Next step for development, rental license update

The City Council voted on March 18 to proceed with the development of a CEQA Environmental Impact Report for the planned housing project to be located on 138 acres on the south side of Valley Blvd. and west of Tehachapi High School. The City will produce the document and developer Greenbriar Capital Corporation will then reimburse the city for the report. The Tehachapi Planning Commission approved the initial development concept at their Feb. 11 meeting.

For many years the City has used AECOM Technical Services, Inc. to provide engineering consultant services as needed to the city planning department on the occasion of department overload. Last year City Council unanimously approved a three to five year on-call agreement with the firm that would apply just to straight forward projects that are not related to any grant-related projects. An amendment to the agreement proposed at the March 18 meeting would add an engineer’s review, plan check services and processing subdivision plans to the agreement. The time and materials fee schedule remains the same as the original agreement. The agreement passed with a 4-0 vote; Councilman Kenneth Hetge abstained.

Councilman Hetge stated that because Development Services Director Jay Schlosser at one time worked for the Fortune 500 company, the agreement should be considered a conflict of interest. City Attorney Tom Schroeter asked Schlosser if he owned any stock in AECOM or had any relatives currently employed by the company, criteria that would indicate a conflict of interest. Schlosser replied that he did not. Schlosser joined City staff in 2012 as city engineer after having served the city as contract city engineer since 2004. He was named head of the Development Services Department in 2015.

In response to public comments made relating to the proposed business license for rental property owners that was introduced at the March 4 Council meeting, City Manager Greg Garrett said the project has been shelved. “We didn’t do our homework,” said Garrett, “We thought it was a good idea but the people didn’t like it so it’s off the table.”

Tehachapi City Council meetings are held the first and third Monday of the month at 6 p.m. in the Wells Education Center, 300 S. Robinson St.