http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/30342 Castle &amp; Cooke got the OK Thursday night from the Bakersfield Planning Commission to make design tweaks to its Windermere development in the southwest. Several residents told commissioners they loved Windermere's design touches, including garages that are tucked away in alleys instead of being &quot;front-loaded&quot; or on the street. But realtor Louie Gregorio told commissioners he had a listing in Windermere for four months and clients consistently said they didn't like the alley feature. The neighborhood doesn't look like most Bakersfield subdivisions. And that's the problem, according to Castle &amp; Cooke. People who toured models told pollsters they wanted larger yards for their money. The company has sold less than 20 homes since the development came online. I went through a home in Windermere and its yard was plenty big. The woman has&nbsp; a lovely pool,&nbsp; lawn and storage space. Her house is gorgeous. What do you think? Is there an obsession with big lots in Bakersfield? Could Westchester, arguably the city's most desirable neighborhood, one that has homes that don't look the same, be built today? Would it fly? &mdash; Jenny Shearer, staff writer Castle &amp; Cooke got the OK Thursday night from the Bakersfield Planning Commission to make design tweaks to its Windermere development in the southwest. Several residents told commissioners they loved Windermere's design touches, including garages that are tucked away in alleys instead of being &quot;front-loaded&quot; or on the street. But realtor Louie Gregorio told commissioners he had a listing in Windermere for four months and clients consistently said they didn't like the alley feature. The neighborhood doesn't look like most Bakersfield subdivisions. And that's the problem, according to Castle &amp; Cooke. People who toured models told pollsters they wanted larger yards for their money. The company has sold less than 20 homes since the development came online. I went through a home in Windermere and its yard was plenty big. The woman has&nbsp; a lovely pool,&nbsp; lawn and storage space. Her house is gorgeous. What do you think? Is there an obsession with big lots in Bakersfield? Could Westchester, arguably the city's most desirable neighborhood, one that has homes that don't look the same, be built today? Would it fly? &mdash; Jenny Shearer, staff writer en-us <p><span style="font-size: small">That's my hood~ Old Westchester.One of my favorite&nbsp;activities was to go walking the area,enjoying the never ending supply of different types of style.&nbsp;That gave the area it's cohesiveness,IMHO.</span>&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/30342/#c_277017 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/30342/#c_277017 <p><span style="font-size: small">That's my hood~ Old Westchester.One of my favorite&nbsp;activities was to go walking the area,enjoying the never ending supply of different types of style.&nbsp;That gave the area it's cohesiveness,IMHO.</span>&nbsp;</p> <p>People just aren't really buying homes right now. It's a bad time to try to be unique. </p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/30342/#c_277046 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/30342/#c_277046 <p>People just aren't really buying homes right now. It's a bad time to try to be unique. </p> <p>I don't know if there's an obsession with large lots in Bakersfield or not.  That being said, I live on 1/2 acre and before that 1/4 acre.  When raising my family, the kids loved the benefit of having a large yard.  They could play football and baseball with no trouble.  And there are so many more options with a large lot.  My son has five kids and a postage stamp size lot.  This forces the kids into the front yard and onto the sidewalk.  I'd rather the kids have a nice sized play area in the backyard.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/30342/#c_277050 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/MoneyTalks/30342/#c_277050 <p>I don't know if there's an obsession with large lots in Bakersfield or not.  That being said, I live on 1/2 acre and before that 1/4 acre.  When raising my family, the kids loved the benefit of having a large yard.  They could play football and baseball with no trouble.  And there are so many more options with a large lot.  My son has five kids and a postage stamp size lot.  This forces the kids into the front yard and onto the sidewalk.  I'd rather the kids have a nice sized play area in the backyard.</p>