Final approval for Sage Ranch

At their August 16 meeting, the Tehachapi City Council gave their approval to the Final Master Development Plan for the Sage Ranch Community to be built on 138 acres between Valley Blvd. and Pinon St. next to Tehachapi High School. The approval included the CEQA EIR, the Planned Development Zoning and the Tentative Tract Map. As Christina Scrivner recused herself, the final vote was 4-0.

The community will consist of 995 single-family and multi-family residential units and include recreational amenities for the community. The community is to be built in seven stages. As part of the agreement, a major part of the amenities such as a club house, pool, etc., will be completed with the first stage. Should any of the remainder of the project not be completed, this will ensure residents of their amenities.

According to Development Services Director Jay Schlosser reasonable growth for the City is considered to be 2%. The addition of Sage Ranch is estimated to make the actual growth rate 2.3%. As the development will be done in stages, it falls close to these guidelines. Sage Ranch will pay upfront for the estimated additional 93 acre feet of water needed for the community above the reasonable growth rate. They will purchase the water from the City for $2 million a year. As the supplier, the City pays to build up its water reserves to accommodate drought years and is comfortable with the agreement.

The agreement was presented by Attorney Kristin Hagan of the Hagan Law Group in Bakersfield. The engineering report was given by Todd Wood, Director of Engineering for DeWalt Corporation in Bakersfield.

No date for groundbreaking has been announced.

The Tehachapi City Council meets on the first and third Monday of each month at 6 p.m. Currently they are meeting at the BeeKay Theater located at 110 S. Green St.