Gavin Newsom, Governor
Jennifer Lucchesi, Director
April 8, 2026
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Alan Cazares
336 Pacific Avenue
Shafter, CA 93263
[email protected]
Assessor Parcel Number(s): Multiple
Project Location Address: West of Southern Pacific Railroad and the Lerdo Canal in the City of Shafter
PROJECT TITLE: Tentative Tract Map No. 7422
Public Resources Code (PRC) section 3208.1 establishes re-abandonment responsibility when previously plugged and abandoned oil, gas or geothermal wells will be impacted by planned property development or construction activities. Local permitting agencies, property owners, and/or developers should be aware of, and fully understand, that significant and potentially dangerous issues may be associated with development near previously abandoned oil, gas, and geothermal wells.
The California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) has received the above-referenced project dated March 12, 2026. To assist local permitting agencies, property owners, and developers in making safe and practical land use decisions regarding potential development near oil, gas, or geothermal wells, CalGEM provides a table in the attached enclosure of the wells within the parcel boundary or in its vicinity, based on CalGEM’s Well Finder database
(https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/doggr/wellfinder/).
CalGEM categorically advises against building over, or in any way impeding access to, oil, gas, or geothermal wells. Impeding access to a well could result in the need to remove any structure or obstacle that prevents or impedes access including, but not limited to, buildings, housing, fencing, landscaping, trees, pools, patios, sidewalks, roadways, and decking at the landowner’s expense if there is a need to access a well.
Maintaining sufficient access is considered the ability for a well servicing unit and associated necessary equipment (consisting of well servicing rig, pumping equipment, pipe trailer) to reach a well from a public street or access way, solely over the parcel on which the well is located. A well servicing unit, and any necessary equipment, should be able to pass unimpeded along and over the route, and should be able to access the well without disturbing the integrity of surrounding infrastructure. Impermeable
04/08/2026
State of California Natural Resources Agency | Department of Conservation Central District, 11000 River Run Boulevard, Bakersfield, CA 93311 conservation.ca.gov | T: (661) 322-4031
barriers such as asphalt, concrete, and plastic may trap hazardous gases and liquids underneath and could create a safety hazard if built over a well that later develops a leak.
CalGEM recommends that any well for which access is impeded or built over, against CalGEM’s advice, should be evaluated by a qualified petroleum professional for compliance with the statutory objectives of isolating all hydrocarbon-bearing strata; protecting underground and surface waters; prevention of subsequent damage to life, health, property, and other resources; and prevention of loss of oil, gas, or reservoir energy. CalGEM recommends that wells that do not meet these standards are abandoned or re-abandoned prior to construction. The well information can be accessed through CalGEM’s Well Finder database mentioned above. PRC section 3208, subdivision (a), provides the primary statutory authority for CalGEM to oversee adequate abandonment of wells. Additionally, CalGEM has developed the regulatory guidance for operators to be followed during well abandonment, which are listed within California Code of Regulation, title 14 (CCR) section 1723 and associated subsections (for onshore wells), and section 1745 and associated sub-sections (for offshore wells).
There is no guarantee that a well abandoned in compliance with current Division requirements as prescribed by law will not start leaking in the future. Due to the inability to predict all subsurface conditions or changes, it always remains a possibility that any well may start to leak oil, gas, and/or water after abandonment, no matter how thoroughly the well was plugged and abandoned. CalGEM acknowledges wells plugged and abandoned to the most current Division requirements as prescribed by law have a lower probability of leaking in the future, however there is no guarantee that such abandoned wells will not leak.
CalGEM advises that all wells identified on the development parcel prior to, or during, development activities be tested for liquid and gas leakage. Surveyed locations in Latitude and Longitude, NAD 83 decimal format, and leak testing results should be provided to CalGEM. CalGEM expects any wells found leaking to be reported to CalGEM immediately.
PRC section 3208.1 gives CalGEM the authority to order or permit the re-abandonment of any well where it has reason to question the integrity of the previous abandonment.
Responsibility for re-abandonment costs may be affected by the choices made by the local permitting agency, property owner, and/or developer in considering the general advice set forth in this letter. The PRC continues to define the person or entity responsible for re-abandonment as:
1. The property owner - If the well was plugged and abandoned in conformance with Division requirements at the time of abandonment, and in its current condition does not pose an immediate danger to life, health, and property, but requires additional work solely because the owner of the property on which the well is located proposes construction on the property that would prevent or impede access to the well for purposes of remedying a currently perceived future
04/08/2026
State of California Natural Resources Agency | Department of Conservation Central District, 11000 River Run Boulevard, Bakersfield, CA 93311 conservation.ca.gov | T: (661) 322-4031
problem, then the owner of the property on which the well is located shall obtain all rights necessary to re-abandon the well and be responsible for the reabandonment.
2. The person or entity causing construction over or near the well - If the well was plugged and abandoned in conformance with Division requirements at the time of plugging and abandonment, and the property owner, developer, or local agency permitting the construction failed either to obtain an opinion from the supervisor or district deputy as to whether the previously abandoned well is required to be re-abandoned, or to follow the advice of the supervisor or district deputy not to undertake construction that impedes access, then the person or entity causing the construction over or near the well shall obtain all rights necessary to re-abandon the well and be responsible for the re-abandonment.
3. The party or parties responsible for disturbing the integrity of the abandonment - If the well was plugged and abandoned in conformance with Division requirements at the time of plugging and abandonment, and after that time someone other than the operator or an affiliate of the operator disturbed the integrity of the abandonment in the course of developing the property, then the party or parties responsible for disturbing the integrity of the abandonment shall be responsible for the re-abandonment.
Should any wells require abandonment or re-abandonment, the responsible party must submit a Notice of Intention (NOI) to CalGEM through WellSTAR. The NOI form can be accessed in the ‘Plugging and Abandonment’ section of the following link:
https://www.conservation.ca.gov/calgem/for_operators.
No well work may be performed on any oil, gas, or geothermal well without written approval from CalGEM. Well work requiring approval includes, but is not limited to, mitigating leaking gas or other fluids from abandoned wells, modifications to well casings, and/or any other re-abandonment work. CalGEM also regulates the top of a plugged and abandoned well's minimum and maximum depth below final grade. CCR section1723.5 states well casings shall be cut off at least 5 feet but no more than 10 feet below the surface of the ground. If any well needs to be lowered or raised (i.e. casing cut down or casing riser added) to meet this regulation, a permit from CalGEM is required before work can start.
CalGEM makes the following additional recommendations to the local permitting agency, property owner, and developer:
1. To ensure that present and future property owners are aware of (a) the existence of all wells located on the property, and (b) potentially significant issues associated with any improvements near oil or gas wells, CalGEM recommends that information regarding the below identified well(s), and any other pertinent information obtained after the issuance of this letter, be communicated to the appropriate county recorder for inclusion in the title information of the subject real property.
04/08/2026
State of California Natural Resources Agency | Department of Conservation Central District, 11000 River Run Boulevard, Bakersfield, CA 93311 conservation.ca.gov | T: (661) 322-4031
2. CalGEM recommends that any soil containing hydrocarbons be disposed of in accordance with local, state, and federal laws. Please notify the appropriate authorities if soil containing significant amounts of hydrocarbons is discovered during development.
As indicated in PRC section 3106, CalGEM has statutory authority over the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil, gas, and geothermal wells, and attendant facilities, to prevent, as far as possible, damage to life, health, property, and natural resources; damage to underground oil, gas, and geothermal deposits; and damage to underground and surface waters suitable for irrigation or domestic purposes. In addition to CalGEM's authority to order work on wells pursuant to PRC sections 3208.1 and 3224, it has authority to issue civil and criminal penalties under PRC sections 3236, 3236.5, and 3359 for violations within CalGEM's jurisdictional authority.
CalGEM does not regulate grading, excavations, or other land use issues.
Should you have any questions, or if any wells are encountered that were not part of this letter, contact CalGEM at (661) 322-4031 or via email at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Emilio Flores
Office Technician
Enclosure
04/08/2026
State of California Natural Resources Agency | Department of Conservation Central District, 11000 River Run Boulevard, Bakersfield, CA 93311 conservation.ca.gov | T: (661) 322-4031
Enclosure: The wells listed below are reported to be located within and nearby the parcel boundary and may have future access impeded.
APN No. API No. Well Name
Multiple No wells found
EXHIBIT 4
RESOLUTION NO. 3076
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SHAFTER ADOPTING A NOTICE OF EXEMPTION AND APPROVING TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422, AS DEPICTED IN EXHIBIT “A” WITH CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL AS SHOWN IN EXHIBIT “B”
WHEREAS, Lennar Homes of California, Inc., 5 River Park Place East, Suite 210, Fresno, CA 93720, submitted a tentative tract map application to the City of Shafter to subdivide approximately 351.97 acres (gross) into 1,251 single-family residential lots, 29 public landscape lots, 2 sump lots, 1 school site, 1 water well site, and 4 public park lots within the adopted Gossamer Grove Specific Plan (previously the Coberly West Specific Plan); and
WHEREAS, Lennar Homes of California, Inc., 5 River Park Place East, Suite 210, Fresno, CA 93720, is requesting approval of Tentative Tract No. 7422 on that certain property in the City of Shafter as shown in Exhibit “A”; and
WHEREAS, the high-speed rail footprint as it is currently planned by the California HighSpeed Rail Authority, goes through an easterly portion of the proposed tract; and WHEREAS, The City, as required by the Subdivision Map Act, sent an agency notification to the High-Speed Rail Authority and no comments were submitted to Staff; and WHEREAS, the applicant has been made aware that the high-speed rail footprint goes through a portion of the property; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission did, on April 14, 2026 approve Resolution No. 26-483; a resolution of the Planning Commission of the City of Shafter recommending that the City Council approve Tentative Tract No. 7422 with conditions of approval; and WHEREAS, the City Council, through it Secretary, did set Tuesday, May 05, 2026, at the hour of 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 336 Pacific Avenue, Shafter, California, as the time and place for a public hearing before said City Council on said proposal, and notice of the public hearing was given in the manner provided in Title 16 of the Shafter Municipal Code; and WHEREAS, the project is statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, i.e., exempt from the requirements of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code, pursuant to California Government Code Section 65457; and WHEREAS, the project is within the scope of the Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that was certified for the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan (previously the Coberly West Specific Plan) in 2005 (SCH No. 2004101029) pursuant to Resolution No. 05-1738; and WHEREAS, the certified Program EIR adequately describes the activity of the residential development proposed in Tentative Tract No. 7422 as adopted in the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan (previously the Coberly West Specific Plan) under Resolution No. 05-1741; and WHEREAS, the facts presented in the staff report and evidence at the above referenced public hearing support the findings contained in this resolution; and
Shafter City Council Resolution No. 3076
May 5, 2026
WHEREAS, at said public hearing held on May 05, 2026, the proposed tentative tract map was duly heard and considered and the City Council found as follows:
1. All required public notices have been given. Hearing notices regarding the proposed project were mailed to property owners within 300 feet of the project area, the mineral rights owner, and published in a local newspaper of general circulation at least 10 days prior to the hearing.
2. The proposed tentative tract map is only proposing residential development consistent with the adopted Gossamer Grove Specific Plan. Therefore, the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, i.e., exempt from the requirements of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code, pursuant to California Government Code Section 65457. The project is within the scope of the Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that was certified for the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan (previously the Coberly West Specific Plan) in 2005 (SCH No. 2004101029). The certified Program EIR adequately describes the activity of the residential development proposed in Tentative Tract No. 7422 as adopted in the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan.
3. The City Council finds that Tentative Tract No. 7422, together with the provisions for its design and improvement, is consistent with the Shafter General Plan and the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan.
4. The City Council finds that the design of the subdivision provides, to the extent feasible, for future passive or natural heating or cooling opportunities in the subdivision.
5. The City Council finds that the site is physically suitable for the proposed type and density of development.
6. The City Council finds that the design of the subdivision and the proposed improvements are not likely to cause substantial environmental damage or substantially injure fish or wildlife or their habitat.
7. The City Council finds that the design of the proposed subdivision and the type of improvements proposed are not likely to cause serious public health or safety problems.
8. The City Council finds that the design of the proposed subdivision and the type of proposed improvements will not conflict with easements, acquired by the public at large, for access through or use of property within the proposed subdivision or with public access to public resources.
9. The City Council finds that the proposed subdivision is consistent with California Government Code Sections 66412.3 and 65584 regarding the City’s share of the regional housing need and that it balances the housing needs of the region against the public service needs of the City’s residents and available fiscal and environmental resources.
10. The City Council finds that the discharge of waste from the proposed subdivision into the existing sewer system will not result in a violation of existing requirements prescribed by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Shafter City Council Resolution No. 3076
May 5, 2026
11. The City Council finds the proposed subdivision is in substantial conformity with the Subdivision Map Act, and with Title 16 (Subdivision Ordinance) of the Shafter Municipal Code. The proposed lots are in substantial conformance with the provisions of the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan and all lots have adequate and proper access to public streets, sanitary sewer, water lines, fire hydrants, drainage structures and utilities.
12. The City Council finds the attached Conditions of Approval are deemed necessary for the safety and welfare of the community.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Shafter, in a regular meeting on the 5th day of May 2026, resolved to adopt a Notice of Exemption pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, and approve Tentative Tract Map No. 7422 (Exhibit “A”), as described in Resolution No. 3076, with the above findings and the conditions of approval as shown in Exhibit “B”, to allow the residential subdivision of a 351.97-acre site into 1,289 lots on portions of Lerdo Subdivision “A” in the south half of Section 25, Township 28 South, Range 26 East and the southwest quarter of Section 30, Township 28 South, Range 27 East (APNs 482-010-57, 482-040-12, 482-040-13, 482-040-15, 091-210-02, and 091-210-08).
PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 5TH DAY OF MAY, 2026.
_____________________________
Chad Givens, Mayor
ATTEST
_____________________________
Yazmina Pallares, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM
_____________________________
Marco A. Martinez, City Attorney
SUBJECT
PROPERTY
UNION PACIFIC RR LERDO CANAL
7TH STANDARD ROAD
99 FREEWAY
GOSSAMER GROVE
BOULEVARD
LERDO CANAL COBBLE
CREEK
DRIVE
GOSSAMER
GROVE
STONE CREEK DRIVE
COMMUNITY DRIVE
CALLOWAY
CANAL
FRIANT
KERN
CANAL
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASED
03/07/2026
EXHIBIT "A"
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASED
03/07/2026 Page 153 of 399
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASED
03/07/2026 Page 154 of 399
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASED
03/07/2026 Page 155 of 399
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASED
03/07/2026 Page 156 of 399
SECTIONAL BREAKDOWN N
APN 091-210-04
TRACT 7447 BOOK 68 OF MAPS, PAGES 27-33, K.C.R
APN 482-040-09 APN 482-010-05
APN 536-010-79
APN 091-210-03
APN 091-210-07
APN
482-010-57
APN 482-010-56
APN 482-010-52
APN 482-010-07
APN 482-040-13
APN 482-040-12
APN 482-040-14
APN 091-210-02
APN 091-210-08
APN 091-220-07
APN 091-210-08
APN 091-200-03
APN 091-200-02
APN 091-200-10
APN 091-200-11 APN 091-200-09
APN
482-010-03
APN 536-010-78
APN 536-010-18 APN 536-010-19
APN 536-010-25
FRIANT-KERN CANAL CALLOWAY
CANAL
TRACT 7332, PHASE 2 BOOK 64 OF MAPS, PAGES 67-78, K.C.R TRACT 7346, PHASE 1 BOOK 64 OF MAPS, PAGES 156-159, K.C.R
STONE CREEK DR
LERDO CANAL
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
GOSSAMER GROVE BLVD
APN 482-010-08 APN 482-040-15 LOT 172 OF TRACT 7332, PHASE 2 BOOK 64 OF MAPS, PAGES 67-78, K.C.R TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASED
STATE ROUTE VI-KER-99
03/07/2026 Page 157 of 399
REFERENCE LINE TABLE LINE TABLE
LOT 'GG'
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASED
OVERALL BOUNDARY
N
N
FRIANT-KERN CANAL CALLOWAY
CANAL
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
STONE CREEK DR
GOSSAMER GROVE BLVD
LERDO CANAL
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
LERDO
CANAL
03/07/2026 Page 158 of 399
LOT 'U' - PARK
LOT 'B' - PARK
LOT 'C' - SUMP
LOT 'Y' - SUMP
LOT 'W' - PARK
LOT 'X' - PARK 1251
1 LOT 'V' - WATER WELL SITE PINKY LAKE LANE
LOT 'A' - SCHOOL
LERDO CANAL
CALLOWAY
CANAL
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASED
MEANDERING WAY
KELLINGTON DRIVE
CHAPALA STREET
SOARING
GOSSAMER
GROVE BOULEVARD
KELLINGTON DRIVE
MEANDERING WAY KACEY LANE
BENS
ELLA BELLA DRIVE
BELLA
TUCKER
LANE PINKY LAKE
LANE
GASTON WAY HONEY
GLADE
LANE
GIZMO WAY
LEXI WAY
STONE CREEK DRIVE
LOT & STREET OVERVIEW
N
NORTH SHORE DRIVE
PAMPAS
DRIVE
TRACT 7447 BOOK 68 OF MAPS, PAGES 27-33, K.C.R
TRACT 7332, PHASE 2 BOOK 64 OF MAPS, PAGES 67-78, K.C.R TRACT 7346, PHASE 1 BOOK 64 OF MAPS, PAGES 156-159, K.C.R
CHAPALA STREET
MEANDERING WAY
MEANDERING WAY
JEWETTA
JEWETTA
HEIGHTS
WAY
SPRING
DRIVE
JASPER STREET
STOUT WAY BEAR LAKE WAY
VIBURNUM WAY
WOODFORD STREET
LINKS SIDE WAY
ROCK
SPRINGS GARDEN
LANE POINT LANE
FOREST GARDEN DRIVE
VALLEY GARDENS DRIVE
HILL FORESTDRIVE
FOREST COVE DRIVE
GROVE LAKE DRIVE
ELLA
DRIVE
VIEW DRIVE CECE LANE LACEBARK PINE WAY HACKBERRY DRIVEOLLIE LANE ENZO
JACK PINE WAY
CLIFF DRIVE
SUMMER APPLEWOOD LANE
BREEZY
LANE
FOREST BUFF DRIVE
ROUND
SPRINGS
LANE
SANDYGROVEWAY
LAKE LANE GOLDEN
SPRINGS DRIVE RUNNING
BIG SPRINGS DRIVE
DAPHNE DRIVE
CALAMUS
LANE
SASSAFRAS DRIVE
DRIVE
KATSURA
TREE
PAGODA COURT
MARSHALL WAY
INDIGO
LANE
RAMBUTAN DRIVE
LIAHONA STREET
PITANGA
LANE
LYCHEE
COURT
LONGAN
LANE MANGO LANE
KIWI
DRIVE POMEGRANATE
DRIVE
DINO DRIVE NEMESIA WAY
MADONNA
POMELO
LANE DURIAN LANE EDELWEISS LANE
DAFFODIL DRIVE
MAIDENHAIR
COURT
TAMARILLO
LANE
GARLIC
COURT
PAPAYA
COURT
BONNIE LANE
QUIET GLADE DRIVE
WINDY LAKE
RIPP DRIVE
SUMMER SONG
COURT
DRIVEHEMLOCK LAKES WAY PIPPIN
LANE
NALA
BRANCH
LANE LONGFLOWER LANE MITZY DRIVE
LENZGROVE DRIVE
LAKEVILLE DRIVE
LAZY GROVE WAY
AVENUE
AVENUE
CASTLE CLIFF LANE
ARCATA STREET KINGDOM
EDGE
LANEBIRCH
VILLA
LANE
VINEYARDS DRIVE
TOWERGUARD
WAY
CANISTEL WAY
GUAVA DRIVE
JACKFRUIT DRIVE
GRAVIOLA
LANE SATSUMA
LANE
WATERVIEW WAY
BLAIR DRIVE RANCH WATER LANE
STARFRUIT
WAY
BLACKBERRY WAY
LILY DRIVE
SPRING LODGE DRIVE FLOWERPARK DRIVE CANAL
FRIANT-KERN
FOREST
CENTER
LANE
RAIN DRIVE
RIPP DRIVE
LODGE
03/07/2026 Page 159 of 399
ARCATA STREET
1209 1207
1216
1208
1214 1215
1211
1219
1218
1217
1206
1205
1202
1204
1203
1201
1196
1197
1193
1188
1189
1190
1191
1199
1195
1192
1194
1198
1200
LOT 'CC'
1228
1220
1223
1221
1222
1224
1225
1226
1227
1229
1249
1251 1250
1248
1247
1244
LOT 'EE'
1245
LOT 'W' - PARK
1243
1241
1242
1246
1212 1213
1210
LOT 'W' - PARK
LOT 'AA'
VINEYARDS DRIVE
KINGDOM EDGE LANE BIRCH VILLA LANEJEWETTA AVENUE
TOWERGUARD WAY
CASTLE CLIFF LANE
STARFRUIT WAY
BLACKBERRY WAY
LOT 'CC'
RANCH WATER LANE
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 2
FRIANT-KERN CANAL SEE SHEET 19
CALLOWAY CANAL
SEE SHEET 10
SEE SHEET 11
03/07/2026 Page 160 of 399
MAIDENHAIR
17 18
20 19
21 22
23 24
25 1082
1083
1084
1085
1228
1220
1223
1221
1222
1224
1225
1226
1227
1229
1230
1231
1233
1232
1249
1250
1248
1247
1244
LOT 'FF'
LOT 'W' - PARK
1235
1234
1236
1237
1238
1243
1239
1240
1241
1242
TOWERGUARD WAY
CASTLE CLIFF LANE
STARFRUIT WAY
BLAIR DRIVE
MEANDERING WAY
LOT 'CC'
JEWETTA AVENUE
COURT
LOT 'K'
RANCH WATER LANE
N
FRIANT-KERN CANAL
SEE SHEET 15
SEE SHEET 11
SEE SHEET 9
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 2
SEE SHEET 19 SEE SHEET 9 BLACKBERRY WAY
03/07/2026 Page 161 of 399
CHAPALA STREET
1202
1204
1203
1201
1172
1170
1093
1092
1091
1090
1089
1088
1087
1188
1189
1190
1191
1199
1198
1175
1200
1176
1182
1177
1178
1181
1185
1184
1183
1186
1187
1229
1233
LOT 'FF'
LOT 'W' - PARK
1235
1234
1236
1237
1238
1243
1239
1240
1241
1242
1173
1171
1168
LOT 'W' - PARK
1179
1180
1169
KINGDOM EDGE LANE BLACKBERRY WAY
LOT 'AA'
RANCH WATER LANE
MEANDERING WAY
JEWETTA AVENUE
KINGDOM EDGE LANE CANISTEL WAY
BIRCH VILLA LANE WATERVIEW WAY
JEWETTA AVENUE
SEE SHEET 9
SEE SHEET 10
CALLOWAY CANAL
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 2
SEE SHEET 12
SEE SHEET 15
BLAIR DRIVE
03/07/2026 Page 162 of 399
CHAPALA STREET
1119
1122
1120
1121
1172
1170
1093
1092
1091
1090
1089
1088
1182 1178
1181
1183
1160 1163
1174
1173
1171
1165
1164
1168
1167
1166
1162
1179
1180
1169
MEANDERING WAY
JEWETTA AVENUE
JEWETTA AVENUE
BONNIE LANE
RIPP DRIVE
MEANDERING WAY
LOT 'DD'
1161
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 2
N
SEE SHEET 11
SEE SHEET 13
SEE SHEET 15
