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KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL
August / September 2015
Business growth’s impact on Bakersfield
Plan well and prosper By Jacqui Kitchen
B
akersfield has a long and fascinating development history that could inspire a whole line of specialinterest documentaries, novels of varying genres and maybe even a few reality shows. Our city started with a simple purpose – founder Thomas Baker offered up his “field” as a resting spot for a variety of travelers seeking a place to reinvigorate themselves before beginning or continuing their journey to their ultimate destination. Bakersfield’s central location has continued to serve us well and our city has worked hard to develop an image as a convenient and affordable launch pad for anything and everything California. Bakersfield now ranks as California’s ninth largest city and Bloomberg has deemed us the second fastest-growing city for millennials. Bakersfield even recently earned a nod as the nation’s top city for “family activities and fun,” according to a recent analysis by WalletHub.com. They found that we have a suitable number of playgrounds, parks and other attractions, along with short commute times and an attractive cost of living – at least by California standards. We are home to robust industries in agriculture, energy production, logistical distribution, education, state-of-the-art medical facilities and much more. All in all, Bakersfield has done well for itself and our community is nothing to scoff at. Yet there seems to be a growing hunger among Bakersfield residents, both young and old, for something more. There is a pronounced longing to take our city to the next level and to be on a top 10 lists for things like best education system, healthiest population, best place for business, most interesting arts district, most walkable or most inspiring spot for foodies. There are excited rumblings throughout the community expressing a desire for well-planned growth, modernization and continued progress.
There is a pronounced longing to take our city to the next level and to be on a top 10 lists for things like best education system, healthiest population, best place for business, most interesting arts district, most walkable or most inspiring spot for foodies. And it certainly appears that the development community is aware of the growing appetite for new growth in Bakersfield. The city has experienced a 40 percent increase in the number of building permit applications since 2012 (thanks in part to residential solar installations), and the planning department is taking frequent meetings with developers who want to begin the process of bringing new residential communities, commercial shopping opportunities, healthcare facilities and more to the city. In fact, during the first half of 2015, city staff received more than 40 applications to construct new buildings on existing zoned property throughout the city, compared to about 30 at this time last year and fewer than 25 in 2012. These types of applications include new warehouses, multi-family developments, new retail locations and more. We have seen new development at The Shops at River Walk, groundbreakings throughout town
PHOTO BY FELIX ADAMO
Jacqui Kitchen, Bakersfield planning director.
for businesses that are brand-new (and returning) to Bakersfield, growth of hospital campuses and athletic club chains and an overall strong investment in our community. This latest growth spurt begs the question: How does growth affect the city and is it a positive thing for Bakersfield? An even more interesting question that may hit home with residents is: Can Bakersfield retain its beloved hometown character, yet evolve into a urban metropolis that attracts new and exciting business, diverse shopping experiences and an increased variety of community events that are geared to all groups – families, high-schoolers, millennials, retirees and everyone in between? The answer to these questions appears to be a resounding yes! Growth within our community can be a remarkably positive experience and the evolution of our city to the next level can be achieved without sacrificing our cherished identity as a “big city with small-town charm and character.” Shiny new development projects have many attractive qualities as potential sources of tax revenue, job generators, opportunities for exciting new services and more. The key to properly accommodating new growth and maximizing the potential positive impacts to our community is balance. This means combining the desire for growth with efforts to plan with clarity, vision and with real consideration of input from the local community. There are countless factors that contribute to the way a community develops and when balanced effectively, these factors can foster growth with a pragmatic, yet creative approach. This means balancing all of the factors that can impact growth – including the recent challenges related to the statewide drought, increases in the number of cars on the roadways, finding compatibility between existing and proposed land uses, continuing to be a business-friendly community, and creating a city that is exciting and attractive. A key step is to plan in a way that accounts for all of the “hard costs,” such as impacts to municipal services and the environment but still encourages creativity and inspires developers to think “outside the box” – quite literally. A recent article in Western Real Estate Business identifies a number of fresh new ideas that are occurring across the nation. Empty shell buildings that once housed prerecession “big-box” stores are being converted into smaller “boutique” suites that house local businesses and
national chains side by side. One example is a former 100,000-square-foot Kmart in San Clemente that is being repurposed to become a Sprouts, SteinMart and Sport Authority – yes, all in one building! These businesses have agreed to deviate from their usual corporate building prototypes to try something new – to recycle an old building and revive an existing commercial space into a blended center of activity. Now, close your eyes for a moment and visualize a few vacant boxes around Bakersfield that could benefit from this approach. What kind of positive impacts would those shopping centers and surrounding neighborhoods see if new life were infused into those vacant shell buildings? Positive growth can be achieved by using a variety of tools such as creative zoning, flexibility and an open-minded approach to new and different types of development in our urban core areas, such as downtown Bakersfield. Both the state and federal government have passed clear mandates for higher-density sustainable growth and have allotted funding to help these efforts. In order to take advantage of these resources and still retain our unique Bakersfield identity, it is important to get out in front of growth and plan for it. The decisions that we make today will ultimately guide how Bakersfield will look 10, 20, 30 years from now. Together, we can formulate a vision of where new commercial and industrial growth should go, where expanded logistical and transportation centers make sense, suitable locations for much-needed multi-family housing and schools, how to allocate resources to achieve our goals and also where the community would like to retain the existing character of established neighborhoods. These ideas and more can help Bakersfield continue to develop its brand as a cutting edge community while maintaining our identity as a genuine center of hospitality. Partnerships between the community, private developers and public officials are a key step in ensuring that Bakersfield can continue on its upward trajectory as a true destination spot. Simply put, the opportunity is right in front of us to plan well and prosper. — Jacqui Kitchen is the planning director for the city of Bakersfield.