PUBLISHED 3/30/08 ---

It is with gratitude that Bakersfield homeowners, developers and taxpayers should greet Kern County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Twisselman’s ruling regarding the city’s hillside ordinance.

Earlier, Twisselman determined the city failed to study the environmental consequences of the ordinance, which imposes rules for building on hillsides and bluffs in northeast Bakersfield.

In a subsequent ruling signed just days ago, Twisselman allowed the ordinance to remain in effect while the city completes the required environmental study.

This means developers will be able to rely on consistent building requirements while the study is under way. They can move forward with their projects.

Homeowners will be able to rely on the rules approved by the City Council in 2006 to protect themselves and their property from fire risks, slope failures and construction defects.

Taxpayers will be assured that appropriate building rules are in place, the public is protected and the risk of legal challenge to the city’s regulatory oversight is minimized.
Last week, City Council members met privately to discuss Twisselman’s ruling, which stems from efforts by a few developers to invalidate the hillside ordinance. Council members directed City Attorney Ginny Gennaro to proceed with the hiring of a consultant to prepare the environmental review ordered by Twisselman.

Gennaro is expected to return to the City Council on April 23. Council members may approve a contract at that time. The study is likely to cost about $250,000.

The money for a thorough analysis of the hillside ordinance will be well spent. It will assure the community that appropriate building rules are in place.

A courageous City Council, then comprised of Zack Scrivner, Harold Hanson, Jacquie Sullivan, David Couch, Sue Benham and Mike Maggard, adopted the hillside ordinance in 2006 after hours of sometimes heated public hearings and months of study. Maggard, now a Kern County supervisor, has since been replaced by Ken Weir.

The hillside ordinance was born of concerns about the construction of homes, roads and commercial structures on the fragile hillsides and bluffs in northeast Bakersfield.
It was a compromise negotiated by City Council members to balance the desires of developers with the need to protect homeowners from losses, and to protect the unique beauty of the area. It was criticized by some for being far less stringent than protective hillside building ordinances enforced in many Southern California communities.

But despite the compromise, a few developers, objecting to limits being placed on their projects, filed a lawsuit. Ironically, these same developers have a lot to lose if the ordinance is repealed: It could further delay the processing of their plans. Their projects, current and future, would have to be considered individually — rather than using a standardized set of rules. This could add to the processing costs and the time needed to approve plans.

Judge Twisselman is commended for handing down a cautious ruling that keeps the hillside ordinance in place and the community protected.

Bakersfield City Council members are commended for their concern for the community in adopting the ordinance in 2006, and for moving quickly to resolve Judge Twisselman’s concerns.

The environmental consequences of the hillside ordinance must be thoroughly and quickly studied.