CALLOWAY CANAL
BEAVER GLEN LANE
03/07/2026 Page 163 of 399
1140 PIPPIN LANE WINDY LAKE DRIVE
LONGFLOWER LANE 1059
1054
1057
1060
1056
1055
1058
1119
1122
1126
1124
1123
1120
1121
1127
1153
1142
1172
1112
1114
1118
1113
1116
1115
1117
1102
1103
1109
1110
1111
1128
1133 1132
1131
1130
1129
1108
1141 1139
1152
1154
1143 1144 1145 1146 1147
1148
1149
1150 1151
1125
1157
1158 1155
1159
1160 1163
1156
1174
1173
1165
1164
1168
1167
1166
1162
1169
LOT 'DD'
LOT 'DD'
RIPP DRIVE
HEMLOCK LAKES WAY
JEWETTA AVENUE
LOT 'DD'
QUIET GLADE DRIVE
SATSUMA LANE
LAZY GROVE WAY
JACKFRUIT DRIVE
BONNIE LANE
1161
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 2
SEE SHEET 12
SEE SHEET 14
CALLOWAY CANAL
SUMMER SONG COURT
SEE SHEETS 16 & 17
LENZGROVE DRIVE
03/07/2026 Page 164 of 399
1140
QUIET GLADE DRIVE
1027
1028
1029
1026
1025
1142 1128
1133
LOT 'Y' - SUMP
1132
1135
1134 1131
1130
1129
1136
1138
1141 1139
1143 1144 1145 1146 1147
1148
LOT 'DD'
JEWETTA AVENUE
1137 SUMMER SONG COURT
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 2
SEE SHEETS 17 & 18
SEE SHEET 13
CALLOWAY CANAL
LENZGROVE DRIVE
BONNIE LANE
PIPPIN LANE
APN 091-210-04
(NORTH KERN WATER STORAGE DISTRICT)
03/07/2026 Page 165 of 399
1051
91 90
89 88
86 85
87 134
1172
1170
1093
1092
1091
1090
1089
1088
1087
1082
1078
1073
1083
1086
1084
1085
1071
1076
1081
1079
1077
1080
1075
1072
1074
1118
1117
1104
1095
1106
1102
1103
1109
1110
1111
1231
1233
1232
LOT 'FF'
1235
1234
1236
1237
1238
1243
1239
1240
1241
1242
1101
1107
1108
1105
1174
1173
1171
1165
1168
1167
1166
1098 1094
1100
1099
1096
1097
H WATER LANE
MEANDERING WAY
JEWETTA AVENUE
JEWETTA AVENUE
CHAPALA STREET
RIPP DRIVE SATSUMA LANE
GUAVA DRIVE
GRAVIOLA LANE
JACKFRUIT DRIVE
LOT 'BB'
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 2
SEE SHEETS 10 & 11
SEE SHEET 16 SEE SHEET 12
SEE SHEET 21
FRIANT-KERN CANAL
03/07/2026 Page 166 of 399
NALA BRANCH LANE LONGFLOWER LANE
101
100
102
1046
1045
1044
1043
1049
1050
1051
1059
1054
1057
1056
1055
1058
1119
1122
1126
1124
1123
1120
1121
1047
99 98
97 96
95 168
1048
1052
1053
1070
1093
1092
1091
1090
1078
1073
1071
1076
1079
1077
1075
1072
1074
1112
1114
1118
1113
1116
1115
1117
1104
1095
1106
1102
1103
1109
1110
1111
1065
1066
1064
1067
1068
1063
1101
1061
1069
1062
1107
1108
1105
1149
1150
1125
1158
1159
1098 1094
1100
1099
1097
JEWETTA AVENUE RIPP DRIVE
SATSUMA LANE
GRAVIOLA LANE
JEWETTA AVENUE
LAZY GROVE WAY
JACKFRUIT DRIVE
LAKEVILLE DRIVE
DINO DRIVE
LENZGROVE DRIVE
N
SEE SHEET 15
SEE SHEET 17
SEE SHEET 13
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 2
SEE SHEETS 21 & 22
FRIANT-KERN CANAL
LONGFLOWER LANE
NALA BRANCH LANE
HEMLOCK LAKES WAY
03/07/2026 Page 167 of 399
NALA BRANCH LANE LONGFLOWER LANE
103
197
105
104
1027
1028
1029
1030
1040
1031
1033
1038
1026
1042
1046
1045
1044
1043
1041
1032
1049
1050
1051
1059
1054
1057
1025
1060
1056
1055
1058
1127
1047
198
199
1039
1048
1037
1034
1035
1036
1052
1053
LOT 'X' - PARK
1070
1071
1072
1112
1114
1113
1116
1115
1117
1111
1065
1066
1064
1067
1068
1063
LOT 'Z'
1128
LOT 'Y' - SUMP
1130
1129
1061
1069
1062
LOT 'K'
JEWETTA AVENUE
JEWETTA AVENUE
LAZY GROVE WAY
JACKFRUIT DRIVE
LAKEVILLE DRIVE
MITZY DRIVE
DINO DRIVE
LENZGROVE DRIVE
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 2
FRIANT-KERN CANAL
N
SEE SHEETS 13 & 14
SEE SHEET 16
SEE SHEET 18
SEE SHEETS 23 & 25
HEMLOCK LAKES WAY
LAZY GROVE WAY
03/07/2026 Page 168 of 399
LONGFLOWER LANE
206
1027
1028
1029
1030
1040
1031
1033
1038
1026
1042
1043
1041
1032
1059
1025
1060
204
202
201
205
203
207
1039
1037
1034
1035
1036
LOT 'X' - PARK
LOT 'Z'
1061
LOT 'X' - PARK
JEWETTA AVENUE
JEWETTA AVENUE
MITZY DRIVE NALA BRANCH LANE
LIAHONA STREET
LONGFLOWER LANE
LENZGROVE DRIVE
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 2
N
SEE SHEET 17
SEE SHEET 14 FRIANT-KERN CANAL
SEE SHEET 25
APN 091-210-04
(NORTH KERN WATER STORAGE DISTRICT)
03/07/2026 Page 169 of 399
MAIDENHAIR
MADONNA LILY DRIVE
86 85
84 87
83 82
77 17
16 18
20 19
21 22
23 24 25 26
15 13
8 7
6 3
27 35
2 4
5 1
12 11 9
14 10
131
81 80
79 78
142
140
141
139
134
132
137
135
138
133
1229
1230
1231
1233
1232
36 29 30 31 32 33 34 28
LOT 'L'
MEANDERING WAY PAPAYA COURT
COURT EDELWEISS LANE EDELWEISS LANE
DAFFODIL DRIVE
LOT 'K'
MEANDERING WAY
EDELWEISS LANE
LOT 'HH'
LOT 'II'
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1 SEE SHEET 20 SEE SHEETS 9 & 10
FRIANT-KERN CANAL
SEE SHEET 21
SEE SHEETS 10 & 15
03/07/2026 Page 170 of 399
183
182
158
159
155
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
77 35
131
130
156
142
140
141
76 75
74 73 72
71 70
66 65
67 68
69 64
63 62
56 55
59 57
61 60
58 47
50 52
51 53
54 961
963
962
973
965
964
957
959
958
956
960
46 955
988
987
48 49
36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45
LOT 'N'
LOT 'L'
LOT 'M'
157 EDELWEISS LANE EDELWEISS LANE GARLIC COURT
MADONNA LILY DRIVE TAMARILLO LANE
MEANDERING WAY POMEGRANATE DRIVE
DAFFODIL DRIVE FLOWERPARK DRIVE
LOT 'J'
EDELWEISS LANE LYCHEE COURT
LOT 'JJ'
N SEE SHEET 19 SEE SHEET 38
SEE SHEETS 21 & 22
SEE SHEET 40
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
DURIAN LANE
03/07/2026Page 171 of 399
DINO DRIVE
193
100
111
109
110
112
108
158
180
179
178
177
176
175
174
173
163
171
159
160
161
162
164
155
154
153
152
125
99 98
97 96
95 94
93 92
91 90
89 88
126
127
128
129
86 85
84 87
83 82
131
130
81 79 78
143
146
151
149
156
144
168
166
172
169
170
167
165
142
140
141
148
150
139
134
132
136
137
135
138 133
1082
1078
1076
1081
1079
1077
1080
1075
1074
1106
145
147
1107
1108
157
GRAVIOLA LANE
GRAVIOLA LANE
DAFFODIL DRIVE
LOT 'K'
EDELWEISS LANE
DURIAN LANE
LOT 'K' POMELO LANE
POMELO LANE
DINO DRIVE LOT 'K'
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
FRIANT-KERN CANAL
SEE SHEET 19
SEE SHEET 20
SEE SHEET 22
SEE SHEETS 15 & 16
03/07/2026 Page 172 of 399
DINO DRIVE
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
103
195
101
100
102
111
109
110
113
112
114
116
115
117
183
107
108
106
182
158
181
180
179
178
177
176
175
174
173
163
171
159
160
161
162
164
155
154
153
152
186
185
184
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
99 98
97 96
95 94
93 92
91 90
89 88
86 85
84 87
143
146
151
149
156
144
168
166
172
169
170
167
165
142
140
141
148
150
139
134
132
136
137
135
138 133
55 1073
1074
145
147
157
MEANDERING WAY
EDELWEISS LANE
DURIAN LANE
LOT 'K' POMELO LANE
FLOWERPARK DRIVE
NEMESIA WAY
DINO DRIVE
DAFFODIL DRIVE
LOT 'K'
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
SEE SHEET 21
SEE SHEET 20
SEE SHEET 23
SEE SHEET 24
SEE SHEET 16
FRIANT-KERN CANAL
MEANDERING WAY
03/07/2026Page 173 of 399
NALA BRANCH LANE
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
103
197
195
196
105
104
101
100
102
111
109
110
113
112
114
115
1046
1045
1044
1047
107
108
106
177
176
175
174
173
171
164
99 98
97 96
95 94
93 92
149
168
166
172
169
170
167
165
148
150
201
198
200
199
LOT 'K'
POMELO LANE NEMESIA WAY
LOT 'K'
FLOWERPARK DRIVE
DINO DRIVE
SEE SHEET 22
FRIANT-KERN CANAL N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
SEE SHEET 24
SEE SHEET 25
SEE SHEET 22
SEE SHEET 17
LIAHONA STEET
03/07/2026 Page 174 of 399
LOT 'B' - PARK
284
293
294
224
225
230
226
232
231
233
228
227 234
229
218
223
305
304
303
221
222
302
220
219
217
306
307
308
309
342
213
206
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
111
109
110
113
112
114
116
115
117
183
108
182
158
181
180
179
178
177
176
175
159
160
161
162
186
185
184
118
119
120
121
122 123
124
991
1001
1000
999
998
996 997
994
993
992
989
990
988
987
995
982
985
984
983
301
300
216
215
204
202
201
211
205 212
203
200
291
289
290 288
286
292
299
297
214
298
295
283
287
285
MEANDERING WAY
FLOWERPARK DRIVE
SPRING LODGE DRIVE
LIAHONA STREET 296
LOT 'A' - SCHOOL
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
SEE SHEET 23
SEE SHEET 22
SEE SHEET 25
SEE SHEET 28
SEE SHEET 26
SEE SHEET 40
KELLINGTON DRIVE
DINO DRIVE
NEMESIA WAY
MARSHALL WAY
03/07/2026 Page 175 of 399
375
374
373
KELLINGTON DRIVE SOARING HEIGHTS WAY
LOT 'C' - SUMP
217
213
206
1040
1038
1041
372
300
216
215
204
202
201
208
211
209
212
210
205
203
207
200
1039
299
297
214
298
LOT 'K'
LIAHONA STREET
296
SEE SHEET 24 N
FRIANT-KERN CANAL
SEE SHEET 23
SEE SHEET 28
SEE SHEET 18 SEE SHEET 31
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
TRACT 7447 BOOK 68 OF MAPS, PAGES 27-33, K.C.R
SPRING LODGE DRIVE
APN 091-210-03
(NORTH KERN WATER STORAGE DISTRICT)
03/07/2026 Page 176 of 399
246
245
MEANDERING WAY
DAPHNE DRIVE
SASSAFRAS DRIVE
BIG SPRINGS DRIVE
332 330
331
329
243 244
242 241
240
239
238
237
224
225
230
226
232
231
233
236
228
227 234
235
229
223
305
304
303
221
222
302
306
307
308
309
310
350 351 371
320 321 322
341
342
340
336
335
339
311
314
312
313
337
338
334 333
318 319 317
316
315
871
870
869
868
867
866
865 864 863 862 861
301
300
873
872
291
289
288 290
299
887 888
883
885 886
882
884
349
343
367
348
347 346
345
344
370
369
368 287
LOT 'I'
KATSURA TREE DRIVE
SOARING HEIGHTS WAY MARSHALL WAY
SPRING LODGE DRIVE
INDIGO LANE
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
SEE SHEET 43
SEE SHEET 29
SEE SHEET 24 SEE SHEET 27
SEE SHEET 28
03/07/2026 Page 177 of 399
525 524 523
527
529 530 531 532
528
526
489
494
495
496
499
497 498 246 247 245
810
812
813 814 815
811
800 801 802
799
807 806 805
492
493
LOT 'H'
490
491
SASSAFRAS DRIVE GOSSAMER GROVE BOULEVARD DAPHNE DRIVE CALAMUS LANE
MEANDERING WAY
BIG SPRINGS DRIVE
GOSSAMER GROVE BOULEVARD
FOREST BUFF DRIVE JACK PINE WAY 248 249 250
252
253
254
255
256
257
330 329 328 327
251
LOT 'I'
321 322 323 324 325
326
862 861 860 859 857
855
854
853
852
856
858
500
501 502 503
892
891
890
893
887 888 889
895 894
628
ENZO CLIFF DRIVE
LOT 'H'
SASSAFRAS DRIVE
MEANDERING WAY
LOT 'I' SEE SHEET
N 26
SEE SHEET 30
SEE SHEET 43
JACK PINE WAY
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
SEE SHEET 46
SEE SHEET 34
03/07/2026 Page 178 of 399
KELLINGTON DRIVE SOARING HEIGHTS WAY
284
293
294
282
281
224
230
232
231
218
223
305
304
303
221
222
302
220
219
217
306
307
308
309
310
341
342
340
339
311
213
279
280
372
301
300
216
215
211
212
291
289
288 290
286 292
299
297
214
298
295
283
287
285
LOT 'D'
SPRING LODGE DRIVE
MARSHALL WAY
KATSURA TREE DRIVE
LANE
SOARING HEIGHTS WAY
LOT 'E'
296
INDIGO
N
SEE SHEET 31
SEE SHEETS 25
SOARING
HEIGHTS WAY
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
SEE SHEET 24
SEE SHEET 26
SEE SHEET 26
SEE SHEET 29
LIAHONA
STREET
STOUT WAY
03/07/2026 Page 179 of 399
SASSAFRAS DRIVE
KELLINGTON DRIVE
KELLINGTON DRIVE
KATSURA TREE DRIVE
270 269
332 330
331 329
271
284
293
294
282
281
218
305
304
303
221
222
302
220
219
217
306
307
308
360
350 351 352
361
371
363
341
342
340
336
335
339
337
338
334 333
279
280
372
301
300
291
289
288 290
286 292
299
297
298
295
362
349
364
343
367
348
347 346
345
344
370
365 366
369
368
283
287
285
272
273
276
277
278
274
275
LOT 'E'
INDIGO LANE VIBURNUM WAY
PAGODA
COURT
296
N
SEE SHEET 26
SEE SHEET 31 SEE SHEET 30
BEAR LAKE WAY
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
SEE SHEET 28
SEE SHEET 26
STOUT WAY
SOARING HEIGHTS WAY
03/07/2026 Page 180 of 399
410 409 408 414 413 412 411
481
482
483
484
488
487
486
485
489
490
491
SASSAFRAS DRIVE
KELLINGTON DRIVE
GOSSAMER GROVE BOULEVARD
BREEZY LANE
CALAMUS LANE
255
256
257
258
266
LOT 'F'
259
260
261
268 263
269
329 328 327
360 359 358 357 356
355
350 351 352 353 354
361
500
512
262
267 265 264
KATSURA TREE DRIVE
SASSAFRAS DRIVE VIBURNUM WAY
407 406
429
405
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
SEE SHEETS 34 &
35 SEE SHEET 29
SEE SHEET 27
SEE SHEET 32
03/07/2026 Page 181 of 399
389
375
376
425 424 423 422 421 420 419 418 415 414 413
379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 390 391 392 393 394 416 427 426 417
377 378
428
374
373
KELLINGTON DRIVE
JASPER STREET STOUT WAY BEAR LAKE WAY
271 270 269
282
372
295
283 272 273
276 275 VIBURNUM WAY
PAGODA
COURT VIBURNUM WAY SOARING HEIGHTS WAY
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
SEE SHEET 29 SEE SHEET 25 SEE SHEET 32
VIBURNUM WAY
SEE SHEET 28
TRACT 7447 BOOK 68 OF MAPS, PAGES 27-33, K.C.R
APN 091-210-03
(NORTH KERN WATER STORAGE DISTRICT)
03/07/2026 Page 182 of 399
410 409 408 414 413 412 411
393 394 395 396 397 398
474 473 472
436
437 438
477 548
481 480 479 478
JASPER STREET LOT 'G'
KELLINGTON DRIVE
KELLINGTON DRIVE
WOODFORD STREET
399
407
400 401
406
404
435
475
434
LOT 'LL'
432
433
429
431
430
405
LOT 'KK'
402
403
476
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1 SEE SHEET 31SEE SHEET 33 SEE SHEET 30 SEE SHEET 35
GOSSAMER GROVE BOULEVARD
GOSSAMER GROVE BOULEVARD
VIBURNUM WAY FOREST CENTER LANE
LOT 'B' OF TRACT 7388, PHASE 1 BOOK 67 OF MAPS, PAGES 30-44, K.C.R TRACT 7332, PHASE 2 BOOK 64 OF MAPS, PAGES 67-78, K.C.R TRACT 7447 BOOK 68 OF MAPS, PAGES 27-33, K.C.R
APN 091-210-03
(NORTH KERN WATER STORAGE DISTRICT)
APN 482-040-09
(NORTH KERN WATER STORAGE DISTRICT)
STONE CREEK DRIVE
03/07/2026 Page 183 of 399
469 468 473 472 471 470
448 449 450 451 452 453 442 443 444 445 446 447 437 438 439 440 441 467
460 465 459
463 462 461 464
466
454 455
577 580
KELLINGTON DRIVE
WOODFORD STREET
KELLINGTON DRIVE LINKS SIDE WAY
456
458 457
714
KELLINGTON DRIVE
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1 SEE SHEET 32SEE SHEET 50 SEE SHEET 37 KACEY LANE
FOREST CENTER LANE
TRACT 7332, PHASE 2 BOOK 64 OF MAPS, PAGES 67-78, K.C.R
RED CREEK DRIVE
TAPESTRY WAY
APN 482-040-09
(NORTH KERN WATER STORAGE DISTRICT) APN 482-010-05
(NORTH KERN WATER STORAGE DISTRICT)
STONE CREEK DRIVE
03/07/2026 Page 184 of 399
517
518
519
626 624 623
522 525 524 523 520
521 527
534 529 530 531 532 533 535 537 528
526
489
494
495
496 499
497 498
844 813 814 815 816
492
493
LOT 'H'
490
491 GOSSAMER GROVE BOULEVARD
FOREST BUFF DRIVE JACK PINE WAY
MEANDERING WAY
252
253
254
255
256
257
251
500 501 502 503 504
536
628 627 625
ENZO CLIFF DRIVE
LOT 'H'
MEANDERING WAY N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1
SEE SHEET 35
SEE SHEET 46
SEE SHEET 36 SEE SHEET 27
BREEZY LANE
FOREST CENTER LANE SEE SHEET 36
03/07/2026 Page 185 of 399
548
549
477
513
514
516
515
517
518
519
481 480 479 478
482
483
484
488
487
486
485
489
490
491
GOSSAMER GROVE BOULEVARD SUMMER RAIN DRIVE
BREEZY LANE FOREST CENTER LANE
FOREST BUFF DRIVE
259
260
261 507 508
500
509
510
505
506
501 502 503 504
512
511
262
LOT 'H'
KELLINGTON DRIVE
429 405
476
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 1 SEE SHEET 37
SEE SHEET 30
SEE SHEET 32
SEE SHEET 34
03/07/2026 Page 186 of 399
634
637
636
635
638
639
640
589
608
609
610
588
587
586
594
595
590
591
592
593
602
607
606
605
604
603
565
569
571
570
567
568
566
564
560
558
559
562
561
563
540
541
542
543
544 516
517
518
519
611
612
623 618 617 616 615 614 613 626 624 622 621 620 619
522 524 523 520 521
534 531 532 533 535 537
FOREST BUFF DRIVE APPLEWOOD LANE JACK PINE WAY
MEANDERING WAY
ENZO CLIFF DRIVE OLLIE LANE CECE LANE KACEY LANE
632
633
631
505
502 503 504
539
536 538
628 627 625
LACEBARK PINE WAY
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3
SEE SHEET 37 SEE SHEET 48
SEE SHEET 35
SEE SHEETS 46 & 47 SEE SHEET 34
HONEY GLADE LANE
03/07/2026 Page 187 of 399
467
584
587
586
585
583
594
595
596
597
598
602
601
600
599
603
572
571
570
573
574
575 582
577
576
556
581
580
578 579
557
558
559
548
555
549 550
554
551 552
553
477
543
544
545
546
513 547
514
516
515
517 FOREST CENTER LANE OLLIE LANE CECE LANE KACEY LANE
HACKBERRY DRIVE
507
504
KELLINGTON DRIVE
SUMMER RAIN DRIVE
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3 SEE SHEETS 48 & 49
SEE SHEET 33
LINKS SIDE WAY
SEE SHEET 36 SEE SHEET 35 SEE SHEET 35
FOREST CENTER LANE
APPLEWOOD LANE HILL FOREST DRIVE
03/07/2026 Page 188 of 399
RAMBUTAN DRIVE
52 51
53 54
961
972
963
962
970
969
973
971
967 968
965
964
966
957 954 953
959
958
956
960
955 952 951 950 949 948 947 946
1022 1020
1023
1024
1021
1018
1017
1015
1016
975 977
976
LOT 'N'
LOT 'M'
POMEGRANATE DRIVE LYCHEE COURT MANGO LANE
KIWI DRIVE
LONGAN LANE
LOT 'O'
MANGO LANE
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3
SEE SHEET 40
SEE SHEET 20 SEE SHEET 20 SEE SHEET 39
03/07/2026 Page 189 of 399
923
924
925
927
935
933
934
932
931
930
929
928
926
940
LOT 'O'
939
942 941
950 949 948 947 946 945 944 943
1009
1008
1007
1005
1006
1004
1003
1002
1001
1000
1020
1024
1021
1013
1019 1010
1011
1018
1017
1015
1012
1014
1016
982
981
978
985
977
979
984
983
980
922
915
916
914
913
917
912
918
919
911
910
920
909
921
908
906
905
KIWI DRIVE
LONGAN LANE PITANGA LANE
RAMBUTAN DRIVE
SPRING LODGE DRIVE
PITANGA LANE
GOLDEN LAKE LANE
SANDY GROVE WAY
936
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3
SEE SHEET 41
GOSSAMER GROVE
BOULEVARD SEE SHEET 38
SEE SHEET 40
RUNNING
SPRINGS DRIVE
03/07/2026 Page 190 of 399
LOT 'B' - PARK
877
875
871
56 55
52 53
54 961
972
963
962
970
969
973
971
991
1008
1007
1005
1006
1004
1003
1002
1001
1000
999
998
996 997
994
993
992
989
990
988
987
995
1023
1024
1013
1017
1015
1012
1014
1016
975
982
981
978
985
977
979
984
983
980
976
974
986
876
873
874
872
LOT 'B' - PARK
LOT 'N'
LOT 'M'
POMEGRANATE DRIVE
POMEGRANATE DRIVE FLOWERPARK DRIVE
MEANDERING WAY
KIWI DRIVE
LONGAN LANE PITANGA LANE
SPRING LODGE DRIVE
MANGO LANE
PITANGA LANE
SPRING LODGE DRIVE
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3
SEE SHEET 24
SEE SHEET 38
SEE SHEET 39
SEE SHEET 43
SEE SHEET 20
SEE SHEET 38
RUNNING SPRINGS DRIVE
LONGAN LANE
03/07/2026 Page 191 of 399
770 769
771
SANDY GROVE WAY
GROVE BOULEVARD
ROUND SPRINGS LANE
GOSSAMER
LOT 'P'
923
924
925
927
935
938
933
934
932
931
930
845
929
928
926
877
848
850
849
846
847
940
LOT 'O'
939
944 943 942 941
1009
1008
1007
1005
1006
1004
1003
1002
1010
876
922
904
915
916
914
913
917
912
918
919
911
910
920
909
921
908
907 902
906
903
905
PITANGA LANE
RAMBUTAN DRIVE
SPRING LODGE DRIVE
SPRING LODGE DRIVE
ROUND SPRINGS LANE GOLDEN LAKE LANE
RUNNING SPRINGS DRIVE SANDY GROVE WAY
RUNNING SPRINGS DRIVE SPRING LODGE DRIVE RUNNING SPRINGS DRIVE 937
936
N
SEE SHEETS 44 & 45
SEE SHEET 39
SEE SHEET 42
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3
SEE SHEET 43
SEE SHEET 43
RAMBUTAN DRIVE
03/07/2026 Page 192 of 399
LOT 'S'
SANDY GROVE WAY
GROVE BOULEVARD
923
924
925
927
935
938
932
931
930
845
929
928
926
848
849
846
847
1009
1008
922
904
878
879 893
901
900
915
916
914
913
917
912
918
919
911
910
920
909
921
908
907 902
906
903
905
SPRING LODGE DRIVE GOLDEN LAKE LANE
ROUND SPRINGS LANE
SANDY GROVE WAY
RUNNING SPRINGS DRIVE
937
936
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3
SEE SHEET 43
SEE SHEET 41
SEE SHEET 41
SEE SHEET 43
03/07/2026 Page 193 of 399
773
775
774
808
MEANDERING WAY
SANDY GROVE WAY
ROUND SPRINGS LANE
BIG SPRINGS DRIVE
GOSSAMER GROVE BOULEVARD
TUCKER LANE
LOT 'Q'
240
239
238
237
226
233
236
228
227 234
235
229
923
924
925
927
938
845
929
928
926
877
875
871
870
848
869
868
867
866
865 864 863 862 861 860 859 857
855
854
853
852
851
850
849
846
847
1005
1006
1004
1003
1002
1001
1000
999
998
997
1013
1015
1014
982
981
856
858
876
873
874
872
922
904
878
879
880 892
891
890
893
887 888 889
881
883
885 886
882
884
897
896 895 894
899 898
901
900
915
916
914
913
917
912
918
919
911
910
920
909
921
908
907 902
906
903
905
PITANGA LANESPRING LODGE DRIVE GOLDEN LAKE LANE
SANDY GROVE WAY
RUNNING SPRINGS DRIVE SPRING LODGE DRIVE
SEE SHEET 27
SEE SHEET 26
SEE SHEET 40 SEE SHEETS 41 & 42
SEE SHEET 45
SEE SHEET 46
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3
N
GOLDEN LAKE LANE
SANDY GROVE WAY
GASTON WAY
03/07/2026 Page 194 of 399
770 769
771
772
762
759
768 767
761
760
766 765 764 763
LOT 'S'
776 777 778 779
780
GROVE BOULEVARD
ELLA BELLA DRIVE GOSSAMER
935
933
934
932
931
937
936
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3
SEE SHEET 45
SEE SHEET 41
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
TUCKER LANE
GIZMO WAY
SPRING
LODGE
DRIVE SEE SHEET 39
03/07/2026 Page 195 of 399
769
771
773
775
774
772
762
759
831
832
830
768 767
757
758
761
760
766 765 764 763
809
808
800 801 802 803
799
821
823
824
825
820
819
822
776 777 778
784 782
779
790
786 788
787
798 797 796 795
791
792
793
794
789
781
756
785
783
780
LOT 'S'
LOT 'S'
LOT 'R'
ANDY GROVE WAY
GOSSAMER GROVE BOULEVARD
LEXI WAY PINKY LAKE LANE
GIZMO WAY
GIZMO WAY
TUCKER LANE
GASTON WAY
HONEY GLADE LANE
ELLA BELLA DRIVE
ELLA BELLA DRIVE
848
852
851
850
849
846
847
LOT 'V' - WATER WELL SITE PINKY LAKE LANE
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3
SEE SHEET 43 SEE SHEET 47
SEE SHEET 44
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
SEE SHEET 46 SANDY GROVE WAY
PINKY LAKE LANE
03/07/2026 Page 196 of 399
496 499
497 498
844 843 842 841
810
809
808
812
813 814 815 816
811
800 801 802 803
799
805 804 807 806
824
827
825
826
820
819
818
817
LOT 'R'
GOSSAMER GROVE BOULEVARD
MEANDERING WAY
BENS VIEW DRIVE
LEXI WAY HONEY GLADE LANE PINKY LAKE LANE
TUCKER LANE LOT 'Q'
855
856
LOT 'R'
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3
SEE SHEET 34
SEE SHEET 45
SEE SHEET 43 SEE SHEET 47
JACK PINE WAY
SEE SHEET 36
03/07/2026 Page 197 of 399
640 612
831
832 830
829 833 LOT 'U' - PARK
828
834
842 841 840 839 838 837 836 835
823
756
755PAMPAS DRIVE
BENS VIEW DRIVE
MEANDERING WAY KACEY LANE
LOT 'S'
ELLA BELLA DRIVE PINKY LAKE LANE
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3 SEE SHEET 46
SEE SHEET 36
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
SEE SHEET 45
SEE SHEET 48
03/07/2026 Page 198 of 399
647 645 648 646
634
637
636
635
638
639
640
644 642
641
643
609
751
750
749
754
835
652 651
650 649
657
LOT 'U' - PARK KACEY LANE LOT 'S' GARDEN POINT LANE
ROCK
SPRINGS
LANE
FOREST COVE DRIVE
GROVE LAKE DRIVE 632
633
631
752
753
LACEBARK PINE WAY
LOT 'T'
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3
SEE SHEET 47
SEE SHEET 49 SEE SHEET 36 UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD MEANDERING WAY LACEBARK PINE WAY LERDO
CANAL
03/07/2026 Page 199 of 399
712
711
710
709
687 683 684 685 686 688 689 690
696
692
691
693
674
665
681
680 679 678 677 682
666 667 668 669 670 671
672
676 675
673
664 662 661 660 663 659
647 645 648 646
634
637
636
635
589
608
584
588
587
586
585
583
582
746
738
745
744
743
742
741
740
747
739
748
751
750
749
754
652 651
650 649
657
653 654 655 656
658
LOT 'S'
694
695
LACEBARK PINE WAY KACEY LANE GARDEN POINT LANE SPRINGS
LANE
FOREST COVE DRIVE
GROVE LAKE DRIVE
FOREST GARDEN DRIVE
HILL FOREST DRIVE
ROCK SPRINGS LANE
708
632
630
629
633
631 GARDEN POINT LANE
752
753
713
LACEBARK PINE WAY
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3 SEE SHEET 37
SEE SHEET 48
SEE SHEET 50
LERDO
CANAL
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
KELLINGTON
DRIVE
03/07/2026 Page 200 of 399
455 725 726 727 728 724 723 719 720 721 722 718 717
715
716
712
711
710
709
707 697
730
687
703 699
683 684 688
702 705
685 689
701
686 690
704 700 706 698
696
692
691
693
674
665
681
680 679 678 677 682
666 667 668 669 670 671
672
676 675
673
738
745
737
744
736
743
735
742
734
741
740
739
LOT 'S'
694
695
FOREST GARDEN DRIVE
HILL FOREST DRIVE
VALLEY GARDENS DRIVE
ROCK SPRINGS LANE
708
456
732
731
714
713
729
733
N
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422 - PHASE 3 SEE SHEET 33
SEE SHEET 49 LERDO
CANAL
GARDEN POINT LANE
KACEY LANE KELLINGTON DRIVE
APN 482-010-05
(NORTH KERN WATER STORAGE DISTRICT)
STONE CREEK DRIVE
03/07/2026 Page 201 of 399
1 EXHIBIT ‘B’
CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 7422
GENERAL
1. The owner(s), project proponent(s), and/or applicant(s) (hereinafter referred to as “Developer”), solely at their cost and expense, shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City of Shafter (hereinafter referred to as “City”), its agents, legislative bodies, officers and employees regarding any legal or administrative action, claim or proceeding concerning approval of Tentative Tract No. 7422 and/or related actions including, without limitation, actions taken or not taken with respect to the California Environmental Quality Act (hereinafter referred to as “CEQA”); or, at its election and in the alternative, shall relinquish such approval. Developer shall assume the defense of the City in any such legal or administrative action, claim or proceeding with legal counsel paid for in the entirety by Developer, but subject to the City's reasonable approvals. Developer shall also reimburse the City, its agents, legislative bodies, officers and employees for any judgments, amounts paid in settlements, court costs and attorneys' fees which the City, its agents, legislative bodies, officers and employees may be required to pay or otherwise pay because of such action, claim, or proceeding. The City may, at its sole discretion, participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action, claim or proceeding, but such participation shall not relieve Developer’s obligations under these conditions of approval (hereinafter referred to as “Conditions”).
