  • All cancers
  • Implementation of circulation plan

Looking back I'm most proud of…

  • Our growth
  • Our leaders

What's our Vision for our Economy over the next 10-20 years?

  • More technology companies open here
  • Booming with unemployment @ 3-4%
  • More specialty agricultural businesses - like "baby carrots" - tomatoes, garlic, almonds
  • UC campus
  • Effective transportation freeways with landscaping maintained; air traffic; mass transit

What kind of Economic Development Initiatives do we want to create?

  • Micro breweries
  • Creation of mega industrial parks
  • Bigger amusement and theme park
  • IRS moved from DC to Bakersfield with all employees
  • Large, integrated motor sports complex - testing, events - commence with no growth
  • Good atmosphere for drive thru Bakersfield

What kind of jobs do we want to attract here over the next 10-20 years?

  • High tech
  • Medical - tops in field
  • Engineering
  • Specialized clinics like - Stanford, Scripps, etc
  • Teaching
  • Medical research
  • Pharmaceutical manufacturing
  • Distribution facilities
  • World wide ag distribution
  • Lots of diversity in jobs
  • Use talent we have

Our Vision for Downtown

  • Improve Kern County Museum and make it a special place
  • Mega Recreational Facilities near museum
  • Industrial complex/park N of Museum
  • Under pass at 24th & Oak - direct route to hospital and route to 99 North. Take congestion and delay out of Rosedale and freeway intersection
  • Tunnel to F Street
  • Under river to Select
  • Green scaped cul-de-sacs to 24th - 21st one-way; 19th one-way
  • Chester Ave. small unique shops
  • Increased densification of commercial and housing downtown
  • Gas Light District with horse and carriage - Better restaurants downtown around Riverwalk
  • Riverwalk - trolley cars - closed off streets - outdoor recreation around Central Park
  • Centennial Parkway along Truxtun with Horton Plaza type center
  • Kern River Expressway connects to Centennial Parkway
  • Baseball stadium at California and Union
  • Horton Plaza type center on Truxtun
  • California Ave. is landscape window to civic center
  • Chester from Brundage to California is greenscaped to Civic Center\Re-energizing of neighborhoods
  • Planned re-development streets, curvs, lighting, incentive to trash and rebuild W of Lakeview - Manufacturing jobs
  • Landscape 58 and widen

In our Community's Future We Wanted and We Got…

  • Landscaped medians
  • More students @ Cal State
  • Trash cans removed by owners - out of sight
  • Higher test scores K-12
  • Water in Kern River year 'round
  • Engineering @ Cal State
  • Better restaurants
  • INS in Bakersfield
  • Downtown elementary
  • Green city with trees
  • Trade billboards for trees
  • More community recreational facilities
  • World class air transportation
  • Every neighborhood - safe
  • Quality & sanctity of life!
  • High level or % of home ownership
  • Retirement community

In our Community' Future We Didn't Want and We Didn't Get…

  • Gang activity
  • Teen pregnanacy
  • Poor air quality
  • Freeway rage!
  • Tiny lots for our homes

Metropolitan Bakersfield - 2010 General Planning Area

  • Residential on East side
  • Complete freeway to Lake Isabella
  • Southeast planned development streets-landscape - incentive to trash and rebuild
  • South alignment Beltway to Taft Hwy.
  • West beltway along Rudd Rd.
  • Completion of 178, Truxtun, and 58 to tie in N of the Kern River and E along Stockdale Hwy to I 5
  • Rosedale Hwy 6 lanes
  • Agriculture outside the 2010 planning area
  • City should buy Borba land for effluent water

Common Themes

  • Trees - landscaping
  • Waterways
  • Visual image
  • Freeways - trannsportation
  • Education
  • High tech
  • Safety for families
  • Culture
  • Quality of life
  • Less shopping malls
  • Recreation
  • High paying jobs