2. The Developer or the Developer’s engineer shall submit a list of all contractors and/or subcontractors performing work on this project to the City Finance Department and such contractors and subcontractors shall obtain valid business licenses to do business and/or work in the City of Shafter.
3. The following disclosure shall be given as part of transfer of properties: “All your real property is near property used for agricultural operations, you may be subject to inconveniences or discomforts arising from such operations on any 24-hour basis. Said discomforts may include, but not be limited to equipment noises, odors from manure or other chemicals, and dust or smoke. The City has determined that the use of real property for agricultural operations is a high priority and favored use to the City and Kern County and will not be considered a nuisance for those inconveniences or discomforts arising from agricultural operations, provided such operations are consistent with accepted customs, standards, and laws.”
4. Until all portions of the tentative tract have been developed, all vacant and undeveloped land, not being actively farmed, shall be maintained in a weed-free and clean manner by the Developer. Should said property not be so maintained, the City shall notify the property owner that the property is to be cleaned within thirty (30) days of receipt of said notice. If the property owner does not comply within the required time frame, City may then clear the land and bill the property owner for expenses incurred.
2 5. Unless a final map is recorded, this tentative tract shall expire twenty-four (24) months from the date of approval by the City Council, unless an extension is granted by the City Council or by state law. If a discretionary extension is requested, the Developer, not less than sixty (60) days prior to the expiration date, shall submit to the City, the applicable processing fees and a completed application requesting an extension of the map approval in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Code and the Subdivision Map Act. PLEASE NOTE: This will be the only notice given for the above specific expiration date. The applicant is responsible for initiating an extension request.
6. All construction and development shall be consistent with the City of Shafter Gossamer Grove Specific Plan, the approved Tentative Tract No. 7422, and any approved alterations thereof.
PLANNING
7. Prior to initiating any grading or earthmoving within Tract No. 7422, the Developer shall provide the City of Shafter Planning Department with written confirmation from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) that the proposed development follows the requirements of the District’s Rule 9510.
8. The Developer shall be required to permanently maintain all landscaping, except for landscaping included in the Community Facilities District, including the replacement of any trees or shrubs that do not survive.
9. Only the street names or alternate street names that have been approved on the Tentative Tract Map shall be shown on the Final Map(s) for Tract No. 7422. If the Developer wishes to change the street names at any point in time, a street name change request will need to be submitted to the Shafter Planning Department and approved prior to changing or using any proposed street names.
10. If the Developer proposes to make any substantial changes to the approved tentative map contents, the Developer shall submit a Substantial Conformance application to the Planning Director for review and approval. The Planning Department may request that the Developer apply for a Change of Conditions to update any affected conditions of approval, as necessary.
11. Approved access shall be provided for each lot in accordance with City standards.
12. All roof-mounted air conditioning equipment shall be located on the rear portion of the roof ridge line in such a manner as to be screened as much as practical from view from public streets.
13. With the exception of model houses, as provided in Section 3.080, Chapter 3, Title 16 (Subdivision Ordinance) of the Shafter Municipal Code, no building permit shall be issued by the City of Shafter until Tract No. 7422 has been recorded pursuant to the requirements of the California Subdivision Map Act and Title 16 (Subdivision Ordinance), of the Shafter Municipal Code.
3 14. If Condition No. 149 (Subdivision Improvement Agreement) is initiated by the Developer and executed by the City of Shafter, no building permit shall be issued until wet utilities have been installed, an all-weather surface roadway is completed on the subject property, and survey stakes or other form of temporary documentation will be provided for, and approved by the Building and Safety Inspector, to verify building location. Missing stakes or other temporary documentation will result in delays in inspection schedule.
15. The following note shall appear on the final map and all grading and construction plans:
a. If during grading or construction, any plugged, abandoned, or unrecorded oil or gas wells are uncovered or damaged, the California Department of Conservation/Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) shall be contacted to inspect and approve any remediation required.
b. If any abandoned water wells are located within the development or discovered during excavation or grading, the Kern County Public Health Department - Environmental Health Services Program must be contacted to obtain information for the proper permitting and destruction procedures.
c. Building setbacks on lots with existing plugged wells shall satisfy the requirements of the CalGEM. If the recommended setbacks cannot be satisfied, the Developer shall submit, concurrent with the submittal for a building permit for the impacted lot, written confirmation from the CalGEM that the setback provided is acceptable.
16. During grading operations, all activity shall be restricted to periods of low wind to reduce dust emissions. Verification of compliance will be the responsibility of the City of Shafter Building Inspection Division.
17. Prior to construction, the Developer shall submit plans for the public parks to be developed on Lots B, U, W, and X, approved under Tentative Tract No. 7422. The public park designs shall be approved by the City of Shafter. All public parks in Tract 7422 shall be fully constructed, landscaped, and completed by the Developer, consistent with the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan and all applicable standards, prior to the issuance of 75% of the Certificates of Occupancy for the subject phase that the park is located within.
18. The Developer of Tract No. 7422 shall comply with all requirements of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD), prior to, and while grading and developing the site. It is the Developer’s responsibility to contact the SJVAPCD to determine with which requirements/rules the Developer must comply.
19. Prior to recordation of the first phase final map for Tract No. 7422, the Developer shall enter into a development agreement with the City of Shafter, in a form and substance reasonably approved and required by the City, which shall provide for a minimum square footage of residential units within the subdivision, and which shall provide for payment of park fees, traffic fees, and any other fees deemed necessary by the City.
20. All utilities shall be designed and constructed in such a way as to allow for them to be extended into any future residential development areas.
4 21. The public landscape lots and Nature Trail system in Tract No. 7422 shall be planted with a combination of evergreen and deciduous trees at a density sufficient to provide a yearround visual buffer. Tree species and spacing shall be reviewed and approved by the City as part of the approval of the landscape plans for the tract.
22. If during development activities, any wells are encountered, the property owner is expected to immediately notify the CalGEM construction site well review engineer in the Inland district office, and file for Division review an amended site plan with well casing diagrams.
23. On all corner lots and/or reverse corner lots within the tract, fences/walls shall not be located within the first 5 feet of the Public Utility Easement behind the street side yard and frontyard property lines. A note stating this must be included on all site plans during building permit review. The City will not permit walls nor fences to be built within the first five (5) feet of the PUE dedication on the side-yard of corner/reverse corner lots.
24. Secondary entry monuments shall be designed and installed by the Developer on Gossamer Grove Boulevard at the northern tract boundary, on Jewetta Avenue at the northern tract boundary, and at the western tract boundary near the Calloway Canal. These entries shall provide a visual gateway into Gossamer Grove, and consist of a combination of signage, lighting, and landscaping elements. Plans for the entry monuments shall be reviewed by the City prior to construction, and shall be fully constructed prior to Notice of Completion for the subject phase.
BUILDING
25. Prior to issuing a certificate of occupancy for any building, the building address(es) shall be permanently installed and be clearly visible from the street.
26. Prior to issuance of the first building permit, the Developer shall provide written confirmation to the City from the SJVAPCD confirming that any and all applicable off-site mitigation fees for the subdivision have been paid in full.
27. No final inspection or issuance of a certificate of occupancy shall be approved for any lot until all required improvements have been completed by the Developer and accepted by the City.
28. Developer shall pay all development fees and impact fees adopted by the City in effect at the time of issuance of any building permit or Certificate of Occupancy.
29. Developer shall comply with the latest California Building Code, California Mechanical Code, California Plumbing Code, California Electrical Code, California Fire Code and all other applicable codes, ordinances, regulations, and development standards in effect at the time of issuance of relative permits.
30. Prior to issuance of each building permit for houses within Tract No. 7422, Developer shall submit a site plan to the City of Shafter Planning Department for review and approval. The information shown on the site plan shall include, but not be limited to: reference to the floor
5 plan layout and building elevation (including exterior building materials and colors), easement locations and widths, patios, porches, driveways, etc. for each of the single-family residences to be constructed within Tract No. 7422. The siting of each structure on the plans must comply with the applicable lot development standards of the latest Gossamer Grove Specific Plan. The architectural and landscaping design features of each residence within Tract 7422 must be in substantial compliance with the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan Chapter 5: Design Guidelines.
31. Private drives constructed of Portland cement concrete shall be constructed at a minimum width of 16 feet from the edge of public roadway pavement to the garage of each home.
32. A landscaping plan, including design of a permanent irrigation system, shall be submitted to and approved by the Planning Director and City Engineer. Said approved landscape and irrigation plan shall be implemented prior to receiving a final inspection for any house constructed within the subdivision. All landscaping is subject to the requirements for landscaping contained herein these conditions and with City Standards. Landscaping shall include an irrigation system for both the front-yard and the street side-yard (where applicable) provided the street side-yard is not obscured from sight from an adjacent street by fencing, for each lot within the subdivision. Landscaping shall comply with current State guidelines for residential landscaping.
33. Fiber Optic Installation for Dwelling Units: Owner agrees to install in each dwelling unit the following fiber optic requirements:
a. Install a Dedicated City Fiber Enclosure adjacent to the other utility enclosures or a Common Communication Enclosure (collectively “Utility Enclosure”) for the proposed communications utilities (phone, cable, fiber, etc.). The enclosure type shall be Benner-Nawman 14326W-UL or as approved by the City. The Utility Enclosure may face the garage exterior or interior and shall include one 120-volt, 15-amp convenience receptacle inside the enclosure mounted on either side of the wall. A surge-protected receptacle must be installed or verification that an equivalent surge protection device (SPD) has been installed as an integral part of the service equipment or located immediately adjacent to the service equipment to be in accordance with article 230.67 of the California Electrical Code.
b. Install a wireless-transparent Structured Media Enclosure (“Media Enclosure”), such as models: Legrand 30” ENP3050, Legrand 42” ENP4250, Leviton 30” 49605-30W, Primex Verge 30” P3000, 42” Primex Verge P4200, or as approved by the City. The Media Enclosure shall be installed in the wall of a master bedroom closet or a laundry room furthest from the water supply and maintain a minimum 48-inch horizontal clearance between and 24-inch clearance above any metallic appliances or accessories.
The Media Enclosure shall include one 120-volt, 15-amp convenience receptacle located inside the enclosure.
c. Install a conduit pathway from the Utility Enclosure to the Media Enclosure with a minimum of one (1) 1-inch diameter non-metallic, flexible conduit which shall maintain a minimum 36-inch bend radius and protrude a minimum of 6-inches into the enclosures. The conduit shall be marked with orange Tyvek or plastic tags, labeled
6 “City Fiber 661-746-8929”, tie wrapped to the conduit in plain view within the enclosures.
d. Install a continuous conduit without breaks or couplings from the existing City Fiber Distribution Enclosure located in the right-of-way (“Distribution Enclosure”) to the bottom side of the Utility Enclosure. The conduit shall be installed a minimum of 36- inches below grade, protrude a minimum of 12-inches into the Utility Enclosure, be orange in color, and be factory labeled “City of Shafter 661-746-8929”. If the conduit does not have an integrated tracer wire, a continuous external #12 AWG solidconductor tracer wire with high-density polyethylene insulation rated for direct burial shall be installed along with the conduit leaving a minimum 15-feet of slack coiled in the Distribution Enclosure and 3-feet of slack coiled in the Utility Enclosure. The conduit and tracer wire shall be inspected by a City of Shafter representative before shading and backfilling.
i. After backfilling, polyester cable pulling tape (Muletape), or equivalent, shall be installed in all conduit paths between the Distribution Enclosure and the Utility Enclosure. Mule tape shall be slack (no tension) and fastened to the plug or cap. ii. Couplings shall be used to repair damaged or short-length conduit only if approved by the City. Conduit couplings shall be an air-tight, water-tight, pushon compression fitting approved by the City. Tracer wire couplings shall be airtight, water-tight, twist on or compression connector approved by the City.
Coupling integrity shall be inspected by a City of Shafter representative. e. Category 6 Unshielded Twisted Pair (CAT 6 UTP) cable (or as approved by the City) shall be installed according to industry standards and the requirements below, and shall not be pinched, stapled, bent sharply, or crossing any sharp, unprotected edges:
i. Install a minimum of two (2) cables from the Utility Enclosure to the Media Enclosure.
34. Developer shall be responsible for complying with any and all Pacific Gas and Electric requirements, for any development activity adjacent to/or within PG&E owned property, facilities and easements.
ENGINEERING
35. Developer shall record offsite easements and provide copies of executed documents to the City of Shafter for the following:
a. Friant-Kern Canal at Meandering Way license agreement, prior to Phase 1 final map recording.
b. Calloway Canal at Chapala Street license agreement, prior to Phase 2 final map recording.
c. Jewetta Avenue license agreement with the North Kern Water Storage District for access between Phase 2 and Marcona Preserve Specific Plan northern boundary, prior to Phase 2 final map recording.
The design, construction, and installation of any crossings or improvements tied to these license agreements shall be subject to the City of Shafter approval and affected agencies’ approval. The required improvements shall be completed prior to the Notice of Completion for the applicable phase.
7 36. Developer will be responsible for fully constructing a bridge west over the Calloway Canal into the Mission Lakes Specific Plan area if development of Tract 7422 Phase 2 begins before the Mission Lakes tract(s) associated with the bridge crossing. In such event, said bridge shall be completed by the Developer prior to the Notice of Completion for the 2nd phase of 7422. Developer of Tract 7422 shall bond for the required improvements prior to the Phase 2 final map recording.
37. Developer shall remove and replace any existing public or private improvements that may become damaged during any phase of construction, as required by the City Engineer. The contractor working within the public right-of-way shall obtain an encroachment permit from the City Engineer prior to commencing any such work.
38. Developer shall relocate and/or install all necessary infrastructure to provide utilities to the proposed project.
39. A ten (10) foot public utility easement, as shown on the tentative map, shall be provided in the front of all lots and on the street side of all corner lots/reverse corner lots as requested by the utility companies and the City Engineer. Easements shall be granted with the final map.
40. Easements to be given to the City or any other public utility agency for sewer, water, storm drain, electrical, or any other utility or similar purpose shall not cross private property without prior approval of the City Engineer.
41. Any above-ground utility cabinets or facilities to be located within the road right-of-way or public utility easement shall be permitted only upon approval by the City Engineer. Such approval will be made in writing, upon written request of the applicant and/or the affected utility company.
42. Any obstructions including utilities, irrigation lines, etc., shall be removed and/or relocated, if necessary, at the expense of the Developer.
43. No final inspection shall be approved until all required improvements have been completed by the applicant and accepted by the City of Shafter.
44. All new utilities shall be underground service.
45. During construction, vehicular access points shall be covered with decomposed granite, road oil, or some other treatment acceptable to the City Engineer, to prevent generation of dust during periods of vehicular activity and/or windy conditions and tracking of mud and dirt on public roadways.
46. Prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy on any lot of Tract No. 7422, all required improvements shall be completed and accepted by the City of Shafter. Required improvements shall be those improvements necessary to provide adequate City Services to the subject lot as determined by the City Engineer.
8 47. All improvements shall be complete within one (1) year from the date of filing of the final map for the development unless a time extension is granted by the City Engineer. The timing of improvements shall be subject to approval of the City Engineer.
48. Type and location of centralized mail delivery units shall be determined by the postal service. If the postal service requires special easements for the placement of the delivery units, then said easements shall be shown on the final map.
49. All road, landscaping, trail, sidewalk, block wall, and paseo improvements, required by and consistent with Tract No. 7422 and the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan, shall be constructed by the Developer and approved by the City of Shafter prior to recordation of the subject phase final map or shall be included as a public improvement in the subdivision improvement agreement. Wall plans, materials, and dimensions shall be consistent with the requirements of the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan and Tentative Tract No. 7422 and shall be approved by the City of Shafter prior to construction. The timing of improvements shall be subject to approval of the City Engineer. Construction of all improvements shall be completed by the Developer prior to the issuance of the Notice of Completion for the subject phase, unless stated otherwise in this Conditions of Approval document.
50. All landscaping, trail, sidewalk, block wall, paseo, and multi-use walkway improvement areas within the map boundary shall be dedicated to the City of Shafter with the recorded map for its respective phase. Areas located outside the tract map boundary shall be dedicated by separate instrument prior to, or concurrent with, recordation of the final map phase.
51. Developer shall place the entire subdivision within a new or add to an existing Community Facilities District (CFD) prior to the recordation of any final map and prior to acceptance of improvements by the City of Shafter. The maintenance district shall be set-up to cover the cost of street lighting, drainage basin maintenance, landscaping maintenance, and park maintenance, as well as all administrative costs associated with the City of Shafter’s management of the District.
a. The Developer shall be required to cover the cost of street lighting, maintain all landscaping, park maintenance, including the replacement of any trees or shrubs that do not survive, within public right-of-way and landscape easements for a period of one (1) year after final inspection of the landscape improvements, or until such time as the maintenance district is formed, whichever shall occur last. b. Developer shall be fully responsible for the formation, and formation cost of the Community Facilities District, as directed by the City Engineer. c. Developer shall be fully responsible for paying the cost of water for all landscaping and electricity for the streetlights for a period of one (1) year after issuance of Notice of Completion.
52. Engineered plans and building permits are required for all block walls greater than 6 feet in height. Block walls shall be built by the Developer at those locations consistent with the approved Tract No. 7422 and the approved Gossamer Grove Specific Plan.
9 53. Developer shall design and install a system of conduits, terminal enclosures, distribution enclosures, splice enclosures, connection points, and hand holes for a fiber optic network to each buildable lot within the development. Design and material specifications are available from the City of Shafter. Plans shall be submitted to and approved by the City of Shafter, prior to recordation of the final map, showing the proposed utility trench and all appurtenant hardware. The design shall include the following minimum specifications:
a. A combination of fiber optic conduits shall minimally include 4” SDR-11 HDPE, 2” SDR-11 HDPE, 1.25” SDR-11 HDPE, and 7-Way bundled HPDE innerduct with attached tracer wire. Fiber optic conduits may be joint-trenched with other utility company pipes and/or conduits.
b. All underground fiber optic conduits, innerduct bundles, etc. shall be factory-labeled “City of Shafter 661-746-8929”. Conduits shall be identified by a permanent marking, with the address number of the residence they serve, within the distribution enclosures.
c. All underground fiber optic conduit paths shall have tracer wire. If the conduit does not have an integrated tracer wire, a continuous external #12 AWG solid-conductor tracer wire with high-density polyethylene insulation rated for direct burial shall be installed along with the conduit leaving a minimum 15-feet of slack coiled in the endpoint enclosures.
d. The ends of all fiber optic conduits and innerducts shall be plugged or capped to prevent dirt, debris, or foreign objects from entering. e. After backfilling, all conduits shall be checked for obstructions, and re-excavated and repaired or replaced as required. All conduits ½-inch or larger shall require polyester cable pulling tape (Muletape) or equivalent installed. Polyester cable pulling tape (Muletape) shall be slack (no tension) and fastened to the plug or cap. Innerducts shall be mandrel tested and are subject to inspection by a City of Shafter representative.
f. A combination of underground utility enclosures shall minimally include 36”W x 60”L x 36”D polymer concrete enclosures with dual torsion covers, 36”W x 36”L x 24-36”D and 24”W x 36”L x 24-36”D High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) enclosures.
g. All underground utility enclosures shall be factory-stamped “City Fiber”.
54. Prior to construction, all improvement plans and landscaping plans shall be approved by the City of Shafter.
55. The side-yard fences constructed along local streets shall consist of a masonry block retaining wall topped with a wooden fence, or other material as approved by the City Engineer. Sufficient area behind the sidewalk shall be provided to accommodate the installation of community mailboxes, where required by the US Postal Service.
ENGINEERING: GRADING & DRAINAGE
56. Prior to review of any required improvement plans, both a drainage/hydrology study and a grading plan shall be submitted to and approved by the City Engineer. A master grading plan covering Tract No. 7422 shall be submitted and approved. Future development plans
10 shall be based upon the approved master plan. Any deviation from the approved master plan will require the approval of the City Engineer.
57. The drainage/hydrology study and hydraulic analysis for the project shall be performed by a registered civil engineer and submitted to the City Engineer for review and approval. The study shall demonstrate that any potential run-off will not impact surrounding properties.
The study shall focus on the project property and any affected adjacent properties.
58. A soils report, prepared by a registered civil engineer shall be submitted along with the grading plan. Soils report shall be performed in compliance with the latest edition of California Building Code, and Chapter 15.28 of the Shafter Municipal Code. In addition, all site grading, earthwork and building design shall be performed in accordance with the recommendations of the soils report.
59. A grading permit shall be obtained from the City prior to commencement of any grading activity.
60. Prior to issuance of a building permit, the Developer shall file a “Rough Grade Certificate” with the City in accordance with the City Engineering Design Standards. Rough Grade Certificate shall be accompanied by certified soil compaction test data from an acceptable materials testing company and a certificate that the rough grade is in substantial conformance with the approved grading plan and Chapter 15.28 of the Shafter Municipal Code. Developer to obtain “Rough Grade Certificate” form from the City.
61. Prior to final approval, acceptance of work, or issuance of Certificate of Occupancy, the Developer’s engineer shall file a “Final Grade Certificate” stating that all required grading has been done in accordance with the approved grading plan. Developer to obtain “Final Grade Certificate” form from the City.
62. The location and frequency of soils compaction testing shall be per the City Engineer. Soils compaction testing shall be provided by the Developer.
63. Minimum slopes across any flat surface shall be 1%. For slopes less than 1%, surface drainage shall be channeled into a concrete v-gutter, curb and gutter, underground storm drain, or similar drainage structure.
64. All building pads shall provide a minimum of 2% slope away from each house to an earth swale, and a minimum of 1% from the highest point in the swale to the street. A four-inch landscape drain may be used to replace the earth swale. The minimum pad height shall be twelve (12) inches above the adjacent curb.
65. Street side corner lots shall not have their side yard slope (finish grade to back of sidewalk) exceed 4 horizontal: 1 vertical. If maximum slope is exceeded, side yard shall be retained in an approved manner.
66. Wood retaining structures shall not be approved. Developer shall use masonry, keystone, concrete, or other approved material.
11 67. Engineered off-site drainage plans for Tentative Tract No. 7422 shall be submitted to and approved by the City of Shafter prior to recordation of a final map. The approved drainage facilities shall be constructed and approved by the City of Shafter prior to issuance of building permits.
68. All storm drain pipes and manholes shall be installed with the street paving. Catch basin shall be installed per city standards.
69. Drainage Basin:
a. Developer shall construct a drainage basin on Lots C and Y as shown on the Tentative Tract Map No. 7422.
b. Developer shall provide calculations showing all drainage areas utilizing the basin and show the percentage of the capacity utilized by Tract No. 7422. Basin size calculations shall be submitted by the Developer to the City Engineer for review and approval prior to final map recording.
c. Developer shall construct permanent masonry walls around the proposed drainage basin on Lots C and Y. The masonry walls shall be a minimum height of 6-feet, shall enclose the entire sump, and shall include a minimum 16’-wide access controlled by a wrought-iron gate with metal screening. A lockable privacy gate, concrete driveway, access easements, and drainage easements shall be provided for access and storm drain lines to the drainage sump as required by the City Engineer.
70. The number and location of street-based siphons and cross gutters allowed, if any, will be determined during the grading and drainage review process. The minimum grade for allowed cross gutters shall be 0.6%.
71. Grading onto adjacent property shall not be done without written permission from the adjacent property owner.
72. The Office of the City Engineer shall be notified 24 hours in advance of the placement of any fill material.
73. Fill and/or import material shall be subject to the approval of the soils engineer.
74. Developer is responsible for the grading of lot pad areas to within 0.1 foot of the design elevations.
75. All areas in the site on which structures are to be placed must be compacted to 90% relative density, for a minimum distance of 5-feet in all directions from the foundations of the structure.
76. All fill material shall be moisture conditioned to at least 2% above optimum moisture and compacted to 90% relative density, as determined by test methods referenced in Chapter
15.28 of the Shafter Municipal Code, and so certified by test and report from the soils engineer.
12 77. The design engineer shall exercise sufficient supervisory control during grading operations to ensure compliance with the plans, specifications, and code within his purview.
78. The placement of fill shall be in 6-inch-maximum lifts, compacted with heavy compaction equipment approved by the City Engineer, unless specifically recommended otherwise in the preliminary soils report.
79. Compaction in proposed pavement areas should be per City standards and should extend to a minimum distance of 2-feet beyond the outside edges of pavement.
80. All cut and fill slopes shall not be steeper than 2 horizontal to 1 vertical.
81. All fill areas to be cleared of all vegetation and other unsuitable materials for a structural fill and the areas shall be scarified to a depth of 6-inches, unless specifically noted otherwise in the preliminary soils report.
82. All slopes in excess of three (3) feet shall be prepared and maintained to control against erosion.
83. Grading work shall be supervised as engineered grading in accordance with Chapter 15.28 of the Shafter Municipal Code.
84. During grading, reasonable searching should be performed for concealed subsurface obstructions. All abandoned subsurface obstructions should be removed. If terminus of any abandoned piping is outside the project limits, the piping should be removed within the project and properly capped at the project boundary.
85. Developer's attention is directed to the provisions of SJVAPCD's Regulation VIII - Fugitive PM 10 Prohibitions, which requires the submission of a Dust Control Plan for certain construction projects. Developer shall comply with all applicable SJVAPCD rules and regulations including the submission of a Dust Control Plan as may be applicable.
Current SJVAPCD rules and regulations are available online at http://www.valleyair.org/rules/1ruleslist.htm.
86. It shall be the Developer's responsibility to prevent a dust nuisance from originating from the site of the work as a result of his operations. Preventative measures to be taken by the Contractor shall include but shall not be limited to the following:
a. Water shall be applied to all unpaved areas as required to prevent the surface from becoming dry enough to permit dust formation.
b. Paved surfaces over which vehicular traffic is permitted to travel shall be kept free of dirt.
c. Temporary suspension of the work, either as a result of order by the Engineer or as a result of conditions beyond the control of the Contractor shall not relieve the Contractor from his responsibility for dust control as set forth herein.
13 87. Any temporary drainage basin serving the subdivision shall be surrounded by a chain link fence with privacy slats.
ENGINEERING: WATER/FIRE
88. The Developer shall install two water systems for the project together with such equipment, pipeline, and facilities, including individual water services, as may be necessary to ensure the development has a minimum supply of water for the purposes of the development including fire protection. One water system shall be developed exclusively for drinking or domestic water service. The other shall be for fire protection, irrigation of lawns, parks, and common landscape area and be provided by either existing or new wells. Developer shall submit water improvement plans to the City Engineer and Oildale Mutual Water Company for review and approval. Developer shall construct the public water system in accordance with Subdivision Engineering Design Manual for the subject property. The dual water system shall be constructed by the Developer and approved by the City of Shafter and Oildale Mutual Water Company prior to recordation of the final map.
89. To the greatest extent possible, above ground air-vac or air release valves required by Oildale Mutual Water Company shall be in public landscaping or entrances to Natural Trail areas, and not along residential property frontages. This requirement is subject to the approval of Oildale Mutual Water Company.
90. The Developer shall provide a Will Serve Letter from Oildale Mutual Water Company prior to any final map recording.
91. To the greatest extent possible, wet utilities (sewer, water, storm drain) shall be installed between the flowlines on all streets.
92. Fire protection shall be provided per Kern County Fire Department Standards for the type of development. A Certificate of Approval shall be obtained by the Developer from the Kern County Fire Department. Evidence of this Certificate of Approval shall be provided to the City prior to acceptance of the water system by the City.
93. Prior to installation, all water improvement plans shall be reviewed and approved by the Kern County Fire Department. The review includes hydrant locations and access into and out of the tract. A plan review permit, obtained from the Kern County Fire Department, must be applied and paid for prior to the review of any modified or new tract map.
94. The water line size, location and materials shall be subject to the approval of the City Engineer. The minimum water line size shall be in accordance with the Subdivision and Engineering Design Manual.
95. Tie-ins to existing water mains shall be constructed in a manner approved by the City Engineer.
96. Whenever possible, the water system shall be looped to minimize dead ends.
97. Separate dual water services shall be installed for each residential property.
14 98. No permanent structures shall be constructed over proposed or existing utility easements.
99. Prior to issuance of a building permit, water mains and fire hydrants to be installed by applicant shall be completed, tested, and accepted (CFC). 100. The Developer shall provide AWWA approved fire hydrants that comply with Kern County Development Standards (Clow 850 or equivalent).
101. The required fire hydrants shall be placed a maximum of 660 feet apart throughout the tract for firefighting purposes. Final hydrant locations shall be approved by Kern County Fire prior to installation.
102. The Developer shall install reflective markers to identify hydrant locations pursuant to California Health and Safety Code 13060.
103. The required fire hydrants shall provide a minimum fire flow of 1,500 gallons per minute for 2 hours with 20 PSI residual, or as required by the Kern County Fire Department. 104. The water system for the required fire hydrants shall be looped, if practicable. 105. The Developer shall install the required water, access and street signs prior to issuance of any building permit.
106. A fire flow test shall be performed and approved by the Kern County Fire Department prior to issuance of any building permit and before any Certificates of Occupancy are issued.
The Kern County Fire Department shall be contacted for a fire flow test and approval prior to the commencement of construction.
107. All fire access roads to each parcel must meet specifications set forth in Section 503.2 of the California Fire Code and the applicable Appendix and Ordinance sections. 108. All new residential construction will require automatic fire sprinklers and shall meet all other fire requirements of the California Fire Code.
ENGINEERING: SEWER
109. No properties shall be served by a septic system.
110. Developer shall install a sewer system for the development together with such materials, pipelines, manholes, and individual services for the purposes of the development. Developer shall submit sewer improvement plans to the City Engineer for review and approval prior to recordation of the final map. Developer shall construct the public sewer system in accordance with the Shafter Subdivision Engineering Design Manual for the subject property.
111. All fees and costs necessary to connect to the sanitary sewer collection and treatment system shall be those in effect at the time the service connection is made.
15 112. Sewer line size, location, slope, and materials shall be subject to the approval of the City Engineer. Minimum sewer line size, location, slope, and materials shall also be in accordance with the Subdivision and Engineering Design Manual. 113. Tie-ins to existing sewer mains, manholes, or other structures shall be constructed as directed by the City Engineer.
114. Sewer pipelines and manholes shall be installed within the proposed street paving of the development.
115. Separate sewer services shall be installed for each property. At no time shall sewer be joint trenched with water.
116. Sewer lines shall not be permitted in easements between the backyards or side-yards of residential lots.
117. No permanent structures shall be constructed over proposed or existing utility easements.
ENGINEERING: STREET & TRAFFIC
118. Developer shall construct and provide rights-of-way for all streets, curb, gutter, cross gutter, drainage facilities, sidewalks, walls, landscaping, streetlights, drive approaches, intersections, and other related improvements consistent with Tentative Tract No. 7422 and the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan. Developer shall submit street improvement plans prepared by a registered civil engineer to the City Engineer for review and approval and shall include: Preliminary soils report, preliminary engineer’s estimate of construction costs; and plan check and inspection fees.
119. Additional rights of way easements or dedications necessary for street and/or public utility improvements located outside the tract boundary shall be granted to the City of Shafter prior to a final map recording, unless stated otherwise herein. 120. The drawings shall include all proposed public street pavement, curb, gutter, driveways, streetlights, cross gutter, catch basins, striping, signage, traffic signals, and sidewalks along the perimeter of all streets adjacent to or within the project site. Said improvements shall be constructed as per the street improvement plans approved by the City Engineer in a manner consistent with the Subdivision and Engineering Design Manual. 121. All local streets shall be developed as full-width streets in accordance with standards and specifications of the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan and the City of Shafter, as approved by the City Engineer. All local streets shall be fifty-two (52) feet full right-of-way with forty (40) feet flowline to flowline.
122. Should a street transition to another street with a ninety (90) degree turn occur, that transition shall be a street knuckle and shall be shown on the final tract map and in the street improvement plans.
16 123. Cul-de-sac and street knuckle dimensions and radii to conform to the Subdivision and Engineering Design Manual and/or as approved by the City Engineer. The use of off-set cul-de-sacs is approved provided they meet the requirements of the City of Shafter. 124. Street signs shall be installed per City standards as required by the City Engineer. 125. During construction, the Developer shall maintain the project, including all adjacent streets in a dust free condition. This condition applies at all times including weekends, evenings, and nighttime hours. During construction operations, cleanup of soil from the public roadways shall be required, if deemed necessary, by the City Engineer. 126. All utilities proposed under paving shall be installed prior to paving. Cover over utilities shall be at a depth as approved by the City Engineer.
127. Driveway approaches shall be constructed in a manner consistent with the requirements for residential approaches as set forth in the City’s Subdivision and Engineering Design Manual or as permitted by the City Engineer.
128. Sidewalk, including curb, shall be five (5) feet wide and shall be placed behind the curb, or as specified by the Gossamer Grove Specific Plan. Transitions at intersections and wheelchair ramps shall be provided and installed per the City’s Subdivision and Engineering Design Manual.
129. Monument and monument covers shall be set per City Standards. 130. Temporary turnarounds, if required, including right-of-way, shall be granted, designed, and installed per the Subdivision and Engineering Design Standards. 131. Temporary barricades shall be installed at the north end of Jewetta Avenue, the south end of Jewetta Avenue, and the north end of Gossamer Grove Boulevard. 132. Property line locations shall be marked with a chiseled line on the top of curb for all property lines. The location of all sewer laterals shall be indicated on the top or face of curb with a stamped “S”.
133. Street lighting shall be installed in accordance with the City Engineering and Subdivision Design Manual as directed by the City Engineer. Developer shall coordinate with Pacific Gas & Electric to ensure that the streetlights are established under the LS-2A rate schedule. 134. Secondary access easements shall be provided at the request of the City Engineer. Within any given phase of development, secondary access easements and additional improvements for circulation shall be provided by the Developer in a manner approved by the City Engineer. Access roads shall be twenty (20) feet in width and shall consist of three (3) inches of Class II aggregate base over six (6) inches of native material compacted to 90% relative maximum density.
135. Waivers of direct access shall be dedicated and shown on the final map(s) for Tract No. 7422 as approved on the tentative map, subject to change by the request of the City
17 Engineer. Said waivers of direct access shall also be shown on the individual plot plans during building permit application.
136. The Developer shall provide a secondary access to Tract No. 7422 from the Mission Lakes Specific Plan area via Chapala Street or from Marcona Preserve, fully constructed to City standards, prior to the issuance of a building permit for the 200th dwelling unit within Tract No. 7422 Phase 2.
137. The Developer shall provide the City Engineer with a traffic study prior to the recording of any final map. If the traffic study determines that traffic signals are necessary, it shall be the responsibility of the Developer to install traffic signals at those intersections as determined by the study. The design, construction, and installation of the traffic signals shall be subject to the City of Shafter approval. Within any phase of development, Certificates of Occupancy shall not be issued until any required signals are installed by the Developer and made fully operational.
138. Caltrans District 6 recommends the Developer perform a safety analysis that shows the impacts of the development to the surrounding areas. Please reference the Caltrans Local Development Review (LDR) Safety Review Practitioner’s Guidance and send the scope of work for the safety analysis to Caltrans before the traffic study is conducted.
ENGINEERING: LANDSCAPING
139. Electrical Source for Landscaping:
a. Developer shall supply and install landscaping electrical services to power any and all required timers, solenoids, pumps, motorized equipment. Cabinets and meter pedestals shall be approved by the City of Shafter. Developer shall contract with Pacific, Gas & Electric the location of each pedestal and make all arrangements for them to deliver power at each location.
140. Water Source for Landscaping:
a. Landscaping water service point of connection shall be approved by the City Engineer. The water source shall be from the non-potable water system installed with the tract.
141. Landscaping Enclosure:
a. Landscaping timers, electrical service fuses, breakers, etc., shall be installed within a commercial grade landscaping enclosure.
b. Commercial grade landscaping enclosure shall be installed within the dedicated landscaping area adjacent to the water source and/or electrical source. c. Commercial grade landscaping enclosure shall be installed on a concrete foundation poured onto a minimum of six (6) inches of native subgrade compacted to 90% (or in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations, whichever is more stringent).
18 d. The City of Shafter Subdivision and Design Manual requires a 110-volt duplex electrical service within the enclosure.
142. The Developer shall comply with all requirements for grading and erosion control, including the prevention of sedimentation or potential damage to off-site property. 143. Sleeves shall be placed under the proposed paving for landscape piping or low voltage electrical per the City Engineer.
144. Public landscaping throughout Tract 7422 shall be reviewed and approved by the City of Shafter prior to installation. Plans shall show the locations of water and electrical services necessary to serve the landscaping and lighting needs of the areas. City Engineer may request that separate plan sheets be provided for the Natural Trail landscaping. 145. Landscape lots shall be equipped with a minimal number of benches, trash receptacles, water fountains, picnic tables, etc. as necessary. Details shall be worked out with the City during landscape plan review and approval.
146. Developer shall dedicate the public landscaping lots, nature trail, and paseos to the City of Shafter concurrent with the recording of the final map for the phase that said lot(s) is/(are) located in.
147. Developer shall dedicate the public park lots to the City of Shafter at the time of the recording of the final map for the phase that said public park(s) is/(are) located in. All park sites shall be improved to City of Shafter requirements/standards and built by Developer. 148. Developer shall be responsible for improving streets adjacent to the park sites (Lots B, U, W, and X) and adjacent to the school site (Lot ‘A’), to City standards.
ENGINEERING: SUBDIVISION IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENT
149. The Developer shall furnish the City of Shafter acceptable security to guarantee the construction of public improvements in accordance with all applicable provisions of the City of Shafter Municipal Code and the California Subdivision Map Act. The Developer shall enter into a subdivision improvement agreement with the City of Shafter for public improvements that are not yet completed at the time of Final Map approval. The subdivision
19 improvement agreement must be approved by the Shafter City Council and recorded with the Kern County Assessor-Recorder.
NORTH KERN WATER STORAGE DISTRICT
150. The Developer shall plan for and install a 6’-high block wall between Tract 7422 and the adjacent NKWSD’s Lerdo Canal, Calloway Canal, 8-1 Canals, and the 8-1 pipeline. a. The block walls and footings are to be outside of the District's property. No Public Utilities Easement (PUE) nor Wall Footing Easement (WFE) shall be placed on the NKWSD canal easement.
b. The Developer shall install a sound barrier wall or an approved equivalent around the Water Well Site (Lot V) and for any other project areas that are adjacent to Districtowned groundwater wells. 151. A concrete cut-off wall is required to be installed by the Developer within the Canal banks where pad elevations are lower than the canal's high-water elevation. 152. Appropriate access agreements shall be executed by the Developer with the NKWSD for any crossings of District facilities.
153. A Temporary Access agreement shall be entered into by the Developer and any contractors, to enter any District property or easement during development. 154. The following improvement plans shall be submitted by the Developer to NKWSD for review: Grading plan, Block wall plan, cut-off wall plan, Sewer, storm drain, water, dry utilities, and landscape plans.
155. The plan indicates a proposed crossing of the District's Calloway Canal at Chapala Street.
Detailed bridge crossing plans must be submitted to the District for review and approval prior to construction.
MANAGEMENT REPORT
CITY OF SHAFTER
CITY COUNCIL REPORT
MEETING DATE: May 5, 2026
DEPARTMENT: Giovanni Perez, Economic Development Coordinator SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF THE CITY OF SHAFTER FIVE-YEAR ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN (EDSP)
RECOMMENDATION
Council finds that the action is not defined as a “project” per Section 15378(b)(5) of the CEQA Guidelines; adopts the City of Shafter’s Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan
BACKGROUND
On November 18, 2025, the City Council approved a professional services agreement for the City to partner with Civic Solutions Partnership LLC (“CivicSol”) to prepare Shafter’s first formal Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (“EDSP”).
This major initiative began in recognition that Shafter is at an inflection point. Growth is occurring, major development activity continues, and the City remains well-positioned within the regional economy. The question before the City is how intentionally it will guide that growth to strengthen economic diversification, expand quality job opportunities, and ensure long-term community benefit. The EDSP gives the City a clear framework to take a more proactive role in shaping economic prosperity.
The EDSP was developed through a focused and accelerated planning process informed by peer benchmarking, aspirational benchmarking, quantitative and qualitative analysis, stakeholder engagement, and evaluation of Shafter’s competitive assets, constraints, and strategic opportunities. In partnering with CivicSol, the City sought to prepare a practical strategy for advancing business attraction, business expansion, workforce alignment, infrastructure readiness, and long-term fiscal resilience. To put it simply, this strategy will help guide the City towards improving the quality of life, place, and opportunity in Shafter. The project also included development of a complementary CEDS framework to support future funding opportunities, but that component will be presented to City Council under a separate staff report.
This effort moved from project initiation to final plan development in just under five months, an accelerated timeline for a strategic effort of this scale. Staff and Civic Sol initiated the process with an early site visit, stakeholder interviews, formation of an internal executive-led Steering Committee, and discovery efforts to better understand Shafter’s economic position, development trajectory, and long-term opportunities.
ADOPTION OF THE CITY OF SHAFTER FIVE-YEAR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC
PLAN (EDSP)
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The project was organized into four phases: project launch, data and market analysis, community engagement, and final plan development and implementation readiness.
Throughout this process, the analyses were tested and refined through fifteen one-onone leadership interviews with city officials and key stakeholders, and seven sectorspecific roundtables that brought together over 54 participants representing landowners, employers, educators, businesses, regional partners, and other local partners. The project also built on prior major City initiatives and coordination with other ongoing planning efforts, including the General Plan Update.
The resulting EDSP establishes a five-year framework for advancing Shafter’s economic development priorities through six strategic goals, supported by implementation actions, measurable priorities, and a structure for ongoing performance tracking. Together, these goals build on Shafter’s current strengths while advancing more intentional industry diversification, value-added growth, corridor identity, internal execution capacity, and long-term competitiveness. The plan also includes an implementation roadmap, a Year One work program, and key success indicators to support future dashboard reporting and progress updates.
Adoption of the EDSP will provide the City with a clear, Council-endorsed five-year direction for economic development. The five-year timeframe is intentional. It is long enough to establish meaningful direction and momentum, while still being short enough to remain practical, actionable, and actionable. This allows the City to focus on foundational actions that can influence near-term decisions while strengthening Shafter’s long-term competitive position from an investment, land use, infrastructure, and overall economic development standpoint. In parallel, the City’s ongoing General Plan Update with PlaceWorks creates an important opportunity to align the EDSP’s near-term priorities with the City’s longer-term vision for growth over the next 25 years.
Following the adoption of the EDSP, staff will begin advancing the Year One work plan, with an emphasis on foundational internal capacity and rollout actions during the first several months of implementation. Staff also anticipates using the EDSP as an active management tool to guide priorities, coordinate with partners, refine implementation strategies, and report back to Council on progress and actions as appropriate.
FISCAL IMPACT
No budget action is required. This action is the last formal step of the EDSP formation project covered by the Economic Development Division's Professional Services Budget.
CEQA ANALYSIS
The action is not defined as a “project” per Section 15378(b)(5) of the CEQA Guidelines because the action is the approval of a strategic planning document to guide economic development priorities, and therefore, it is an organizational and administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment and is not subject to CEQA.
APPROVED BY THE CITY ATTORNEY
ADOPTION OF THE CITY OF SHAFTER FIVE-YEAR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC
PLAN (EDSP)
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ATTACHMENTS
1. Shafter, CA_EDSP_Spring 2026_withprintbleed
2. 260505_CCM_ShafterWhereIndustryMeetsOpportunity
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 1
Shafter — Where Industry
Meets Opportunity
SPRING 2026
5-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan
Shafter —Where Industry Meets Opportunity.
Built to Produce. Rooted in Community.
Turning industrial strength into shared prosperity—connecting clusters, corridors, and careers across the Central Valley’s most competitive platform.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
01 Executive Summary 4
02 The Big Picture 6
03 Our Engagement:
What We Did 10
04 Discovery Insights 12
05 Strategic Plan 34
06 Acknowledgments 87
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 4
01 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Shafter — Where Industry Meets Opportunity.
Over the past two decades, Shafter made disciplined bets on infrastructure, land use, and industrial recruitment—and those bets paid off. Traded sectors—industries that sell goods or services outside the local market and bring new revenue into the community—generate over $1 billion in annual exports. World-class logistics operations anchor the employment base. Rail, highway, broadband, and airport assets rival those of cities many times Shafter’s size. Threequarters of Shafter’s jobs are in traded sectors—far exceeding national averages—and a newly operational container exchange adds a structural efficiency advantage that no other Central Valley market currently offers.
But that industrial capacity has not yet translated into the broad-based prosperity the community needs. Wages remain below regional benchmarks despite strong export performance. Population growth is outpacing job creation. Growth is concentrated in logistics and agriculture—two clusters that anchor the economy but leave Shafter exposed if either faces disruption. And while traded sector concentration is exceptional, the economic value generated per job falls short of what those same sectors produce elsewhere. Shafter has built an export economy. The question this plan addresses is how to diversify that economy and increase the value it generates.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 5
What We Did
This plan is grounded in both rigorous analysis and authentic community voice. CivicSol conducted industry cluster analyses across five export-oriented sectors, benchmarked Shafter against fifteen regional and aspirational peer communities, assessed global trends shaping each target sector, and evaluated land use and infrastructure conditions along Shafter’s key economic corridors. That analytical foundation was tested and shaped through one-on-one leadership interviews with city officials and key stakeholders, seven sector-specific roundtables bringing together over 54 participants representing employers, educators, and regional partners, and iterative sessions with a Steering Committee that guided the plan from discovery through strategy. The result is a plan built not on outside assumptions but on Shafter’s own strengths, constraints, and strategic opportunities—as understood by the people who know it best.
THE FRAMEWORK: SIX GOALS FOR SHAFTER’S NEXT CHAPTER
The strategy is organized around six interconnected goals. Each addresses a critical dimension of economic competitiveness, and each reinforces the others. Together, they ladder to a single vision:
Shafter—Where Industry Meets Opportunity. Built to Produce. Rooted in Community.
Goal 1: The Logistics Advantage.
Scale Shafter’s logistics advantage by supporting automation-driven, technology-enabled distribution and supply chain operations—deepening the competitive position that already sets Shafter apart.
Goal 2: From Field to Future.
Position Shafter as a hub for value-added agriculture and next-generation agricultural innovation— transforming a foundational sector into a platform for higher-value production and processing.
Goal 3: Make It Here.
Grow Shafter’s role in aviation technologies and advanced manufacturing—capturing regional momentum in aerospace and precision manufacturing before it consolidates elsewhere.
Goal 4: Power the Whole Economy.
Support resilient energy systems while growing a cluster of companies that design and deploy these technologies—turning Kern County’s energy assets into a competitive advantage for every sector in this plan.
Goal 5: Corridors That Tell Our Story.
Transform Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard Road from industrial pass-throughs into economic destinations that support business growth and reflect the community Shafter is becoming.
Goal 6: Built to Execute.
Strengthen Shafter’s economic development capacity to support businesses, deepen partnerships, and deliver this strategy—ensuring the city has the institutional infrastructure to match its physical infrastructure.
The goal is not to reinvent Shafter. It is to build on what Shafter has already proven it can do—and ensure that the next chapter of growth creates pathways to prosperity that are as deliberate and durable as the infrastructure that made it possible.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 6
02 THE BIG PICTURE
Shafter’s economic position is not an accident. Over the past two decades, the city made patient, forward-looking decisions—entitling industrial land before demand arrived, investing in infrastructure calibrated to logistics and manufacturing trends, and building a reputation for regulatory competence and follow-through that most communities of any size cannot match.
Those decisions compounded into something real.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 7
The Assets
The question is not whether Shafter can compete—it is how deliberately it chooses to do so.
A Multimodal Logistics Platform Few Peers Can Match.
The Wonderful Logistics Center, dual Class I rail, I-5 and Highway 99 access, a planned intermodal inland port, available industrial land, and efficient entitlement processes create a physical infrastructure position that appreciates as land-constrained competitors lose capacity.
A Young, Diverse, Growing Population.
Population grew 9% from 2018 to 2023—nearly three times faster than Kern County. The median age is the youngest among regional peers, with a prime-age workforce concentration well above the national average.
Technology-Ready Infrastructure.
A special-district-owned airport features 100+ acres of leasable greenfield land, full hangars, and operational flexibility for drone technology and applied aerospace—plus city-owned dark fiber broadband providing redundancy and connectivity most peer communities cannot offer.
An Energy-Rich Region.
Kern County’s diversity of solar, wind, hydrocarbons, and emerging hydrogen assets makes energy not just a sector but a competitiveness platform underlying every cluster in this plan.
Anchor Employers and Institutional Partnerships.
The Wonderful Company provides employer stability, infrastructure investment, and a workforce development dimension rare for a city of Shafter’s size. Regional partners—including B3K Prosperity, Kern Economic Development Corporation (EDC), Bakersfield College, and California State University, Bakersfield, among others—amplify what any single city can do alone.
Institutional Capacity Built for Speed.
Shafter’s city government is widely regarded by developers, regional partners, and peer communities as responsive, disciplined, and capable of delivering. Public Works, Planning, and Building departments work in close coordination, entitlement timelines are predictable, and fiscal management is conservative and transparent. This is not cosmetic—it is competitive infrastructure.
In a state where entitlement friction and fiscal instability regularly derail investment, Shafter’s institutional credibility is itself an economic asset.
A Regional Land Position Extended Through Partnership.
Beyond city-owned inventory, Shafter sits within a broader land bank of greenfield acreage held by aligned, long-horizon owners. These are not passive landholdings. They represent coordinated development capacity at a scale few California cities can match. The City’s role is to help these partners realize their strategic priorities in ways that advance shared economic goals—positioning Shafter to shape corridor-scale transformation rather than react to fragmented, parcel-by-parcel change.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 8
The Competitive Position
Shafter is one of the few California cities where physical capacity, institutional capability, and regional partnership align at the same moment. Multimodal infrastructure, a young and growing workforce, technology-ready assets, energy-rich geography, and a credible development process sit alongside a coordinated land position that extends well beyond city boundaries. Few peers combine this many conditions at this scale. The result is a city positioned not simply to grow, but to choose how it grows—attracting higher-value clusters, absorbing corridor-scale investment, and converting regional advantage into local prosperity. The assets are the inputs. The competitive position is what they add up to.
The Challenge
Shafter’s growth trajectory is real—but growth alone does not guarantee prosperity. Several structural tensions demand strategic attention:
Demographic Momentum has Not Translated Into Economic Prosperity.
Shafter is young, diverse, and fast-growing, but poverty rates remain elevated, median wages lag, and population growth is outpacing job creation by a factor of three.
Jobs Without Upward Mobility.
Three-quarters of Shafter’s jobs sit in traded sectors, yet output per worker lags both regional and national benchmarks in those same sectors—a sign that the value embedded in each job has not kept pace with the scale of the base. Compounding the gap, the connection between residents and credentials remains the single largest structural weakness across peer comparisons, leaving too few accessible pathways into higher-wage roles. The result is an economy creating jobs faster than it is creating mobility.
Growth is Concentrated in Logistics, and Other Clusters Need Attention.
Recent employment gains are driven almost entirely by logistics. Agriculture faces projected decline.
Manufacturing, aerospace, and energy show regional momentum but minimal local presence.
Local-Serving Business Has Not Kept Pace With Growth.
Traded sectors generate substantial economic activity, but a significant share of local spending is still captured outside the city. Residents routinely drive to Bakersfield for retail, dining, and services, and downtown and corridor commerce have not grown in proportion to the city’s industrial and residential expansion. Without a stronger local-serving economy, Shafter risks building a job base that powers other cities’ retail districts instead of its own.
Corridors Function as Pass-Throughs, Not Destinations.
Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard Road carry industrial traffic but offer limited services, identity, or community-facing amenities—a missed opportunity as residential development accelerates nearby.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 9
The Imperative
The Risk is Not Decline. The Risk is Stagnation Amid Growth.
Shafter’s industrial base will continue to generate activity. Logistics will grow. Population will increase. But without a strategic framework that connects industry growth to workforce outcomes, corridor investment to community identity, and institutional capacity to the complexity of the economy, Shafter risks a future where growth continues but prosperity does not follow.
This plan provides the intervention. It is built on what Shafter does best—disciplined, infrastructuredriven economic development—and extends that discipline to the workforce pathways, corridor development, and institutional strategies that will determine whether the next decade of growth produces something fundamentally better.
The path forward is building deliberately on what already works—connecting industrial capacity to workforce outcomes, corridor investment to community identity, and institutional capacity to the complexity of what Shafter is becoming.
10 03 OUR ENGAGEMENT: WHAT WE DID
This strategy only works if it reflects both what the data reveals and what the people closest to Shafter actually know. The engagement process was designed to ensure both—combining rigorous economic analysis with sustained, authentic dialogue with the business leaders, city officials, educators, regional partners, and community members who understand Shafter’s trajectory from the inside.
The City of Shafter partnered with CivicSol to complete this work, guided throughout by a Steering Committee.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 11
Rigorous Analysis
The analytical foundation of this plan draws on multiple research streams conducted in parallel.
Benchmarked Shafter against fifteen regional and aspirational peer communities—evaluating competitive position across talent, prosperity, and livability dimensions.
Evaluated five export-oriented industry clusters across competitiveness, talent, and resilience indicators.
Forecasted global trends in each target economic sector, examining megatrends, policy and funding flows, and capital and innovation activity to identify where opportunity is heading.
Assessed land use, zoning, infrastructure, and assets along key economic corridors, including Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard Road—identifying catalytic sites, policy gaps, and investment opportunities.
Deep Community Engagement
Conducted one-on-one leadership interviews with key Shafter leaders and stakeholders—capturing diverse perspectives on Shafter’s trajectory, challenges, and opportunities.
Facilitated seven roundtables spanning target sectors, the Lerdo and 7th Standard corridor, and workforce and entrepreneurship—bringing together dozens of employers, operators, educators, and regional partners for sector-specific dialogue.
Facilitated a Steering Committee Collaborative Design Session to stress-test strategic goals, prioritize investments, and build shared ownership of the plan’s direction.
Leveraged recent community engagement conducted through the City’s General Plan update— ensuring that broader resident perspectives, priorities, and concerns were incorporated into the strategy without duplicating outreach efforts.
Every strategy in this plan is traceable to something we heard, something we measured, or both— grounded in the realities of the Shafter that exists today.
12 04 DISCOVERY INSIGHTS
The following insights emerge from months of research, analysis, and engagement. They are not a comprehensive inventory of everything we learned—they are the findings that most directly shaped the strategic choices in this plan. Some confirm what Shafter already knows about itself. Others point to structural gaps that the strategy is specifically designed to close.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 13
DATA PROFILE: SHAFTER BY THE NUMBERS
• 80%+ of residents come from diverse backgrounds—the most among regional peers • 9% population growth from 2018 to 2023—nearly 3x faster than Kern County • 9 in 10 households include children—the highest concentration in the peer set • 74% of jobs are in traded sectors—more than double the national average • $250M in annual supply chain imports—leakage that represents local opportunity • $1B+ in annual exports generated by Shafter’s traded-sector economy • 70% fewer bachelor’s degree holders than the U.S. average—the widest structural gap • 4.1% housing vacancy rate—the lowest among all peer communities Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2023; Lightcast 2025
14 “People think this just happened, but it didn’t. It
took years of decisions lining up.”
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 15
Insight 1
Shafter’s economic position is the product
of deliberate, patient decisions—entitling
industrial land before demand arrived,
investing in infrastructure to match logistics
and manufacturing trends, and building a
reputation for regulatory competence and
follow-through that few communities of any
size can match. Stakeholders consistently
described this as the foundation of the
city’s credibility with developers and
employers. What looks from the outside
like “overnight success” was, in reality,
the product of decades of planning and
execution—particularly decisions to align
rail access, freeway proximity, and entitled
industrial land with emerging logistics
trends before the market fully materialized.
That legacy now shapes expectations inside
the community. There is broad confidence
in Shafter’s economic fundamentals,
paired with a clear expectation that the
same level of strategic intent will be
applied to the next phase of economic
evolution: workforce development, sector
diversification, corridor activation, and
quality of life. Stakeholders want to see that
the city is thinking several moves ahead, not
simply reacting to immediate opportunities.
The strategy ahead must build on this
legacy of intentionality while clearly
articulating where new forms of strategic
thinking are needed as the city’s economy
grows more complex.
1. Shafter’s Success was Not Accidental—and the Next
Chapter Requires the Same Intentionality.
Decades of disciplined decisions built today’s position. Stakeholders expect the same strategic intent applied to what comes next.
16 “We built
something solid.
The question
is how it keeps
working when
the people who
built it aren’t here
anymore.”
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 17
Insight 2
Shafter’s demographic profile is a genuine
strategic asset. Prime-age workforce
participation runs 20% above the national
average. More than 80% of residents come
from diverse backgrounds, making it the
most diverse community among its regional
peers. Population grew 9% from 2018 to
2023—three times faster than Kern County
as a whole. Nine in ten households include
children, signaling a young, family-oriented
community with long-term labor force
potential that most communities would envy.
But the economic indicators tell a different
story. Poverty remains elevated. Median
earnings rank lowest among regional
peers—37% below Clovis, the highestearning comparable community. Population is outpacing job creation at a ratio of
approximately 3:1. The housing vacancy
rate is just 4.1%, the lowest among all
peers, putting pressure on affordability and
availability. The disconnect is structural:
Demographic momentum has not yet been
matched by the workforce pathways, wage
levels, or economic complexity needed to
translate population growth into broadly
shared prosperity. Closing this gap—
ensuring that Shafter’s young, growing,
diverse population can build careers and
wealth locally rather than commuting to
opportunity elsewhere—is the central
challenge of this strategy.
2. Demographic Momentum Hasn’t Translated to
Economic Prosperity.
Shafter is young, diverse, and growing fast—but growth alone hasn’t produced broadly shared economic gains.
18 “We know how
to get projects
through the door.
The question is
whether we’re
being strategic
about which doors
we open.”
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 19
Insight 3
Three-quarters of Shafter’s employment
comes from traded sectors—more than
double the national average—generating
over $1B in annual exports. By conventional
measures, this is an extraordinary economic
base for a city of 22,000. Few communities
of any size achieve this level of exportsector concentration.
But there is a mismatch between activity
and value. In most export-oriented
economies, traded-sector jobs generate
significantly more gross regional product
per worker than their employment share
would suggest—each job punches above
its weight in economic output. In both the
Bakersfield Metropolitan Statistical Area
and the U.S. overall, this pattern holds.
In Shafter, however, output closely tracks
job count rather than exceeding it. Traded
sectors account for roughly equal shares of
employment and Gross Regional Product,
meaning jobs are present but value per job
is lower than benchmarks. Productivity and
wages lag regional and national averages
across all five target clusters.
Shafter needs more jobs, and it needs
better jobs; and the two are not in tension.
Higher-value operations—automationenabled logistics, food processing, specialized manufacturing, cold chain
services, and supply chain functions—raise
wages, improve fiscal returns per worker,
and create career pathways rather than
just paychecks. The next phase of growth
should ensure that Shafter’s residents can
build careers locally rather than commuting
to opportunity elsewhere, and that every
new job contributes more economic value
than the last.
3. Jobs are Here, but Value Per Job is Not.
Shafter has built a traded-sector employment base that most small cities would envy—but productivity and wages lag.
20 “Why are we importing what we already
know how to support?”
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 21
Insight 4
These are not exotic products. They are
inputs purchased to support industries
that already operate here: maintenance
services, packaging materials, component
parts, professional services, and equipment
that existing employers buy from outside
the community because local suppliers
don’t yet exist.
This import leakage represents a
fundamentally different kind of economic
development opportunity than greenfield
recruitment. The demand already exists. The
purchasing relationships are established.
The industries generating that demand
are rooted in Shafter and unlikely to leave.
What’s missing is local supply—firms that
can fulfill existing procurement needs with
shorter lead times, lower logistics costs,
and the responsiveness that proximity
provides. Capturing even a fraction of
that $250 million would generate local
employment, strengthen fiscal returns,
and reduce operating costs for the anchor
employers whose purchasing creates the
opportunity in the first place.
Supply chain capture also compounds
across clusters. Each new local supplier
deepens the cross-cluster integration that
distinguishes Shafter from competing sites,
where a single investment benefits from
multiple overlapping systems rather than
operating in isolation. The opportunity is
concrete, measurable, and aligned with
what Shafter already does. It requires
execution, not reinvention.
4. $250M in Supply Chain Leakage is the Most
Immediate Opportunity.
Shafter’s traded sectors import approximately $250 million annually in goods and services that could be sourced locally or regionally—inputs flowing out of the community that represent unrealized employment, wages, and fiscal return.
Source: Lightcast 2025.
22 “The thing that Shafter was able to do better than most places is say, okay, this is who we are. This is what we have. And they stayed pretty focused.”
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 23
Insight 5
Cities often pitch themselves by sector: an
ag town, an energy hub, a logistics city. It
is an intuitive move, but a weak one. Sector
labels are broad, every region claims them,
and they rarely describe the actual work
a firm is shopping for when it chooses
a location. What firms are really asking
is more specific: Can this place process
at scale? Store and move temperaturesensitive product? Run automated fulfillment? Maintain equipment in the field?
Clear permits and stay compliant? Those
are functions, not industries—and they are
what location decisions actually turn on.
Shafter’s economy already answers those
questions well. It processes, stores, ships,
maintains, assembles, and complies—at a
scale few cities of its size can match. That
is a sharper and more durable identity than
“an agriculture city” or “an energy city,”
because functions outlast industry cycles.
When ag technology evolves, Shafter’s
processing and cold chain capacity remain
relevant. When energy markets shift, its
infrastructure reliability and industrial land
still matter. Competing on function gives
Shafter something to sell that does not go
out of style.
This framing also changes what Shafter
competes on. Inland California will rarely
beat Nevada, Arizona, or Texas on cost, and
chasing that race dilutes the advantages
Shafter actually holds. But firms today
weigh execution risk as heavily as cost—
whether water will be there, whether the
grid will hold, whether permits will move,
whether workers will show up trained.
Shafter can answer those questions with
evidence: water certainty in a state where
water is scarce, infrastructure reliability in
a region with grid constraints, California
regulatory readiness treated as access to
the nation’s largest consumer market, and
a workforce pipeline that already delivers.
The competitive case is not that Shafter
is the cheapest place to operate. It’s that
Shafter is one of the few places where
complex operations get simpler.
5. Shafter Wins On Capability, Not Industry Label.
Firms don’t choose cities by industry label—they choose by whether the work gets done reliably. That is where Shafter wins.
24 “If we don’t get the
workforce right,
none of the other
strategies matter.”
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 25
Insight 6
Across all five target clusters, workforce
availability emerged as the binding
constraint on growth—not as one factor
among many, but as the factor that
determines whether investment materializes
at all. Communities that demonstrate
training capacity attract investment.
Communities that promise future training
lose to those with operational programs.
The workforce overlap across clusters
is remarkable, and it represents one
of Shafter’s most significant untapped
advantages. The same maintenance
technicians, controls specialists, industrial
electricians, welders, mechatronics
specialists, and quality professionals
serve logistics, manufacturing, energy,
agriculture, and aerospace. A worker
trained in energy systems maintenance can
serve employers in manufacturing, logistics,
and agricultural technology. This means
workforce training should be built as a
unified platform serving all five clusters—
not five separate programs.
Because Shafter has 70% fewer bachelor’s
degree holders than the U.S. average,
the pathway forward is certifications,
apprenticeships, and stackable
credentials—not four-year degrees. The
Bakersfield College partnership must be
formalized and operational before major
recruitment efforts begin. And workforce
cannot be separated from housing: Job
growth without housing alignment creates
the same vulnerability as housing growth
without career pathways. When workers
can’t afford to live near where they
work, recruitment pipelines break down
regardless of training quality.
6. Workforce is the Prerequisite, Not the Byproduct.
Every cluster analysis reached the same conclusion: Training capacity must be demonstrated before investment arrives.
26 “It’s not about
walking away
from what works.
It’s about making
sure we’re not
boxed in.”
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 27
Shafter’s five target clusters are not
independent industries competing
for attention and resources; they are
interconnected systems that reinforce
each other. Logistics serves agriculture,
manufacturing, and energy. Manufacturing
is the shared platform across all clusters,
with overlapping workforce needs, supplier
relationships, and technical skills. Energy
infrastructure supports all industrial activity.
Agricultural production generates the
inputs that processing, cold chain, and
distribution systems move to market. And
the airport and airspace assets create
flexibility for drone operations, agricultural
aerial technology, and aerospace testing
that complement ground-based industrial
activity. That portability will make Shafter’s
economy structurally more durable than
communities where a single cluster’s
contraction leaves the workforce with
nowhere to go.
No other Central Valley community
combines Shafter’s specific mix of assets
in a single location: I-5 and SR-99 highway
access, dual Class I railroads, developmentready industrial land at lower costs than the Inland Empire or coastal California, proximity
to $70B+ in Central Valley agricultural
output, 20,000 MW of renewable energy
capacity permitted or planned in Kern
County, and rural airspace advantages
for drone operations. The compounding
effects are tangible: A cold chain fulfillment
operation can source from local processors,
use solar-powered refrigeration, maintain
automated systems with locally trained
technicians who also serve manufacturing
clients, and ship via the same intermodal
infrastructure supporting all five clusters.
Each cluster makes the others more viable.
The strategy should market Shafter as an
integrated supply chain community—not a
collection of separate industrial parks.
7. Cross-Cluster Integration is Shafter’s Competitive Edge.
Five interconnected—not siloed—clusters create compounding resiliency advantages no other Central Valley community can match.
Insight 7
28 “Coming up with
solutions where
you can be in
control of your
own destiny—not
having to rely
on legacy power
and being
independent.”
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 29
Energy is not simply another industry
vertical for Shafter; it is a competitiveness
platform that underlies every other cluster
in the strategy. Irrigation systems, cold
storage, food processing, warehouse
automation, heavy industrial equipment,
and freight movement all operate within
tight cost margins shaped by electricity
and fuel pricing. Shafter’s economic base is
disproportionately energy-intensive, and as
prices fluctuate and regulatory requirements
evolve, margin pressure intensifies across
every cluster simultaneously.
Kern County remains one of the most
energy-abundant geographies in California,
producing 71% of the state’s crude oil
while hosting 4 GW+ of wind capacity and
20,000 MW of renewable energy permitted
or planned. This creates a dual strategic
posture. Defensively, energy strategy
means protecting existing firms from cost
escalation through microgrids, distributed
generation, and wholesale procurement
pilots. Offensively, energy represents a
growth platform: manufacturing equipment,
providing field services, integrating storage
systems, and positioning for hydrogen
as demand aggregation makes local
production viable. The strategic question
is not whether Shafter will engage energy
strategically, but how deliberately it will
prioritize near-term margin protection
versus long-horizon energy sovereignty.
8. Energy is Structural, Not Peripheral.
Every cluster depends on reliable, affordable power—and Kern County sits at the center of California’s energy transition.
Insight 8
30 “We don’t want
to become just
another place
people drive past.”
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 31
Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard Road
move goods and workers efficiently, but
they operate as conduits rather than
destinations. Workers travel them but
do not stop along them. Residents pass
through but shop elsewhere. As one
corridor workshop participant described
it, the corridors are a “means to an end”—
useful, but not defining.
The risk is that as residential growth
accelerates along 7th Standard and
employment density increases along
Lerdo, the disconnect between industrial
function and livability becomes a strategic
liability. Lerdo is the front door to Shafter
for most visitors arriving from State Route
99, yet the visual narrative is fragmented,
without a clear sense of arrival or economic
identity. Along 7th Standard, residential
development is outpacing the commercial
and service infrastructure that new
households need. If these corridors remain
purely functional roadways, Shafter forfeits
the opportunity to convert mobility into
value capture and community identity.
Corridors also intersect directly with
workforce strategy. Housing supply, type,
and location along economic corridors
must coordinate with employment growth.
Stakeholders want phased, intentional
investment: gateway treatments, wayfinding,
streetscape improvements, and mixed-use
nodes that anchor economic activity rather
than allowing corridors to develop as
generic, automobile-dependent strips. The
goal is corridors that tell Shafter’s story—not
corridors that could be anywhere.
9. Corridors Should Generate Value, Not Just Move Traffic.
Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard Road carry industrial traffic but don’t yet function as economic destinations or community gateways.
Insight 9
32 “We used to be able
to coordinate over
lunch. Now we
need something
more formal.”
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 33
The stakeholder engagement surfaced
two distinct but related findings. First,
regional partnerships are essential. The
same partners appeared in every cluster
analysis: B3K Prosperity for clean energy
and workforce development; Kern EDC
for business attraction and incentive
navigation; Bakersfield College for
training and certifications; and CSU
Bakersfield for four-year pathways. Kern
County’s energy transition, manufacturing
modernization, and logistics expansion
are regional challenges requiring regional
solutions. Shafter’s role is not to duplicate
what these partners do. It is to position
as the preferred site within the broader
ecosystem—contributing developmentready land, workforce capacity, and regulatory competence that makes it
the location where regional strategies
become operational.
Second, Shafter’s internal coordination
must be formalized. The city’s prior success
was built through informal networks and
responsive leadership—systems that
worked when the economy was simpler
and the leadership group was smaller. But
managing five industry clusters, coordinating
regional partnerships, aligning workforce
and housing strategies, and executing
corridor investments simultaneously exceeds
what informal coordination can sustain.
Stakeholders recognized this across every
engagement channel. As one participant
put it, “We used to be able to coordinate
over lunch. Now we need something more
formal.” Leadership continuity, knowledge
transfer, dedicated staff capacity, and
structured coordination mechanisms are
not administrative overhead—they are
implementation infrastructure. Without them,
even the best strategy stalls at execution.
10. Institutional Capacity Must Match the Complexity
of the Economy.
Shafter cannot execute this strategy alone, but it also cannot execute it with informal systems designed for a simpler economy.
Insight 10
34 05 STRATEGIC PLAN
A Framework for Shafter’s Future
The strategy is organized around six interconnected goals—each addressing a critical dimension of economic competitiveness, and each reinforcing the others. The system logic matters:
Strengthening logistics creates demand for manufacturing. Modernizing agriculture generates need for cold chain and processing infrastructure. Energy affordability protects margins across every cluster. Workforce development is the prerequisite that makes all four cluster strategies viable. Corridor investment shapes whether growth translates into community identity or simply more pass-through traffic. And institutional capacity determines whether the city can execute at the pace this strategy demands. No single goal succeeds in isolation.
Elements of the Strategy: How this Plan is Organized
VISION
A preferred future
GOALS
Desired outcomes
STRATEGIES
How we activate and measure impact
ACTIONS
Steps, resources, partners
VISION STATEMENT
Built to Produce.
Rooted in Community.
Turning industrial strength into shared prosperity—connecting clusters, corridors, and careers across the Central Valley’s most competitive platform.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 36
GOAL 1:
THE LOGISTICS
ADVANTAGE
We will scale Shafter’s
logistics advantage by
supporting automationdriven, technology-enabled
distribution and supply chain
operations.
GOAL 2:
FROM FIELD
TO FUTURE
We will position Shafter
as a hub for value-added
agriculture and nextgeneration agricultural
innovation.
GOAL 3:
MAKE IT HERE
We will grow Shafter’s role
in aviation technologies and
advanced manufacturing.
GOAL 4:
POWER THE WHOLE
ECONOMY
We will support resilient
energy systems while growing
a cluster of companies that
design and deploy these
technologies.
GOAL 5:
CORRIDORS THAT
TELL OUR STORY
We will transform Lerdo
Highway and 7th Standard
Road from pass-throughs into
economic destinations that
support industrial growth and
enhance quality of life.
GOAL 6:
BUILT TO EXECUTE
We will strengthen Shafter’s
economic development
capacity to support
businesses, partnerships, and
the delivery of this strategy.
Goals
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 37
How Will We Know if We’re Succeeding?
Clusters are Diversifying and Creating Higher-Value Jobs.
Shafter’s economy is scaling automation-enabled logistics and food processing and diversifying into specialized manufacturing and energy services—raising wages and fiscal returns per worker.
Workforce Pipelines are Connecting Residents to Careers.
Bakersfield College partnerships are operational, certificate programs are enrolling, and employers across clusters are hiring locally trained technicians, operators, and specialists—not just recruiting from outside.
Corridors are Becoming Destinations.
Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard Road are showing visible signs of intentional investment: gateway improvements, new services, mixed-use activity, and an identity that signals Shafter’s next chapter.
Regional Partnerships are Producing Measurable Outcomes.
B3K, Kern EDC, Bakersfield College, and other partners are collaborating on workforce programs, business attraction, and infrastructure investments with Shafter as a preferred implementation site.
Shafter’s Story is Reaching the Right Audiences.
Site selectors, employers, and investors recognize Shafter as a cross-cluster industrial platform—not just a logistics address—and the city has the marketing tools and capacity to sustain that positioning.
Existing Businesses and Entrepreneurs are Supported.
Small businesses have access to resources, technical assistance, and city processes that help them start, grow, and stay in Shafter—and the entrepreneurship ecosystem is becoming more visible and intentional.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 38
GOAL 1: QUALITY JOBS AND INVESTMENT, ANCHORED LOCALLY.
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Why It Matters
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We will scale Shafter’s logistics advantage by
supporting automation-driven, technology-enabled
distribution and supply chain operations.
WHY IT MATTERS
Logistics is Shafter’s dominant economic cluster—and its greatest strategic choice. The city’s combination of I-5 and SR-99 access, dual Class I railroads, development-ready industrial land, and proximity to $70 billion in Central Valley agricultural output has already attracted significant warehouse and distribution investment. A newly operational container exchange and growing intermodal rail capacity add a structural efficiency advantage that no other Central Valley market currently offers.
But the national logistics industry is undergoing a structural transformation. The vast majority of North American warehouses have not yet adopted automation, and the Inland Empire’s saturation is pushing operators to seek Central Valley locations with available land and freight corridor access. This creates both opportunity and risk. Shafter can capture the next wave as higher-value, technology-enabled fulfillment—automated distribution, cold chain operations, integrated warehouse management—or it can accept more commodity warehousing that locks the city into low-wage, low-multiplier activity.
The wage gap between traditional warehousing and technology-enabled fulfillment is significant, and cold chain is the highest-wage, highest-growth segment. The choices Shafter makes now about infrastructure standards, tenant recruitment, and workforce preparation will determine which trajectory it follows.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 39
Strategies
1.1 Build automation-ready logistics infrastructure,
not commodity warehouse pads.
1.2 Anchor the cluster around cold chain and
specialized fulfillment.
1.3 Build the logistics technology workforce before
facilities arrive.
1.4 Leverage intermodal rail and the emerging trade
gateway to expand Shafter’s logistics reach.
1.5 Recruit strategically and market Shafter as an
integrated supply chain community.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 40
What’s Needed?
• Establish tiered development standards for new logistics facilities that support automation-ready operations—combining a baseline set of requirements (such as reinforced floors, high-capacity electrical service, fiber connectivity, and EV charging infrastructure) with enhanced standards that can be phased in or incentivized over time. → Raises the quality and long-term competitiveness of logistics development while maintaining flexibility for smaller operators adopting automation incrementally. • Position Shafter as a location where compliance is streamlined rather than burdensome. Operators who meet California’s standards gain access to the nation’s largest consumer market and can serve any market nationally.. → Turns regulatory complexity into a value proposition for operators already investing in electric fleets and energy-efficient facilities. • Coordinate infrastructure investments with energy strategy (Goal 4), ensuring logistics facilities have access to renewable energy, microgrid connectivity, and distributed generation options.
→ Reduces operating costs for energy-intensive cold chain and automation systems while reinforcing cross-cluster integration.
Strategy 1.1
Build automation-ready logistics infrastructure, not commodity warehouse pads.
Why It Matters:
Infrastructure standards determine the quality of investment a community attracts.
Logistics facilities built to minimum specifications—low electrical capacity, no fiber connectivity, floors that cannot support robotic systems—lock tenants into manual operations with lower wages and shorter commitments. Facilities built to automationready standards attract technology-forward operators that are making longer-term capital investments, hiring higher-skilled workers, and generating stronger economic multipliers.
Experience in other master-planned logistics communities confirms that upfront infrastructure investment generates substantially higher long-term returns than reactive permitting. California’s regulatory environment reinforces this approach: operators who build to California’s emissions, zero-emission vehicle, and energy efficiency standards can serve the entire North American market. Rather than treating regulation as a barrier, Shafter should market compliance-ready infrastructure as a competitive advantage.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 41
What’s Needed?
• Identify and prepare sites with dedicated cold chain infrastructure potential— proximity to agricultural inputs, power capacity for refrigeration, and freight corridor access—to signal market readiness to prospective operators. → Creates a purpose-built environment that reduces development risk for cold chain operators evaluating Central Valley locations.
• Recruit a national cold chain operator as an anchor tenant, with infrastructure, permits, and workforce training aligned before active recruitment begins. → Anchor operators catalyze complementary investment, once a major cold chain facility establishes presence, supplier and adjacent facilities follow.
Why It Matters:
Cold chain facilities generate higher wages, longer leases, more jobs per square foot, and stronger economic multipliers than conventional warehousing. Temperature-controlled logistics is among the fastest-growing segments in the industry, driven by e-commerce grocery, pharmaceutical distribution, and food safety requirements. Shafter’s proximity to Central Valley agricultural production—combined with freight corridor access—creates a unique “farm-to-frozen-to-fulfillment” advantage that no other Central Valley community can replicate. A cold chain operation in Shafter can source from local processors, maintain automated systems with locally trained technicians, and ship via shared intermodal infrastructure. Setting technology and certification standards from the outset creates a premium market: Operators who invest in compliance-grade infrastructure make longer capital commitments and hire at higher skill levels.
Strategy 1.2
Anchor the cluster around cold chain and specialized fulfillment.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 42
What’s Needed?
• Partner with Bakersfield College to expand logistics technology training—robotics maintenance, mechatronics, data analytics, warehouse management systems, and cold chain operations—with stackable credentials that create clear career pathways. → Cross-cluster skill portability means workers trained for logistics automation also serve manufacturing, energy, and agricultural technology employers. • Expand existing high school career and technical education (CTE) programs to include automation exposure, systems integration, and data literacy aligned with nextgeneration logistics operations. → Builds on Shafter’s existing K–12 workforce ecosystem, one of the city’s strongest and least marketed assets.
• Develop employer-driven apprenticeship and on-the-job training programs with logistics operators, ensuring training matches actual job requirements rather than a generic curriculum.
→ Employer involvement from program design through hiring commitment is what distinguishes effective workforce programs from performative ones. • Market workforce pipeline capacity as a recruitment tool, documenting graduation rates, certification completions, and employer placement outcomes in business attraction materials.
→ Transforms workforce development from a support function into a lead competitive advantage in site selection conversations.
Why It Matters:
The logistics workforce gap is acute and widening. Industry analyses estimate up to
1.9 million U.S. manufacturing and logistics technology jobs could go unfilled over the next decade. Communities that build training capacity before facilities arrive capture investment from operators who consistently cite workforce availability as their top site selection factor. Shafter already has a foundation few small cities can match: High school students enroll in logistics and distribution programs, graduate with industry-recognized certifications, dual-enroll with Bakersfield College, and participate in mechatronics and robotics apprenticeships with national employers. This is not theoretical workforce development; it is operational alignment between employers and educators. The opportunity is to deepen and formalize these pipelines, targeting the technical roles— robotics technicians, automation maintenance specialists, data analysts—that command wages above $60,000 annually and serve every cluster in this plan.
Strategy 1.3
Build the logistics technology workforce before facilities arrive.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 43
What’s Needed?
• Integrate the intermodal rail terminal and container exchange into Shafter’s economic development positioning, marketing the city as a Central Valley trade gateway—not just a logistics park with available land.
→ The rail-to-port connection is a structural competitive advantage that no other Central Valley community currently offers. Recruitment messaging should lead with it.
• Target trade-dependent operations—exporters, importers, customs brokers, freight forwarders, and 3PLs serving international supply chains—that benefit from direct rail access to coastal ports.
→ These operations generate higher-value employment and deeper supply chain relationships than domestic-only distribution.
• Coordinate with the Wonderful Company and the major ports of California to ensure the container exchange facility is integrated into broader logistics recruitment and that capacity expansion aligns with demand growth.
→ Partnership alignment ensures the facility serves Shafter’s economic development objectives—not just the logistics needs of a single operator. • Connect the intermodal advantage to agricultural export strategy (Goal 2), positioning Shafter as the point where Central Valley production meets global markets through integrated rail, cold chain, and processing infrastructure. → The “farm-to-frozen-to-export” value chain becomes Shafter’s defining logistics narrative—uniquely enabled by the rail-to-port connection.
Why It Matters:
Shafter’s logistics position is evolving from a regional distribution hub into something structurally more significant. The Wonderful Logistics Center sits on the BNSF main rail line and has partnered to improve goods movement between the Central Valley and global markets. An international rail terminal expected to begin operations in 2026 will enable containers to move directly by rail between Shafter and the San Pedro Bay ports, reducing truck congestion at coastal facilities and strengthening export capacity for Central Valley agriculture. The facility effectively functions as an inland port, linking production, logistics, and international shipping through a rail-connected container exchange. This is a structural shift: from a community that stores and distributes goods to one that connects Central Valley producers directly to global markets. The question is whether Shafter capitalizes on this infrastructure to attract trade-dependent operations and higher-value freight activity or treats it as a standalone facility without broader economic integration.
Strategy 1.4
Leverage intermodal rail and the emerging trade gateway to expand Shafter’s logistics reach.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 44
What’s Needed?
• Use sector-specific marketing materials for logistics and fulfillment that articulate Shafter’s cross-cluster value proposition—cold chain capability, freight access, colocated processing, shared workforce, intermodal rail, energy infrastructure—with data and case examples.
→ Moves Shafter from competing on cost to competing on compound value, differentiating the city from other Central Valley warehouse sites. • Pursue operator diversity across logistics segments—cold chain, technology-enabled fulfillment, 3PL, and specialized distribution—to build a diversified tenant base rather than concentrating in any single category.
→ Two or more anchors across different logistics segments create resilience and catalyze complementary investment.
• Proactively address community impact—truck routing, emissions controls, air quality mitigation, visual buffers, and design standards—before opposition emerges. → Warehouse development without community engagement generates opposition that can halt economic development entirely. Proactive management is strategic, not optional.
• Coordinate messaging with regional partners (Kern EDC, B3K Prosperity) to position Shafter within the broader Central Valley logistics corridor while maintaining a distinct identity. → Regional positioning amplifies visibility while Shafter’s unique cross-cluster integration differentiates it from competing sites.
Why It Matters:
Shafter’s defining advantage over competing logistics locations is not cost—it is integration. Operators who locate in Shafter benefit from co-located agricultural processing (reducing inbound freight costs), a shared technical workforce (reducing training overhead), renewable energy access (reducing operating costs), and multimodal freight connectivity (reducing outbound distribution costs). No other Central Valley community offers this combination. But integration only becomes a competitive advantage if it is marketed deliberately. Site selectors and operators evaluating Central Valley locations need to understand Shafter as a supply chain platform—not just another logistics park with available land. Strategic recruitment also means being selective:
pursuing operators who align with the city’s automation, workforce, and quality standards, rather than accepting any project that simply adds square footage.
Strategy 1.5
Recruit strategically and market Shafter as an integrated supply chain community.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 45
Goal 1: Measuring Impact and Success
Logistics Value and Wage Growth
Track average wages in logistics and fulfillment operations, share of logistics jobs in technical/ automation roles (Tier 2), and fiscal revenue per logistics employee. Compare against baseline to measure whether new investment is raising value per job, not just job count.
Workforce Pipeline Activity
Measure Bakersfield College’s logistics technology program enrollment, certification completions, apprenticeship placements, and employer satisfaction ratings. Track high school CTE participation rates and dual-enrollment numbers to monitor pipeline depth from entry through technical placement.
Infrastructure and Tenant Quality
Monitor share of new logistics development meeting automation-ready infrastructure standards, cold chain square footage as a share of total logistics inventory, average lease terms for new tenants, and capital investment per facility. Track operator diversity across cold chain, e-commerce, 3PL, and specialized segments.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 46
GOAL 2: FROM FIELD TO FUTURE
We will position Shafter as a hub for value-added
agriculture and next-generation agricultural innovation.
Why It Matters
Agriculture is foundational to Shafter and the Central Valley. But the most significant opportunities ahead are not driven by increased production—they are driven by where economic value is shifting within modern food systems. Processing, packaging, cold storage, distribution, and technology-enabled operations are capturing a growing share of food system value, while primary production faces mounting pressure from water constraints, labor costs, and commodity price volatility. Shafter sits next to $70 billion in annual Central Valley agricultural output, yet much of that output is shipped out for processing and shipped back as finished product. Co-locating processing, cold storage, and distribution eliminates that round-trip inefficiency.
The opportunity is to position Shafter as the place where Central Valley production becomes Central Valley product: where raw agricultural output is processed, packaged, certified, stored, and distributed through facilities that integrate with the city’s logistics infrastructure and shared technical workforce. At the same time, the technology layer reshaping agricultural operations is increasingly seeking deployment sites closer to Central Valley production, creating a parallel opportunity in ag-tech services and innovation. This is not about expanding acreage or headcount. It is about capturing more value per unit of production through fewer but more capital-intensive facilities with higher productivity and wages.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 47
Strategies
2.1 Position around processing and packaging, not
primary production.
2.2 Lower barriers for small and mid-sized producers and emerging AgTech.
2.3 Train the food manufacturing workforce of the future.
2.4 Establish Shafter as a precision agriculture and
ag-tech services hub.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 48
What’s Needed?
• Recruit firms positioned to leverage “California-grown” and “California-compliant” branding for premium domestic and export markets.
→ Turns California’s regulatory environment into a value proposition for processors serving quality-conscious buyers.
• Coordinate agricultural recruitment with logistics
strategy (Goal 1) to market the “farm-to-frozen-tofulfillment” value chain as a unified offering. → Cross-cluster integration is
Shafter’s defining competitive
advantage—marketing it
deliberately differentiates the
city from competing agricultural
communities.
Why It Matters:
Successful agricultural communities do not try to “be” an industry; they define specific economic functions within larger value chains. The research consistently shows that economic value is moving downstream and becoming more capital-intensive, shifting from production toward processing, packaging, cold storage, and distribution. Shafter’s advantage is not in growing more—it is in doing more with what the Central Valley already grows. Food processing is rapidly evolving into an advanced manufacturing activity, with robotics, AI, and capital-intensive production systems rewarding scale, specialization, and technical capability. “California-grown” branding commands 30%–50% price premiums in domestic and international markets. Shafter should position itself around processing, logistics, automation-enabled food manufacturing, and complianceready operations rather than branding itself broadly as a food hub.
Strategy 2.1
Position around processing and packaging, not primary production.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 49
Why It Matters:
Not every food producer can afford standalone processing, packaging, and compliance infrastructure. Co-packing facilities, shared commercial kitchens, and modular processing reduce capital barriers and enable small and mid-sized firms to access markets that require certified production environments. For Shafter, this approach complements the largerscale recruitment in Strategy 2.1 by building a broader base of food producers, supporting local entrepreneurship, and creating a pipeline of growing firms that may eventually need their own facilities. The ag roundtable also surfaced a related need: AgTech ecosystem connectivity. Stakeholders described a need for someone to introduce startups to growers, vet technologies, organize pilot programs, and attract aligned capital. Shafter’s active agricultural operations, logistics infrastructure, and available land create conditions that AgTech incubators are actively seeking: a living laboratory where innovation can be tested against real production environments.
Strategy 2.2
Lower barriers for small producers and emerging AgTech.
What’s Needed?
• Explore development of shared-use food processing infrastructure—co-packing facilities, commercial kitchens, cold storage access—designed for small and mid-sized producers.
→ Reduces capital barriers for entrepreneurs and value-added producers who need certified facilities but cannot justify standalone investment. • Connect small food producers with technical assistance, business development resources, and market access support through partnerships with regional organizations and Bakersfield College.
→ Production capacity alone does not create market success—connecting producers to institutional buyers, retail channels, and export markets matters more than increasing output.
• Position Shafter as an AgTech testbed by connecting growers willing to host pilots with agricultural technology startups, partnering with educational institutions on applied research, and exploring partnership with an established incubator or accelerator to formalize the ecosystem over time.
→ This begins as a coordination function, not a facility. If executed well, it evolves into a physical incubation presence—and Shafter becomes known not just as a production center but as a commercialization node where agricultural innovation is tested and scaled.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 50
What’s Needed?
• Establish an Ag Sector Partnership connecting growers, food processors, education providers, and workforce intermediaries to identify emerging skill needs, co-design credentials, and aggregate training demand across small and mid-sized agricultural operations.
→ Small farms cannot individually drive training program development. A structured partnership aggregates demand signals and ensures education providers build capacity aligned with where the industry is heading, not where it has been.
• Encourage the expansion of Bakersfield College workforce programs to include food manufacturing technology: automated processing, packaging systems, cold chain operations, food safety compliance, and quality control. → Builds on the same technical training platform serving logistics and manufacturing, creating career mobility across clusters. • Partner with existing food processors in the region to develop employer-driven apprenticeship and on-the-job training programs aligned with automation adoption timelines.
→ Ensures training matches actual facility needs rather than generic curriculum, increasing placement rates and employer satisfaction.
• Market food manufacturing workforce capacity alongside logistics and manufacturing pipelines in business attraction materials, emphasizing cross-cluster skill portability. → Workforce availability is the top site-selection factor—demonstrating a trained pipeline is more compelling than promising future training.
Why It Matters:
Food processing is becoming an advanced manufacturing activity. Automated packaging lines, robotic palletizing, AI-driven quality inspection, cold chain monitoring, and digital traceability systems require workers with technical skills that overlap significantly with logistics and manufacturing clusters. Industry analyses estimate that workforce availability and technical skills are a primary constraint on food system growth; firms invest where they can find workers capable of operating automated and regulated facilities. The same mechatronics technicians, industrial maintenance specialists, and quality control professionals needed in logistics (Goal 1) and manufacturing (Goal 3) serve food processing operations. Training should be built as a shared platform, not a standalone program.
Strategy 2.3
Train the food manufacturing workforce of the future.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 51
What’s Needed?
• Identify and market sites suitable for ag-tech field testing, demonstration, and co-location—particularly parcels with proximity to both agricultural operations and airport/UAS infrastructure.
→ Ag-tech firms need affordable space near real production environments.
Proximity to Minter Field strengthens the value proposition for drone and aerial systems companies.
• Facilitate partnerships between Central Valley growers, ag-tech companies, and research institutions (Bakersfield College, CSU Bakersfield, UC Davis Extension) to host pilot deployments and applied research.
→ Creating structured pilot opportunities keeps technology deployment—and the jobs and revenue it generates—anchored locally rather than managed remotely. • Develop shared ag-tech infrastructure—data platforms, equipment access, testing facilities—that reduces adoption barriers for small and mid-sized farms unable to independently invest in precision systems.
→ Large operators are already adopting precision technologies, but smaller farms lack the resources and technical support to participate. Shared infrastructure aggregates demand and lowers per-farm costs.
• Coordinate ag-tech positioning with the aviation and drone strategy to create a unified narrative around Shafter as a hub for applied agricultural technology and aerial systems. → Positioning these together strengthens both clusters and avoids fragmented recruitment efforts.
Why It Matters:
The Central Valley produces $70 billion in annual agricultural output, but much of the technology enabling that production—drone-based crop monitoring, satellite imagery analytics, precision application systems, soil and water sensing—is developed elsewhere and deployed as a service from outside the region. Ag-tech firms headquartered in the Bay Area and Southern California are actively seeking inland pilot sites and demonstration partnerships closer to actual production. Shafter’s combination of large-scale agricultural operations, industrial land, airport infrastructure, and proximity to Bakersfield College and CSU Bakersfield research capacity creates the conditions for a localized ag-tech services cluster. The opportunity is not to compete with Silicon Valley on software development—it is to become the place where ag technology is tested, demonstrated, commercialized, and deployed at field scale. This creates a natural bridge to the aviation and drone cluster, where agricultural aerial systems represent one of the most commercially viable near-term uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) applications.
Strategy 2.4
Establish Shafter as a precision agriculture and ag-tech services hub.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 52
Goal 2: Measuring Impact and Success
Agricultural Value Capture
Track food processing employment, wages, and output relative to primary agricultural production in the region. Measure growth in processing, packaging, and cold storage square footage. Monitor the share of Central Valley agricultural output processed locally versus shipped out for processing elsewhere.
Food Safety and Compliance Readiness
Measure the number of food processing facilities operating with FSSC 22000 or equivalent certification, digital traceability adoption rates, and water efficiency performance. Track Shafter’s positioning in water-smart site selection conversations.
Small Producer and Entrepreneurship Activity
Monitor utilization of shared processing infrastructure, number of small food producers accessing certified facilities, business development program participation, and firms graduating from shared to standalone facilities.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 53
GOAL 3: MAKE IT HERE
We will grow Shafter’s role in aviation technologies
and advanced manufacturing.
Why It Matters
Shafter’s advanced manufacturing base is not aspirational—it is measurable. The cluster analysis shows a concentration of industrial activity tied to building materials, fabricated components, and energy-adjacent manufacturing. These firms are embedded in export supply chains that extend well beyond Kern County, benefiting from central market access, freight connectivity, available industrial land, and a workforce accustomed to production environments.
The opportunity analysis also identifies aerospace and advanced air mobility as a significant forward-looking opportunity. Kern County remains one of California’s most aviation-intensive geographies, national projections show a structural shortage of aircraft maintenance technicians, and Shafter’s airport presents a rare asset: greenfield land, leasing flexibility, agricultural adjacency for drone testing, and operational flexibility not available at larger commercial airports.
The sector is not starting from zero; it is starting from fragmentation. Shafter has industrial density but limited cluster cohesion, aviation adjacency but limited aerospace capture, workforce capacity but incomplete employer integration, and airport flexibility but no defined recruitment thesis. The strategies that follow are designed to organize these assets into a coherent platform.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 54
Strategies
3.1 Formalize the manufacturing cluster narrative
and recruit complementary firms.
3.2 Leverage the airport as an economic platform
for applied aviation and drone technology.
3.3 Build shared manufacturing and aerospace
workforce infrastructure.
3.4 Prepare sites and streamline processes to compete
for reshoring investment.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 55
What’s Needed?
• Develop an “Advanced Industrial Materials” positioning narrative that highlights raw material access, Central California logistics, a reliable industrial workforce, and favorable operating conditions.
→ Creates a recruitment identity that connects existing manufacturers to a broader cluster story, making Shafter visible to complementary firms. • Identify and prepare priority airport parcels for aviation uses requiring direct airfield access, including testing, flight operations, maintenance, and specialized aviation manufacturingsupported by pre-entitlements, utility planning, and long-term lease frameworks. → The $250 million in annual supply chain imports represents a concrete supplier attraction opportunity—density reduces costs and strengthens retention. • Engage existing manufacturers through Kern EDC and direct outreach to understand expansion plans, workforce needs, and supply chain relationships. → Anchor employer retention through modernization support is often more impactful than recruiting new firms—existing employers who expand locally generate jobs faster and at lower public cost than greenfield recruitment. • Coordinate manufacturing recruitment messaging with cross-cluster value proposition (Goals 1, 2, 4), emphasizing that manufacturers in Shafter benefit from shared logistics infrastructure, agricultural processing adjacency, and renewable energy access. → Cross-cluster integration differentiates Shafter from competing manufacturing sites that offer land and labor but not compound value.
Why It Matters:
Existing advanced manufacturers did not choose Shafter because of branding campaigns.
They located here because of practical competitive advantages: proximity to raw materials, central access to West Coast markets, available natural gas, favorable weather conditions, and reliable labor. This is a deeply rational, materials-based competitive logic. But it has not yet been translated into a formal cluster narrative that builds density or recruitment momentum. Manufacturers operate successfully but largely independently. There is no shared identity around building products, industrial materials, or applied manufacturing systems. Industrial clusters do not form organically at scale—they are named, articulated, and reinforced. Formalizing this narrative enables targeted recruitment of complementary building product manufacturers, industrial component fabricators, and materials processors who benefit from supplier adjacency and shared infrastructure.
Strategy 3.1
Formalize the manufacturing cluster narrative and recruit complementary firms.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 56
What’s Needed?
• Define a clear aviation recruitment thesis centered on applied aviation—agricultural drones; advanced air mobility testing; maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations; and aviation-adjacent component manufacturing—rather than broad “aerospace” positioning. → Specificity enables proactive outreach to California-based advanced air mobility firms, drone manufacturers, and maintenance operators seeking lower capital entry costs. • Identify and prepare priority airport parcels for aviation uses requiring direct airfield access, including testing, flight operations, maintenance, and specialized aviation manufacturingsupported by pre-entitlements, utility planning, and long-term lease frameworks. → Converts the airport from a reactive leasing asset into a proactive economic development platform with clear target segments and ready sites. • Market the airport as a flexible industrial campus, emphasizing greenfield acreage, agricultural adjacency for drone testing, rural airspace advantages, and proximity to FAA-certified training programs.
→ These combined conditions are rare in California and create a differentiated positioning that competing airports cannot replicate.
• Position as part of the broader Kern County aerospace ecosystem rather than competing independently, partnering with Mojave and regional institutions to capture complementary activity.
→ Regional approach is essential: Some opportunities require a critical mass that Shafter may not achieve alone, but partnership positions the city to capture specific segments. • Advance a long-term vision for the airport as a core economic development asset, positioning the city to play a leadership role in guiding its future growth, partnerships, and investment.
→ Strategic stewardship of the airport strengthens its role as a platform for aviation innovation, drone technology, aerospace manufacturing, and future logistics applications.
Why It Matters:
Few communities possess underutilized airport land with leasing flexibility, adjacent agricultural testing grounds, and limited commercial congestion. Shafter does—with more than 100 acres of greenfield airport property available for long-term lease, hangar space at capacity with waiting lists, and operational flexibility for testing and experimentation. Shafter is unlikely to displace Mojave’s defense-heavy aerospace legacy, and attempting to compete directly would misallocate resources. Instead, the city should define a targeted aerospace positioning centered on applied, civilian-facing aviation technologies: drone manufacturing and agricultural aerial systems, advanced air mobility testing, maintenance and repair operations aligned with FAA training capacity, and aviation-adjacent component manufacturing. The airport’s leasing model—where operators lease rather than purchase land—lowers upfront capital requirements and creates a structural advantage for early-stage and capital-constrained aviation firms.
Strategy 3.2
Leverage the airport as an economic platform for applied aviation and drone technology.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 57
What’s Needed?
• Establish a formal Sector Partnership anchored by the city, Bakersfield College, California Aeronautical University, airport leadership, major manufacturers, and emerging aviation stakeholders—serving as a workforce-forecasting intermediary, a recruitment-alignment forum, and a coordination platform. → This is not a networking group. It is a structural convening mechanism that aligns training capacity with industrial growth strategy.
• Launch manufacturing and aerospace training programs before major recruitment efforts, targeting the highest-demand entry-level positions—quality inspection, CNC operation, composites technician, industrial maintenance—through shortterm certificate programs. → Short-term certificates get people working fast
and let employers evaluate fit, with stackable
credentials creating pathways to higher-wage
technical roles.
• Develop incumbent worker training programs
that enable existing manufacturers
to transition to aerospace-adjacent
production through targeted upskilling
in composites, precision machining, and
quality certification.
→ Existing manufacturers
represent the fastest pathway
into aerospace supply chains—
upskilling is faster and less risky
than greenfield recruitment.
Why It Matters:
Every successful manufacturing and aerospace case study demonstrates the same finding:
Workforce infrastructure precedes industry attraction. Communities that wait for companies before building training capacity lose opportunities. The U.S. faces a potential shortfall of
1.9 million manufacturing workers by 2033, with skilled workforce availability ranking as the top site selection factor—ahead of taxes, tariffs, and regulations. Shafter already has building blocks: FAA-certified maintenance training nearby, Department of Labor–approved apprenticeship programs, and CTE pipelines. But apprenticeship programs are underutilized, manufacturers are not systematically connected to workforce intermediaries, and training capacity operates below its strategic potential. The same mechatronics technicians, computer numerical control (CNC) operators, welders, and quality professionals serve logistics, food processing, energy, and aerospace—training should be organized as a shared platform.
Strategy 3.3
Build shared manufacturing and aerospace workforce infrastructure.
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• Market workforce pipeline capacity—graduation rates, certification completions, apprenticeship placements, employer satisfaction—as a lead recruitment differentiator in manufacturing and aerospace business attraction.
→ Workforce availability is the decisive factor. Demonstrating a trained pipeline is more compelling than promising future training.
• Expand K-12 career and technical education pathways aligned with advanced manufacturing and aviation, and increase employer participation in high school career signaling through facility tours, mentorship, and project-based learning. → If aerospace and advanced manufacturing are to scale meaningfully over the next decade, upstream technical exposure must be treated as economic infrastructure, not a parallel conversation. Students who encounter manufacturing and aviation career pathways in high school are significantly more likely to enter local training programs and stay in the regional workforce.
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What’s Needed?
• Pre-entitle and infrastructure-ready a citywide portfolio of industrial sites with utilities, access, and environmental clearances in place before recruitment—targeting parcels suitable for mid-scale manufacturing operations, reshoring investment, and aviationadjacent manufacturing that does not require direct airport access. → Eliminates the 12- to 18-month entitlement timeline that causes manufacturers to choose other locations with ready sites.
• Develop a streamlined permitting and approval process for manufacturing facilities, with clear timelines, single points of contact, and documented predictability. → Speed and certainty matter more than incentive size for manufacturers evaluating multiple locations simultaneously.
• Coordinate with state incentive programs—California Competes Tax Credit, Manufacturing and R&D Equipment Sales Tax Exemption, Employment Training Panel—to assemble layered incentive packages competitive with other states. → Individual incentives alone don’t differentiate. Layered packages combining state credits, local agreements, and workforce support create a compelling total value proposition.
Why It Matters:
Approximately 63% of $1 trillion in announced advanced manufacturing investments will be within commuting distance of rural communities, creating a once-in-a-generation reshoring opportunity. But manufacturers choose locations where they can begin operations quickly. Site readiness—pre-developed parcels with utilities, access, entitlements, and environmental clearances in place—is a decisive competitive factor.
Communities that have captured major reshoring investments have consistently won not through superior incentives, but because pre-developed sites enabled rapid operational start-up. Shafter has available industrial land and strong freight infrastructure, but site readiness must be proactive, not reactive. Layered incentives—state tax credits, local property tax agreements, training subsidies—are table stakes for competitive recruitment. Communities that combine ready sites with workforce partnerships and streamlined permitting capture reshoring investment; those that offer land alone lose to better-prepared competitors.
Strategy 3.4
Prepare sites and streamline processes to compete for reshoring investment.
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Goal 3: Measuring Impact and Success
Manufacturing Cluster Growth and Diversification
Track new manufacturing establishments, employment, wages, and capital investment. Monitor supply chain import substitution—the share of the $250 million in annual imports captured by local or newly recruited suppliers. Measure cluster density through firm count, supplier relationships, and cross-firm workforce sharing.
Airport and Aerospace Activation
Measure airport land under active lease for aviation-related manufacturing, maintenance, or technology operations. Track aviation-related employment, firm count, and capital investment.
Monitor progress against defined recruitment thesis targets—drone, MRO, advanced air mobility, component manufacturing.
Workforce Pipeline and Site Readiness
Track manufacturing and aerospace training program enrollment, certification completions, apprenticeship starts, and employer placement rates. Monitor portfolio of pre-entitled, infrastructureready industrial sites and average time from inquiry to operational start-up for new manufacturers.
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GOAL 4: POWER THE WHOLE ECONOMY
We will support resilient energy systems while
growing a cluster of companies that design and
deploy these technologies.
Why It Matters
Energy is not simply another industry vertical for Shafter. It is a competitiveness platform underlying every cluster in this plan. Irrigation systems, cold storage, food processing, warehouse automation, heavy industrial equipment, and freight movement all operate within tight margins shaped by electricity and fuel pricing. Shafter’s economic base is disproportionately energy-intensive, and energy costs in California are among the highest in the nation.
At the same time, Kern County occupies a unique dual position in California’s energy landscape. The region produces 71% of the state’s crude oil while hosting 4+ GW of wind capacity and 20,000 MW of renewable energy permitted or planned—making it the state’s energy transition pivot point. This creates a dual strategic opportunity. Defensively, Shafter must protect existing businesses from cost escalation through microgrids, distributed generation, and emerging wholesale procurement tools. Offensively, the city can pursue the manufacturing, field services, storage, and equipment assembly that support the region’s expanding energy infrastructure. Construction jobs are temporary; manufacturing and services create permanent, higher-wage positions.
The strategic question is how deliberately Shafter prioritizes near-term margin protection alongside longer-horizon energy sovereignty and sector development.
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Strategies
4.1 Protect existing businesses through microgrids,
distributed generation, and energy cost management.
4.2 Target energy-adjacent manufacturing and field
services—not generation.
4.3 Position hydrogen as a targeted pilot, not a
speculative bet.
4.4 Build an energy systems workforce aligned with crosscluster technical skills.
4.5 Assess municipal power feasibility for future
growth areas.
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What’s Needed?
• Establish an Energy Competitiveness Task Force composed of major industrial users, agricultural operators, logistics firms, utilities, and technical advisors—focused on coordination, not advocacy.
→ Identifies firms most exposed to energy volatility, facilitates education around procurement pilots, and aligns city processes with distributed generation needs. • Streamline permitting for distributed generation and storage, pre-identify industrial parcels suitable for microgrid clustering, and coordinate with utilities to clarify interconnection pathways.
→ Moves the city from passive approval to active enablement—lowering friction signals Shafter’s understanding of the operational realities of energy-intensive businesses.
• Explore partnership-based microgrid demonstration projects at city-owned or partner facilities to evaluate costs, reliability improvements, and potential applications for local industry.
→ City-led demonstration reduces perceived risk for private operators and creates a visible proof point for business attraction.
• Facilitate education and advisory support for businesses interested in wholesale procurement pilots, storage integration, and behind-the-meter generation. → Energy procurement capability may become a competitive differentiator among firms—businesses need knowledge and infrastructure to participate.
Why It Matters:
Microgrids are the most actionable near-term lever for business retention and margin protection. Unlike municipal power conversion for existing service areas—which involves litigation risk, capital-intensive infrastructure, and multi-year timelines—microgrids operate within existing utility frameworks and can be deployed now. They enhance reliability during outages, reduce peak demand exposure, and enable storage and alternative generation integration. In a state where outage risk and price volatility are part of the business environment, facilitating microgrid adoption is a tangible economic development strategy tied directly to retention and expansion. California’s gradual expansion of wholesale market access adds another layer: Pilot programs allowing large users to procure power directly from wholesale markets have produced dramatic savings for participants. Energy management is becoming a strategic discipline, and firms that understand pricing structures, storage arbitrage, and hybrid supply models will outperform those that treat utilities as fixed overhead.
Strategy 4.1
Protect existing businesses through microgrids, distributed generation, and energy cost management.
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What’s Needed?
• Target specific manufacturing opportunities within the energy supply chain— equipment components, storage system integration, testing and certification services—that use the same industrial infrastructure and workforce skills as Shafter’s existing manufacturing base.
→ These are the higher-value, durable segments within the energy supply chain— and they use the same industrial infrastructure and workforce skills as Shafter’s existing manufacturing base.
• Coordinate energy manufacturing recruitment with the broader industrial strategy (Goal 3), positioning energy equipment as a complementary segment within Shafter’s Advanced Industrial Materials cluster.
→ Cross-cluster integration means energy manufacturers benefit from shared workforce, logistics infrastructure, and supplier networks. • Diversify across energy technologies—solar, wind, storage, hydrogen equipment—to reduce vulnerability to any single federal policy cycle. → Recent experience with wind component manufacturers idling facilities for years at a time during federal tax credit lapses demonstrates the risk of singletechnology dependence.
Why It Matters:
Every market analysis and case study confirms that the durable employment opportunity in clean energy lies in the industrial supply chain, not in power generation itself. Hosting solar farms or wind turbines provides minimal permanent employment. Manufacturing the equipment, assembling storage systems, providing field maintenance, and producing balance-of-plant components create permanent, higher-wage positions. With 20,000+ MW of renewable capacity permitted or planned in Kern County alone, the regional maintenance and field services market presents a significant employment opportunity that can be served from Shafter’s industrial base. Clean energy manufacturing added 10,000 jobs nationally in 2024 while overall manufacturing declined. The wage profile for energy equipment manufacturing and specialized field services ($60,000–$95,000 for experienced technicians) aligns with this strategy’s emphasis on career-wage employment.
Strategy 4.2
Target energy-adjacent manufacturing and field services—not generation.
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What’s Needed?
• Assess aggregated local hydrogen demand potential across fleet fueling, industrial use, and natural gas blending applications.
→ Demand aggregation precedes production—understanding whether sufficient local off-takers exist determines a pilot’s viability.
• Partner with existing regional initiatives to stay connected to evolving funding and technology pathways.
→ Leverages Shafter’s existing relationships with regional partners already advancing hydrogen strategies.
• Identify agricultural waste-to-hydrogen feasibility pathways, evaluating whether local feedstock volumes justify
production investment.
→ Connects hydrogen to Shafter’s agricultural
base, creating cross-cluster value rather
than standalone energy speculation.
• Monitor state funding developments
and position Shafter to respond quickly
if cap-and-trade revenues or private
investment create viable hydrogen
deployment pathways.
→ Being prepared matters more
than being first. When funding
materializes, communities
with defined use cases and
aggregated demand will
capture investment.
Why It Matters:
Hydrogen presents a dual opportunity: infrastructure diversification and sector development. But its economics hinge on aggregated demand and defined use cases.
The California ARCHES hydrogen hub program—originally $12.6 billion in combined investment—was disrupted by the cancellation of federal funding in 2025, though the state is pursuing alternative funding through cap-and-trade revenues and private investment. Rather than pursuing hydrogen as a broad narrative, Shafter should take a “watch, don’t chase” approach while positioning for targeted pilots that could anchor both infrastructure resilience and a niche energy cluster. Hydrogen is viable when demand is aggregated—production economics improve dramatically when multiple offtakers coordinate. This creates a potential ecosystem opportunity if Shafter can identify concentrated demand.
Strategy 4.3
Position hydrogen as a targeted pilot, not a speculative bet.
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What’s Needed?
• Formalize Bakersfield College partnership for energy systems training with short-term certificates in industrial electrical systems, energy equipment maintenance, and controls technology.
→ Builds on the same cross-cluster technical training platform serving logistics, manufacturing, and food processing—creating career mobility across all industrial clusters.
• Leverage state workforce programs and displaced worker retraining grants to support training for workers transitioning from oil and gas into energy-adjacent manufacturing and services.
→ Connects existing state funding to local workforce needs, reducing the cost of building training capacity.
• Develop employer-driven training partnerships with energy equipment manufacturers and field service operators, ensuring curriculum matches actual job requirements. → Industry-designed curriculum improves placement rates and employer satisfaction—abstract training without employer input wastes resources. • Market energy systems workforce capacity alongside manufacturing and logistics pipelines, emphasizing that Shafter’s technical workers serve multiple clusters from a shared skills foundation.
→ Cross-cluster workforce portability is Shafter’s defining workforce advantage—a technician trained for energy equipment maintenance can serve logistics automation, food processing, and aerospace manufacturing. • Formalize CSU Bakersfield partnership to monitor emerging energy technologies, industry conditions, and applied research opportunities. → This provides regional intelligence on the ever-evolving energy industry, ensuring workforce training, infrastructure planning, and business attraction strategies remain aligned with current trends and industry demand.
Why It Matters:
The clean energy workforce gap is the industry’s binding constraint. Communities that demonstrate training capacity attract investment; those that promise future training lose opportunities. Critically, the energy systems workforce needs to overlap substantially with logistics, manufacturing, and food processing: The same industrial electricians, controls technicians, mechatronics specialists, and maintenance professionals serve all four clusters.
Fewer than 5% of Bakersfield-area oil and gas workers are projected to find comparable employment in direct renewable energy production—but energy-adjacent manufacturing and services offer realistic transition pathways for workers with transferable industrial skills. Training should target career-wage occupations—energy equipment manufacturing technicians, industrial maintenance specialists, controls engineers, and field service technicians—where experienced workers command wages well above regional medians.
Strategy 4.4
Build an energy systems workforce aligned with cross-cluster technical skills.
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What’s Needed?
• Commission a municipal power feasibility study focused exclusively on future growth areas: new master-planned developments, industrial expansion zones, and greenfield parcels not currently served by an existing utility.
→ Narrowing the scope to unserved areas avoids the legal and political friction associated with converting existing utility customers, while testing whether citycontrolled distribution is viable where development hasn’t yet occurred. • Model generation, transmission, and rate design scenarios to evaluate whether city-controlled distribution could offer competitive energy pricing for industrial and commercial users in new development areas.
→ The value proposition for employers depends on rate competitiveness. Modeling must account for capital costs, wholesale procurement options, renewable integration, and long-term rate stability compared to incumbent utility pricing. • Evaluate governance and operational requirements—staffing, regulatory compliance, infrastructure investment, and ongoing management—to determine whether Shafter has or can build the institutional capacity to operate as a municipal utility in targeted zones. → Municipal power requires sustained operational commitment. A feasibility assessment should be candid about capacity requirements, not just financial projections.
• Coordinate findings with the Energy Competitiveness Task Force (Strategy 4.1) and longterm land use planning to ensure energy strategy and growth management are aligned. → Energy infrastructure decisions in new growth areas should be made in conjunction with corridor planning, site readiness investments, and industrial recruitment targets.
Why It Matters:
Municipal power for existing service territory involves litigation, capital intensity, and extended timelines that make it impractical as a near-term strategy. But Shafter’s growth trajectory includes master-planned developments and new industrial areas that are not yet served by any utility. For these greenfield areas, the calculus is different: The city could explore establishing city-controlled distribution zones from the outset, avoiding the conversion battles that derail most municipal power efforts. A feasibility assessment—not a commitment—would determine whether the economics, regulatory pathway, and operational requirements justify further pursuit. If viable, city-controlled energy in new growth areas would provide a structural cost advantage for recruiting energy-intensive employers and a long-term revenue tool for the city.
Strategy 4.5
Assess municipal power feasibility for future growth areas.
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Goal 4: Measuring Impact and Success
Energy Cost and Reliability
Track energy costs per unit of output for major industrial users, microgrid deployments and capacity, distributed generation adoption rates, and wholesale procurement participation. Monitor reliability metrics, including outage frequency and duration, for businesses participating in distributed generation programs.
Energy Manufacturing and Services
Measure energy-adjacent manufacturing employment, wages, and capital investment. Track number of energy equipment manufacturers, field service operators, and storage system integrators operating from Shafter. Monitor diversification across energy technologies to assess policy vulnerability.
Hydrogen and Long-term Positioning
Track progress against hydrogen pilot milestones: demand assessments completed, partnerships formalized, funding applications submitted. Monitor state funding developments and Shafter’s readiness to respond when deployment pathways become viable. Track municipal power feasibility study completion, governance capacity assessment, and decision milestones for new growth area energy strategy.
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GOAL 5: CORRIDORS THAT TELL OUR STORY
We will transform Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard
Road from pass-throughs into economic destinations that support industrial growth and enhance quality of life.
Why It Matters
Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard Road are not simply roadways. They are Shafter’s economic frontage—the spatial stage on which the city’s next phase of economic development will either consolidate or diffuse. Lerdo serves as the primary gateway from the 99 into the city and its industrial employment base. 7th Standard links emerging residential neighborhoods to job centers and regional retail markets. Together, they carry the daily flow of workers, freight, and households that sustain the local economy.
Yet these corridors operate as conduits rather than destinations. Workers travel them but do not stop along them. Residents pass through them but shop elsewhere. Industrial traffic flows across them, but little economic activity anchors to them. The risk is significant:
If these corridors remain purely functional, Shafter forfeits the opportunity to convert mobility into value capture. Three structural tensions define their future. First, mobility versus value capture—traffic flows through, but economic activity along the corridors remains thin. Second, infrastructure sequencing versus market timing—growth ambitions are moving forward, but sewer capacity, electrical coordination, and grade separations must keep pace. Third, cohesion versus bifurcation—as new housing emerges along 7th Standard and industrial investment accelerates along Lerdo, the relationship between “new Shafter” and the historic core becomes more consequential.
These tensions do not suggest failure. They signal a transition—and the strategies that follow are designed to resolve them.
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Strategies
5.1 Sequence infrastructure ahead of frontage activation.
5.2 Anchor catalytic nodes rather than attempt uniform
corridor redevelopment.
5.3 Align corridor land use with industrial
competitiveness and workforce capture.
5.4 Develop a unified corridor identity that bridges new growth and the historic core.
5.5 Launch a downtown activation program.
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What’s Needed?
• Adopt a formal Corridor Infrastructure Strategy aligned with the General Plan update, mapping phased sewer and utility expansion west along Lerdo and fully through 7th Standard. → Creates a documented public investment timeline that developers and investors can rely on when making location and timing decisions.
• Align grade separations and north–south arterial improvements with economic node development, prioritizing intersections designated as catalytic nodes (Strategy 5.2). → Concentrates infrastructure investment where it will generate the greatest frontage activation and private capital response.
• Identify financing mechanisms—including enhanced infrastructure financing districts or similar tools—that distribute cost across future assessed value rather than frontloading burden onto early frontage projects. → Reduces the financial penalty for being the first developer along the corridor, enabling earlier private investment.
• Coordinate infrastructure phasing with industrial site preparation (Goal 3) and energy infrastructure planning (Goal 4) to avoid redundant investment and ensure industrial parcels along Lerdo maintain utility capacity for advanced manufacturing and logistics uses.
→ Cross-goal coordination prevents corridor infrastructure from inadvertently constraining industrial competitiveness.
Why It Matters:
Infrastructure capacity—sewer extensions, electrical coordination, water quality, grade separations, canal alignments—is the silent determinant of corridor evolution. Without coordinated sequencing, private development either stalls or bears disproportionate cost.
Industrial expansion, residential development, and long-term diversification ambitions are all moving forward simultaneously, but the physical systems that support them must keep pace. With poorly sequenced investment, financial feasibility stalls. With anticipatory investment, the city creates development-ready corridors that attract private capital rather than repelling it. This is not about widening roads—it is about ensuring that land use ambition and infrastructure capacity move in parallel.
Strategy 5.1
Sequence infrastructure ahead of frontage activation.
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What’s Needed?
• Formally designate priority nodes—particularly at intersections such as Lerdo & Cherry and 7th Standard & Cherry—as corridor anchors with concentrated public investment, design standards, and development incentives.
→ Strategic concentration creates visible proof points that build investor confidence and market momentum along the broader corridor. • Develop node-specific development frameworks that define desired uses, density, design standards, and public realm improvements for each designated intersection. → Provides clear expectations for developers, reducing negotiation time and creating predictable outcomes that attract private capital. • Concentrate workforce-serving and visitor-serving commercial uses at designated nodes—food service, child care, convenience retail, health care access, lodging, and fuel—that capture spending from daily worker flows along Lerdo, residential growth along 7th Standard, and the business travelers, operators, and freight traffic generated by Shafter’s industrial base.
→ Converts the estimated 10,000+ daily worker trips along Lerdo—plus visiting operators, business travelers, and freight-related traffic—into local economic activity rather than leakage to Bakersfield.
• Use public realm investments at nodes—streetscape, lighting, landscaping, gateway signage—as catalytic anchors that signal quality expectations for adjacent private development.
→ Public investment in the right locations sets the standard for private development rather than reacting to it.
Why It Matters:
The Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard Road corridors are both long, linear systems.
Attempting to activate them evenly will dilute investment and produce incremental, inconsistent frontage. The more effective approach is strategic concentration—formally designating 2–3 priority nodes at key intersections as corridor anchors. These nodes function as mixed-use service clusters that serve workers and residents, visually distinct gateways that signal entry into Shafter, and sites for coordinated public-private investment. By concentrating infrastructure upgrades, streetscape standards, and development incentives at specific intersections, Shafter can convert traffic volume into visible economic centers rather than dispersed strip activity.
Strategy 5.2
Anchor catalytic nodes rather than attempt uniform corridor redevelopment.
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What’s Needed?
• Protect large-lot industrial flexibility along Lerdo’s south side, avoiding premature commercial zoning that fragments parcels needed for logistics, manufacturing, and food processing expansion.
→ Industrial land is a finite, non-renewable competitive asset—once fragmented into strip-commercial parcels, it cannot be reassembled. • Intentionally layer workforce-serving commercial uses along Lerdo’s north side and at designated nodes, creating service density that captures daily worker spending without competing with industrial land.
→ Calibrated layering allows the corridor to serve both industrial competitiveness and retail capture objectives simultaneously.
• Align 7th Standard zoning and frontage policy with residential density thresholds sufficient to support sustainable retail—ensuring that housing growth translates into commercial viability rather than additional leakage.
→ Without sufficient density, commercial frontage along 7th Standard will fail to attract tenants, producing vacancy rather than activation. • Coordinate corridor land use decisions with the General Plan update to ensure economic development priorities, zoning frameworks, and infrastructure investments are mutually reinforcing.
→ The concurrent timing of the Economic Development Strategic Plan and General Plan creates a rare alignment opportunity—misalignment now will create conflicts for a decade.
Why It Matters:
Lerdo sits adjacent to Shafter’s industrial base—an adjacency that is a competitive advantage, but one that requires discipline. Premature parcel fragmentation or speculative strip-commercial zoning along Lerdo undermines large-lot industrial flexibility that logistics, manufacturing, and food processing operators require. At the same time, intentionally layering complementary uses—workforce-serving retail, flex office, smallformat food and service businesses—in proximity to employment clusters allows the corridor to remain industrially competitive while capturing multiplier effects from daily worker flows. On 7th Standard, zoning and frontage policy must anticipate residential density sufficient to support retail viability. Rooftops alone will not produce a commercial spine—density thresholds and frontage quality standards must align. The structural goal is coherence among land use, wage composition, and retail capture.
Strategy 5.3
Align corridor land use with industrial competitiveness and workforce capture.
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What’s Needed?
• Adopt a Corridor Identity Framework that establishes cohesive standards for lighting, landscaping, and signage along both corridors—integrating agricultural heritage and industrial strength into gateway elements.
→ Creates visual continuity from the 99 to downtown, making the corridor experience communicate Shafter’s identity rather than generic suburban development.
• Design gateway treatments at key entry points—particularly the Lerdo/99 interchange and 7th Standard approaches—that signal arrival into a confident, intentional community.
→ First impressions shape investor perception, business attraction conversations, and resident pride—a strong gateway communicates that growth is managed, not accidental.
• Reinforce north–south connections that link new residential areas along 7th Standard to the historic core, downtown, and Mannel Park, preventing the emergence of functionally separate communities.
→ Physical connectivity sustains social and economic cohesion as the city grows— without it, “new Shafter” and “old Shafter” become separate markets with separate loyalties.
• Integrate the airport into the corridor’s identity and development patterns, creating visible signals of aviation and advanced manufacturing as part of Shafter’s economic story. → The airport is a latent diversification asset whose relationship to corridor identity is currently underexpressed—making it visible reinforces the city’s forwardlooking economic narrative.
Why It Matters:
Participants consistently expressed concern about a perceived divide between newer residential areas and older parts of Shafter. The corridors physically mediate that relationship—they are the connective tissue between “new Shafter” and the historic core. If corridor evolution orients outward toward Bakersfield, leakage deepens. If it aligns inward, corridors reinforce citywide cohesion. Identity is not cosmetic. It influences investor perception, household orientation, and long-term retail loyalty. A corridor that feels unmistakably Shafter reinforces internal cohesion and reduces outward leakage.
Today, both corridors signal utility more than identity—they read as rural-industrial edge rather than economic gateway. Lerdo is the front door to Shafter, yet drivers experience miles without a clear sense of arrival. Along 7th Standard, drivers may not know when they are in Shafter versus surrounding jurisdictions.
Strategy 5.4
Develop a unified corridor identity that bridges new growth and the historic core.
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What’s Needed?
• Build on First Fridays by expanding regular community programming—markets, seasonal events, vendor nights—that establishes downtown as a consistent social anchor rather than an occasional destination.
→ Consistent programming builds habit. Residents who come regularly begin to see downtown as theirs—and that loyalty creates the spending base that attracts permanent businesses.
• Create a pop-up and temporary-use program that lowers barriers for small vendors and food entrepreneurs to test concepts in downtown spaces before committing to permanent leases.
→ Reduces vacancy risk, generates foot traffic, and builds a pipeline of businesses that may become permanent tenants as demand grows.
• Coordinate downtown activation with corridor strategy (Goal 5) and small business support (Strategy 6.3) to ensure that programming, permitting, and business development resources work together rather than in parallel. → Downtown and corridors serve different functions but the same community— coordinated investment prevents competition for limited resources. • Implement small-scale placemaking improvements—temporary seating, parklets, lighting, murals, and shade structures—to make downtown spaces more comfortable for gathering and events.
→ People stay longer in places that feel welcoming and comfortable. Low-cost placemaking improvements can significantly increase dwell time and support downtown businesses during events and daily activity.
Why It Matters:
Downtown Shafter has strong bones and existing momentum: First Fridays draw residents into the core, and the city’s façade grant program signals investment in the area. But stakeholders consistently noted that downtown struggles to compete for attention and resources in a city focused primarily on major industrial projects. Small businesses and local retail are what make Shafter feel like home, not just a place to work. Activation doesn’t require major capital investment upfront—it requires consistent programming that builds foot traffic, tests demand, and gives residents reasons to spend locally rather than drive to Bakersfield.
Strategy 5.5
Launch a downtown activation program.
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Goal 5: Measuring Impact and Success
Corridor Infrastructure and Activation
Track infrastructure investments completed along Lerdo and 7th Standard—sewer extensions, utility upgrades, grade separations, canal alignments. Measure linear feet of corridor with developmentready infrastructure. Monitor private development applications and investment at designated catalytic nodes.
Value Capture and Retail Performance
Measure retail sales tax capture along both corridors relative to baseline. Track new commercial establishments, square footage, and employment at corridor nodes. Monitor retail leakage reduction—the share of local spending retained within Shafter versus captured by Bakersfield.
Identity and Cohesion
Track implementation of Corridor Identity Framework elements: gateway treatments installed, streetscape standards adopted, signage and wayfinding deployed. Monitor resident and business perception of corridor quality through periodic surveys. Assess north–south connectivity improvements linking new residential areas to the historic core.
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GOAL 6: BUILT TO EXECUTE
We will strengthen Shafter’s economic development
capacity to support businesses, partnerships, and
the delivery of this strategy.
Why It Matters
The first five goals of this plan define what Shafter should pursue. This goal defines how. Every cluster analysis, engagement summary, and case study in this plan converges on the same structural finding: The assets are present, but coordination is the missing ingredient. Apprenticeship programs are underutilized. Manufacturers operate independently. Airport land lacks a defined recruitment thesis. Regional partners exist, but relationships are informal. Existing businesses receive limited systematic support.
Marketing materials do not yet reflect the city’s competitive position.
Shafter’s early growth model centered on land, infrastructure, and project attraction. The next phase requires ecosystem management: convening, coordinating, aligning policy, and managing complexity across five industry clusters, two corridors, and a network of regional partners. This may require dedicated staff capacity focused on sector strategy, formal convening structures beyond ad hoc meetings, clear performance metrics tied to value capture rather than job counts alone, and state and federal alignment strategy around available funding programs. Economic development is no longer only about attracting the next warehouse or facility. It is about managing a system. If Shafter intends to lead across logistics, agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and aviation, it must invest in the institutional capacity to do so.
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Strategies
6.1 Formalize regional partnerships and define Shafter’s role within the Kern County ecosystem.
6.2 Build sector-specific marketing and storytelling that positions Shafter competitively.
6.3 Support small business and entrepreneurship as
economic development infrastructure.
6.4 Build internal institutional capacity to manage a
multi-cluster economic development strategy.
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What’s Needed?
• Formalize partnership agreements with B3K Prosperity, Kern EDC, Bakersfield College, and CSU Bakersfield that define specific roles, shared objectives, and coordination mechanisms for each cluster strategy.
→ Converts informal relationships into structured collaboration with clear expectations—ensuring regional partners actively support Shafter’s cluster strategies rather than operating in parallel.
• Coordinate with Kern EDC on business attraction, incentive navigation, and site selector engagement—contributing Shafter-specific site data, workforce capacity information, and cross-cluster value propositions to regional marketing efforts.
→ Positions Shafter within regional
conversations rather than competing
independently, increasing the city’s
visibility in site selection processes that
it would not reach alone.
Why It Matters:
No cluster in this plan can be pursued alone. The same regional partners appeared in every analysis: B3K Prosperity for clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and workforce development; Kern EDC for business attraction, incentive navigation, and regional positioning; Bakersfield College for workforce training, certificates, and apprenticeships; CSU Bakersfield for four-year pathways and research partnerships. Kern County’s energy transition, manufacturing modernization, and logistics expansion are regional challenges requiring regional solutions. But partnerships require intentionality—without clear objectives and consistent engagement, they become performative rather than productive.
Shafter should position itself as the preferred industrial site within a broader Kern County ecosystem, leveraging regional training, incentives, and employer relationships through a division of labor, not duplication.
Strategy 6.1
Formalize regional partnerships and define Shafter’s role within the Kern County ecosystem.
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• Participate actively in B3K Prosperity’s implementation teams for clean energy, advanced air mobility, advanced manufacturing, and workforce development—ensuring Shafter’s priorities are reflected in regional programming.
→ Regional implementation teams allocate resources and set priorities—consistent participation ensures Shafter captures its share of regional investment and programming.
• Engage the Wonderful Company, major employers, and agricultural stakeholders as strategic partners beyond their roles as individual employers—incorporating their expertise, networks, and resources into cluster strategy execution. → Large employers and institutional partners have capabilities and connections that amplify city-led initiatives—formalized engagement ensures these assets are leveraged systematically.
• Develop a coordinated state and federal policy advocacy strategy—in partnership with Kern EDC, B3K Prosperity, California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED), and industry groups—focused on protecting freight rail capacity, ensuring energy reliability for industrial users, positioning the region for emerging fuel and electrification transitions, and capturing available economic development funding. → California’s regulatory and funding landscape presents both friction and opportunity across every cluster in this plan. Communities that engage proactively on freight, energy, workforce, and industrial policy help shape rules rather than simply comply with them. A coordinated regional posture amplifies Shafter’s voice on issues no single small city can influence alone.
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What’s Needed?
• Develop sector-specific one-pagers for each priority cluster—logistics, agriculture/ food systems, manufacturing/aerospace, energy—that articulate workforce, cost, infrastructure, site availability, and cross-cluster value propositions. → Provides targeted materials for site selector conversations and business attraction outreach, demonstrating that Shafter understands what each industry needs.
• Create a comprehensive community profile with detailed demographic, economic, workforce, quality of life, and infrastructure data organized for business decision-making. → Serves as the authoritative reference document that answers common business attraction questions with credible data—replacing ad hoc responses with professional materials.
• Design site inventory materials with professional specifications, maps, utility capacity, and development timelines for key industrial and commercial sites along Lerdo, 7th Standard, and the airport.
→ Removes uncertainty about where businesses can locate and demonstrates site readiness—a critical differentiator when competing against communities with more mature marketing programs.
• Produce annual economic development reporting that highlights business attraction outcomes, workforce pipeline metrics, corridor progress, partnership milestones, and strategic plan implementation progress.
→ Creates accountability, builds community pride, and generates the narrative of momentum that sustains political support and attracts additional investment.
Why It Matters:
Generic marketing does not win business attraction competitions. Site selectors and businesses need specific information—workforce data, cost comparisons, available sites, incentives, cross-cluster value propositions—presented professionally and persuasively.
Sector-specific materials demonstrate that Shafter understands what different industries need and can articulate competitive advantages. But marketing is not just external.
Celebrating wins and communicating progress builds internal momentum. Annual reporting that showcases economic development achievements demonstrates accountability, builds community pride, and creates a narrative of momentum that attracts additional investment.
When residents, businesses, and stakeholders see tangible progress, they become advocates for continued growth. Shafter has extraordinary assets—but these strengths mean nothing without strategic communication that makes them visible.
Strategy 6.2
Build sector-specific marketing and storytelling that positions Shafter competitively.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 82
What’s Needed?
• Streamline permitting, licensing, and business formation processes—creating clear timelines, single points of contact, and documented guidance for entrepreneurs starting or expanding businesses in Shafter.
→ Reducing friction is the single most impactful thing a city can do for small business—complexity and unpredictability discourage formation more than cost. • Connect small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to regional resources— Small Business Development Centers, SCORE mentorship,
Kern EDC programs, and Bakersfield College business
development services.
→ Shafter does not need to build all capacity
internally—connecting entrepreneurs to
existing regional infrastructure multiplies
impact at minimal cost.
Why It Matters:
Traded-sector recruitment and anchor tenant attraction are essential—but they are not the whole economy. Small and existing businesses employ the majority of Shafter’s workforce, serve local households, activate corridors, and provide the commercial density that makes a community function. Entrepreneurship creates pathways for residents— particularly in a community where barriers to educational attainment limit access to corporate employment but do not limit ambition or capability. Small business support is not a separate program from economic development strategy—it is infrastructure.
Reducing friction in permitting and licensing, connecting entrepreneurs to capital and technical assistance, and creating visible support systems for local business formation signal that Shafter invests in its own residents, not just outside recruitment. Every corridor node (Goal 5) needs local businesses to activate it. Every workforce program (Goals 1–4) produces workers who may eventually start their own businesses. Small business strategy reinforces every other goal in this plan.
Strategy 6.3
Support small business and entrepreneurship as economic development infrastructure.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 83
• Develop a small business retention and expansion program that systematically engages existing businesses to understand needs, identify expansion opportunities, and address challenges before they become relocations.
→ Retaining and growing existing businesses is more cost-effective than recruitment— systematic engagement ensures the city learns about problems early enough to act. • Support local business activation at corridor nodes (Goal 5)—prioritizing food service, child care, health care access, and workforce-serving retail that captures spending from daily worker flows.
→ Corridor activation depends on small businesses filling commercial space at designated nodes—without targeted support, nodes remain planned but unactivated. • Promote local spending and visibility for Shafter businesses through initiatives such as shoplocal campaigns, business spotlight programs, and coordinated promotions that highlight local entrepreneurs.
→ Increasing awareness of local businesses helps retain more spending within the community and strengthens the long-term viability of Shafter’s small business ecosystem.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 84
What’s Needed?
• Assess current economic development staffing against the implementation demands of this plan and identify capacity gaps—particularly in sector strategy management, business retention, stakeholder coordination, and marketing. → The gap between strategy ambition and organizational capacity is the most common reason economic development plans underperform. An honest assessment ensures the city invests in execution, not just planning. • Define dedicated roles or responsibilities for sector partnership management, ensuring that each cluster’s convening structure (logistics, agriculture, manufacturing/aerospace, energy) has a consistent city point of contact.
→ Sector partnerships lose momentum without consistent staffing. Convening structures that depend on ad hoc availability rather than assigned responsibility become performative rather than productive.
• Develop and maintain a centralized, real-time inventory of available sites—including specifications, utility capacity, ownership status, and development timelines—to support business attraction, site selection, and internal decision-making. → Serves as a core operating system for economic development, enabling rapid response to site selectors, aligning infrastructure investment, and ensuring consistent, accurate information across all outreach and recruitment efforts. • Invest in professional development and technical capacity for economic development staff—including training in incentive navigation, site selection processes, data analysis, and stakeholder facilitation.
→ The sophistication of this strategy requires staff who can engage credibly with site selectors, regional partners, state agencies, and industry leaders across multiple sectors.
Why It Matters:
This plan asks the City of Shafter to coordinate five industry clusters, two corridor strategies, a network of regional partnerships, and an accountability system— simultaneously. That represents a fundamentally different organizational demand than the project-by-project attraction model that built the city’s initial industrial base. Managing sector partnerships, convening stakeholders, maintaining business retention relationships, tracking performance metrics, coordinating with regional partners, and executing marketing strategy requires dedicated staff capacity, defined roles, and management systems designed for ecosystem complexity. Without intentional investment in internal capacity, strategies will be adopted but under-executed—not because of insufficient ambition, but because of insufficient bandwidth.
Strategy 6.4
Build internal institutional capacity to manage a multi-cluster economic development strategy.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 85
• Establish management systems that enable consistent implementation oversight without depending on institutional memory, including shared project tracking and knowledge management tools.
→ Systems reduce the vulnerability created by staff turnover and ensure that implementation progress, partnership commitments, and pipeline activity are transferable.
• Establish an economic development concierge program that provides businesses and investors with a single coordinated point of contact and structured project support throughout the development process—from initial inquiry through permitting, site selection, incentive navigation, and ongoing relationship management. → Reduces friction for businesses navigating city processes and signals that Shafter treats economic development as a service, not just a regulatory function. • Create a concise economic development priorities and incentive reference guide that outlines target sectors, development standards, and the conditions under which incentives or negotiated support may be considered—replacing the current case-by-case approach with a transparent, standardized framework.
→ Gives staff a consistent decision-making tool, gives businesses and site selectors a clear picture of what Shafter is looking for, and serves as the front door to the full EDSP. • Conduct a supply chain mapping initiative across all five target clusters—identifying the goods, services, and components that existing local industries currently purchase from outside the region and building a targeted recruitment list of supplier companies that could fill those gaps locally.
→ Converts the $250 million supply chain leakage finding into an actionable recruitment pipeline. When the city knows exactly which precision machinery, specialized components, maintenance services, or packaging suppliers its employers need, business attraction becomes targeted outreach rather than general marketing.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 86
Goal 6: Measuring Impact and Success
Partnership Activity and Regional Positioning
Track formalized partnership agreements, joint initiatives executed with regional partners, business leads generated through Kern EDC and B3K Prosperity collaboration, and Shafter’s participation rate in regional implementation teams and workforce programs.
Marketing and Business Attraction Readiness
Measure completion and deployment of sector-specific marketing materials, community profile, and site inventory. Track website engagement, site selector inquiries, and business attraction conversations generated through marketing efforts. Monitor annual report production and distribution.
Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Track new business formations, permitting and licensing timelines, small business retention and expansion program participation, and local business activation at designated corridor nodes.
Monitor connections made to regional business development resources.
Institutional Capacity and Implementation Readiness
Track economic development staffing levels against plan implementation requirements. Monitor sector partnership meeting frequency, participation rates, and action item completion. Assess management system adoption and utilization. Conduct annual capacity review to identify emerging gaps as strategy execution matures.
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 87
06 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
City Council
CHAD GIVENS
MAYOR
GUSTAVO OLVERA
MAYOR PRO-TEM
CATHY PROUT
COUNCIL MEMBER
GILBERT ALVARADO
COUNCIL MEMBER
PETE ESPINOZA
COUNCIL MEMBER
Project Champion
KAMAL SIADA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Project Management and Core Team
GIOVANNI PEREZ
SENIOR STRATEGY AND INVESTMENT SPECIALIST
(PROJECT MANAGER)
ALICIA RAMIREZ
SENIOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST
VANESSA URIBE
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT, CITY MANAGER
ISAREL PEREZ-HERNANDEZ
DEPUTY FINANCE DIRECTOR
ALAN CAZARES
SENIOR PLANNER
Steering Committee
LANCE LIPPINCOTT
CITY MANAGER
MICHAEL JAMES
ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
KAMAL SIADA*
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
DENNIS FIDLER
CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL
ROGER SANCHEZ
FINANCE DIRECTOR
STEVE ESSELMAN
PLANNING DIRECTOR
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 88
CEDS Committee
KAMAL SIADA*
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR,
CITY OF SHAFTER
MICHAEL JAMES*
ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, CITY OF SHAFTER
GIOVANNI PEREZ
SENIOR STRATEGY AND INVESTMENT SPECIALIST
CITY OF SHAFTER
ALEX GONZALEZ
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR, CITY OF SHAFTER
GUSTAVO OLVERA
MAYOR PRO-TEM, CITY OF SHAFTER
JOHN GUINN*
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
WONDERFUL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
RICHARD CHAPMAN
PRESIDENT & CEO
KERN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
MELINDA BROWN
VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, KERN ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
GEORGIA PETROPOULOS*
PRESIDENT & CEO, B3K PROSPERITY
PAUL FAHLEY
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, JD RUSH
VALARIE LABRENTZ*
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OF INSTRUCTION
SHAFTER HIGH SCHOOL
JEFF MARTIN
CO-OWNER
AMERICAN REFUSE
ZACH MCNINCH
PRINCIPAL, SHAFTER HIGH SCHOOL
Corridors Development and Investment Focus Group
WESLEY MCDONALD, ASU COMMERCIAL
GEORGIA PETROPOULOS,* B3K PROSPERITY
TIM SULLIVAN, BIDART BROS
EDWIN CAMP, CAMP
MICHAEL HAIR, INTERSTATE LAND COMPANY
MARCUS DOKOLAS, INTERSTATE LAND COMPANY
WALTER DIAMOND
LENNAR HOMES OF CALIFORNIA
JONATHAN HUDSON
MINTER FIELD AIRPORT DISTRICT
PHILIP JIMENEZ
SHAFTER PARKS AND RECREATION DISTRICT
BRIAN ALEXANDER
7TH STANDARD ROAD INVESTORS
ETHAN HOGG, 7TH STANDARD ROAD INVESTORS
TONY HOGG, 7TH STANDARD ROAD INVESTORS
BRET SILL, SILL PROPERTIES
BRIAN BRUNT, SUBURBAN LAND RESERVE
DANNY OWEN, SUBURBAN LAND RESERVE
MIKE WIDHALM,* WONDERFUL ORCHARDS
Ag-Tech and Food Systems Focus Group
NICOL SILVA, BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE
DR. RICHARD MCCROW, BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE
GEORGIA PETROPOULOS,* B3K PROSPERITY
DR. AARON HEGDE,*
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, BAKERSFIELD
JENNY HOLTERMANN,
KERN COUNTY FARM BUREAU
DAVID HIGDON, KERN VENTURE GROUP
HANNAH TIKALSKY, THE RESERVOIR
MIKE WIDHALM,* WONDERFUL ORCHARDS
SHAFTER — WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY 89
Logistics Focus Group
GEORGIA PETROPOULOS,* B3K PROSPERITY
NICHOLAS SIMS, BNSF
MITCHELL MORETTI
KERN HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT CTEC/ROC
IGNACIO VILLA, WALMART
CINDY PALACIOS, WONDERFUL CAREER CENTER
JOHN GUINN,*
WONDERFUL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
Advanced and Aviation Manufacturing Focus Group
GEORGIA PETROPOULOS,* B3K PROSPERITY
ULICES MENDOZA, BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE
MATTHEW CHAKOLA, CALIFORNIA PAPER
SKIP MATHIAS DURAND, CALIFORNIA
AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY, BAKERSFIELD
SEAN MARREN, GAF
DAVE SWAROOP, GMC ROOFING
ANTHONY COURTIS, JD RUSH
Energy Focus Group
BO JONES, AGILITECH
GEORGIA PETROPOULOS,* B3K PROSPERITY
KATY LARSON
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, BAKERSFIELD
NICOLE PARRA
CALIFORNIA RESOURCES CORPORATION
JASON CAUDLE,
FIRST PUBLIC HYDROGEN AUTHORITY
ROB DUCHOW, SOCAL GAS
JOHN GUINN*
WONDERFUL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
JED HWANG,
WONDERFUL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
Workforce and Education Focus Group
GEORGIA PETROPOULOS,* B3K PROSPERITY
DR. ERICK KROLL, BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE
MEGAN DUTTO, CALIFORNIA AERONAUTICAL
UNIVERSITY, BAKERSFIELD
DR. AARON HEGDE,* CALIFORNIA STATE
UNIVERSITY, BAKERSFIELD
DR. DAVID FRANZ, CITY OF SHAFTER
NATHAN URMSTON
KERN HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT CTEC/ROC
ELIA SAGASTA, RICHLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT
DR. VALARIE LABRENTZ, SHAFTER HIGH SCHOOL
KENNY SPRATT, TALENTBASE
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Focus Group
RAQUEL JIMÉNEZ, ACCESS PLUS CAPITAL
NATESHA JOHNSON, BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE
LISA CARBAJAL, CEN CAL FINANCE
NORMA DUNN, KERN WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER
DR. DAVID FRANZ, CITY OF SHAFTER
MAXINE KOZLER,
KERN WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER
ADAM STARRH, LISTEN TO SHAFTER
YULI MARCELA CARDENAS, PRIME FUTURE BUSINESS
BOB MEADOWS, VALLEY STRONG CREDIT UNION
Project Consultant
CIVIC SOLUTIONS PARTNERSHIP, LLC
Members serving in multiple capacities are noted with an asterisk.*
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.CIVICSOL.COM
Where Industry Meets Opportunity
5-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan
City of Shafter
Prepared for Shafter, CA City Council
Shafter Economic Development & Civic Solutions Partnership LLC May 5, 2026
Shafter is at an Inflection Point
2 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) What Shafter Has Built The Decision Point Why This Plan Matters Strong asset base and industrial
momentum
Top-tier public safety
Growing housing and infrastructure
base
Strength in logistics and agriculture
Strong financial stewardship and city
services
Pro-business governance and a highperforming team
Growth is already happening.
Growth remains concentrated and
reactive
OR
Growth becomes more diversified,
intentional, and community-serving
Better jobs - more quality jobs available
Higher quality of life
More people living and spending in
Shafter
Capture more long-term value
Diversify the economic base
Industry-aligned infrastructure and land
use
Give Shafter a clear, proactive 5-year
direction
Assets, Challenges, and Strategic Imperatives
3 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) The Assets
What Shafter has built
→ Multimodal logistics platform with dual Class I rail, I-5/SR-99, and a newly operational container exchange → Young, diverse, fast-growing population (9% growth, 2018–2023) → Technology-ready infrastructure: airport with 100+ leasable acres and city-owned dark fiber → Energy-rich region anchoring every cluster
→ Anchor employers and regional partners (Wonderful, B3K, Kern EDC, Bakersfield College, CSUB) → Institutional capacity built for speed
→ Expanded land position through partnerships
The Challenges
Where growth falls short
→ Population growing 3x faster than job creation
→ Traded-sector jobs outpace national averages, but value per job lags
→ Credentials gap is the single largest structural barrier → Ag, manufacturing, aviation, and energy need attention → Corridors function as pass-throughs, not destinations The Imperative
Why this plan matters now
→ The risk is not decline—it is stagnation amid growth
→ Without intervention, Shafter builds jobs but not careers, and investment but not enough value
→ The path forward is strategic evolution, not transformation
From Discovery to Delivery in Five Months
4 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) A fast-moving, rigorous, community-grounded process conducted across late 2025 and early 2026. 1 FOUNDATION | Nov – Dec
Steering Committee formed
15 one-on-one interviews
(leadership + stakeholder)
15 peer benchmarking comparisons
(aspirational + regional)
LISTENING | Jan – Feb
7 roundtables conducted
General Plan community insights
incorporated
DELIVERY | Apr – May
EDSP Completed
Companion CEDS prepared
Implementation roadmap
prepared
Council presentation
2 ANALYSIS | Jan
5 industry clusters evaluated
Global trends assessed across all 5
target sectors
SYNTHESIS | Feb - Mar
Steering Committee Collaborative Design
Session
Strategic goals stress-tested and prioritized
4 3 5
Data Profile: Shafter by the numbers
5 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) A community with the assets to compete and the growth to sustain it. 9%
population growth from
2018–2023—nearly 3x
faster than Kern County
80%+
of residents are from
diverse backgrounds—the
most among regional peers
9 in 10
households include
children—the highest
concentration in the
peer set
74%
of jobs are in traded
sectors—more than double
the national average
$1B+
in annual exports
generated by Shafter's
traded-sector economy
$250M
in annual supply chain
imports—leakage that
represents local
opportunity
70%
fewer bachelor's degree
holders than the U.S.
average—the widest
structural gap
4.1%
housing vacancy rate—the
lowest among all peer
communities
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2023; Lightcast 2025
10 Insights that Drove this strategy
6 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) 1 Shafter's success
was not
accidental—and
the next chapter
requires the same
intentionality.
Demographic
momentum hasn't
translated to
economic
prosperity.
Jobs are here, but
value per job is not.
$250M in supply
chain leakage is
the most
immediate
opportunity.
Shafter wins on
capacity—not
industry label.
Workforce is the
prerequisite, not
the byproduct.
Cross-cluster
integration is
Shafter's
competitive edge.
Energy is
structural, not
peripheral. Every
cluster depends on
reliable, affordable
power.
Corridors should
generate value, not
just move traffic.
Institutional
capacity must
match the
complexity of the
economy.
2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
Renewed Focus
7 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) SHAFTER – WHERE INDUSTRY MEETS OPPORTUNITY.
Built to Produce. Rooted in Community.
Turning industrial strength into shared prosperity—connecting clusters, corridors, and careers across the Central Valley's most competitive platform.
Strategic Framework
8 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) Six goals that translate Shafter’s strengths into broad-based prosperity.
GOAL 1
THE LOGISTICS ADVANTAGE
We will scale Shafter’s logistics advantage by supporting automation-driven, technology-enabled distribution and supply chain operations.
GOAL 2
FROM FIELD TO FUTURE
We will position Shafter as a hub for value-added agriculture and next-generation agricultural innovation.
GOAL 3
MAKE IT HERE We will grow Shafter’s role in aviation technologies and advanced manufacturing.
GOAL 4
POWER THE WHOLE ECONOMY
We will support resilient energy systems while growing a cluster of companies that design and deploy these technologies.
GOAL 5
CORRIDORS THAT TELL OUR STORY
We will transform Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard Road from pass-throughs into economic destinations that support industrial growth and enhance quality of life.
GOAL 6
BUILT TO EXECUTE
We will strengthen Shafter’s economic development capacity to support businesses, partnerships, and the delivery of this strategy.
Implementation Approach
9 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) USE
THE
PLAN
• Five-Year framework with sequenced actions, clear partners, and defined deliverables
• Year 1 focuses on readiness, convenings, and partnership formalization before capital-intensive work in Years 2-5
TRACK
PROGRESS
• Progress tracked through implementation milestones and a performance dashboard
• Dashboard captures projects, economic indicators, project success metrics, partnership outcomes, and other implementation measures • Six long-term outcome indicators help show how the strategy is working over time (See Appendix A)
ENABLE
EXECUTION
• Implementation roadmap and a Year 1 Workplan to support execution sequencing
• Goal 6 capacity-building actions establish ownership, systems, and accountability
• Execution is designed to be operational, not aspirational
Execution Roadmap: Year 1 & Beyond
10 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) 3 MONTHS 6 MONTHS 9 MONTHS
BEYOND YEAR 1
SCALE AND SUSTAINED EXECUTION
Year 1 builds the capacity, partnerships, and tools needed to accelerate recruitment, physical development, technical programs, and capital-intensive work in Years 2-5.
12 MONTHS
Internal Launch
Build internal
ownership, tracking,
and implementation
readiness
Tools & Partners
Put foundational
partnerships,
marketing tools, and
process
improvements in
place
Activate Programs
Launch outwardfacing programs,
business
engagement, and
market-ready
materials
Adopt Frameworks
Deliver the more
technical, policy, and
standards-based
work that needs the
full runway of Year 1
Who Helped Shape This Plan
Reflecting input from City leadership, employers, educators, landowners, regional partners, and community voices. 12 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) *Full names and acknowledgments are included in the full EDSP report.
City Leadership & Project Team
City Council
City Manager
Economic Development
Finance
Planning
Building
Community Services
Core Project Team
Industry & Major Employers
The Wonderful Company
California Resources Corporation
Agilitech
GAF
JD Rush
BNSF
Walmart DC
California Paper
GMC Roofing
Education & Workforce Partners
Bakersfield College
CSU Bakersfield
Shafter High School
Richland School District
Kern High School District CTEC/ROC
Wonderful Career Center
California Aeronautical University
TalentBase
Corridor & Land Use Partners
Sill Properties
DM Camp & Sons
Bidart Bros/Family
Lennar Homes
Suburban Land Reserve
7 th Standard Road Investors
Interstate Land Company
ASU Commercial
Regional & Institutional Partners
Kern EDC
B3K Prosperity
Minter Field Airport District
First Public Hydrogen Authority
Kern County Farm Bureau
The Reservoir
Kern Venture Group
SoCal Gas
Shafter Parks and Rec District
Small Business & Community Voice
General Plan Com. Engagement Findings
Bakersfield College Launchpad
Kern Women’s Business Center
Access Plus Capital
Cen Cal Finance
Valley Strong Credit Union
American Refuse
Listen to Shafter
Prime Future Business
Project Consultant Civic Solutions Partnership, LLC
Conclusion
Recommendation to Council
Adopt and approve the City of Shafter’s 5-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan as the City’s guiding framework for economic development priorities and implementation 13 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) A roadmap built on what makes Shafter prosper.
Built to guide growth, strengthen opportunity, and
support the community Shafter is proud to be.
Appendix
Six Outcome Indicators
14 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) Not the only indicators, but below are six strong outcome indicators that signal whether the plan is working from a holistic point of view.
● Clusters are diversifying and creating higher-value jobs ● Workforce pipelines are connecting residents to careers ● Corridors are becoming destinations
● Regional partnerships are producing measurable outcomes ● Shafter's story is reaching the right audiences
● Existing businesses and entrepreneurs are supported
Performance Monitoring Metrics
15 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) The EDSP is designed to track both implementation activity and long-term outcomes across all six goals, with baseline measures in 2026 and annual updates through Year 5. The information below is only a sample of all the metrics to track.
Goal 1: The Logistics Advantage
What will be tracked (sample):
• Automation-ready facility standards
• Permitting timelines
• Logistics workforce training and trade
gateway utilization
• New advanced logistics firms
Goal 2: From Field to Future
What will be tracked (sample):
• Food processing employment and wages
• Shared processing / cold storage
utilization
• Food manufacturing training outcomes
• AgTech pilots and firm growth
Goal 3: Make It Here
What will be tracked (sample):
• New manufacturing and aviation firms
• Airport land utilization and aviation activity
• Workforce training and apprenticeship
placements
• Pre-entitled sites and time from inquiry to
start-up
Goal 4: Power the Whole Economy
What will be tracked (sample):
• Energy cost, reliability, and distributed
generation adoption
• Energy-adjacent manufacturing and
service growth
• Hydrogen pilots and funding readiness
• Energy systems workforce outcomes
Goal 5: Corridors That Tell Our Story
What will be tracked (sample):
• Corridor infrastructure delivery and utility
readiness
• Private investment and catalytic node
activity
• Retail sales capture and reduced leakage
• Corridor identify improvements,
downtown activation, and foot traffic
Goal 6: Built to Execute
What will be tracked (sample):
• Regional partnership agreements and
joint initiatives
• Marketing material deployment and site
selector engagement
• Business formation, retention, and
entrepreneurship activity
• EDSP milestone completion
Year 1 Work Plan Details
16 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) 3 MONTHS
Put internal
ownership and
operating systems in
place
• Capacity assessment completed
• Sector leads assigned across all target sectors
• CRM/Project Management System Live
• Energy Competitiveness Task Force convened
• Staff engaged in regional implementation roundtables
6 MONTHS
Put the core
partnerships,
marketing tools, and
process
improvements in
place
• MOUs executed with KEDC, B3K, Bakersfield College, CSU Bakersfield, and more • One-pagers completed for all 5 clusters
• Community profile completed
• Business process audit and improvements adopted
• Sector partnerships launched
9 MONTHS
Launch outwardfacing programs, site
marketing, and
business
engagement
• Joint recruitment protocol with Kern EDC established
• Site inventory package complete and real-time database live • BRE program launched
• Concierge program operational
• Incentive guide and regulatory navigation guide adopted • Supply chain gap analysis and advanced materials narrative completed • Entrepreneur support connections in place
12 MONTHS
Deliver the more
technical and
standards-based
work that needs the
full Year 1
• Automation-ready development standards adopted
• First technical training cohort enrolled
• Streamlined manufacturing permitting process adopted
• Corridor infrastructure strategy nearing completion
• General Plan crosswalk and coordination
*Some, not all, key outputs are listed below. This Year 1 Work Plan and EDSP is entirely subject to change as implementation progresses.
Implementation Risk Profile
17 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) Primary risks to EDSP implementation and the mitigation approach.
Organizational Capacity
Risk: Implementation could outpace current staffing, ownership, and internal coordination.
Mitigation: Capacity assessment, assigned sector leads, and shared tracking systems strengthen accountability and reduce reliance on institutional memory.
Funding and Infrastructure Readiness
Risk: Priority infrastructure, site readiness, and corridor improvements may require resources and sequencing beyond current budget capacity.
Mitigation: The plan pairs local prioritization with grant readiness (CEDS), corridor strategy work, site inventory, and phased infrastructure planning.
Market and Industry Conditions
Risk: Logistics volatility, agricultural pressures, and emerging aviation markets could shift recruitment assumptions over time.
Mitigation: The strategy diversifies targets, emphasizes applied opportunities, and ties recruitment timing to infrastructure and workforce readiness.
Regulatory and Partnership Alignment
Risk: Zoning, permitting complexity, and inconsistent partner alignment could slow execution or weaken coordination.
Mitigation: The plan calls for zoning and process improvements, concierge-style navigation, and more formal regional partnership agreements.
Workforce and Supply Chain Capture
Risk: Shafter may continue generating jobs and industrial activity without fully capturing local supplier growth or resident upward mobility.
Mitigation: Year 1 includes supply chain analysis, workforce partnerships, resident-to-job alignment efforts, and performance tracking tied to outcomes.
Benchmarking Peer Sets Summary
18 | Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) Aspirational Peer Set
1. Austin, TX
2. Bend, OR
3. Boise, ID
4. Bozeman, MT
5. Chattanooga, TN
6. Denver, CO
7. Flagstaff, AZ
8. Frisco, TX
9. Salt Lake City, UT
10.San Diego, CA
Regional Peer Set
1. Bakersfield, CA
2. Clovis, CA
3. Fresno, CA
4. Modesto, CA
5. Tulare, CA
6. Kern County, CA
7 Insights
1. Shafter is growing faster than both regional and aspirational peers while remaining small enough to shape outcomes.
2. Shafter’s demographic structure represents a long-term workforce advantage that is not yet translating into economic mobility.
3. Shafter is the most diverse community in both peer sets, but diversity is not yet yielding peer-level economic outcomes.
4. The primary labor market gap is driven by participation and job access, not unemployment.
5. Income and earnings levels lag peers today, but growth trends signal some early momentum.
6. Educational attainment is the single largest structural divide shaping Shafter’s economic trajectory.
7. Housing affordability remains a relative advantage, but low supply and high cost burdens signal mounting pressure.
MANAGEMENT REPORT
CITY OF SHAFTER
CITY COUNCIL REPORT
MEETING DATE: May 5, 2026
DEPARTMENT: Giovanni Perez, Economic Development Coordinator SUBJECT: COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
(CEDS) AND AUTHORIZING SUBMISSION TO THE U.S.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION FOR REVIEW
RECOMMENDATION
Council finds that the action is not defined as a “project” per Section 15378(b)(5) of the CEQA Guidelines; adopt Resolution No. 3077, accepting the City of Shafter Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (“CEDS”) and authorizing submission to the U.U.S. Economic Development Administration (“EDA”) for review.
BACKGROUND
On January 20, 2026, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 3057 authorizing the formation of a U.S. Economic Development Administration (“EDA”) compliant Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (“CEDS”) and CEDS Committee, and nominated Mayor Pro Tem Gustavo Olvera to serve on the Committee.
As part of the City’s broader Economic Development Strategic Plan (“EDSP”) project, the CEDS was prepared as a complementary and aligned deliverable to support implementation and expand future funding competitiveness. While the EDSP serves as the City’s primary five-year economic development roadmap, the CEDS is written to align with publicly available EDA guidelines and position Shafter more competitively for eligible federal economic development funding opportunities.
This city-specific effort also provides a more focused platform for Shafter than relying solely on the broader county-level CEDS framework.
The completed CEDS was shaped through the CEDS Committee and a broader project engagement process. Beyond City staff, the Committee included representatives from major employers, education, and regional economic development partners, including The Wonderful Company, Shafter High School, B3K Prosperity, American Refuse, Kern Economic Development Corporation, and JD Rush Company. This cross-sector input helped ensure the document reflected Shafter-specific priorities, realities, opportunities, and implementation needs.
The CEDS includes the four main CEDS elements: summary background, SWOT analysis, strategic direction and action plan, and evaluation framework. The current
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (CEDS) AND AUTHORIZING SUBMISSION TO THE U.S. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION FOR REVIEW - 2 -
guidance also emphasizes economic resilience throughout the document. Staff and Civic Solutions Partnership LLC (“CivicSol”) validated the City’s CEDS structure against the required elements and reviewed peer CEDS examples to help confirm that the document addresses the major requirements and overall intent of the framework.
The CEDS is now ready for Council acceptance and submission to EDA for review.
Acceptance of the document does not guarantee EDA approval. However, Staff believes the document is well aligned with publicly available EDA guidance and structured to support a strong federal review package.
If Council accepts the CEDS, staff will:
1. Finalize the Council-approved CEDS packet
2. Submit the adopted resolutions and final CEDS document to EDA for review
3. Coordinate with EDA during its typical 60-day review period and respond to any comments or requested refinements
4. Return with updates as appropriate based on EDA’s response
FISCAL IMPACT
No budget action is required. This action was included within the broader EDSP project scope and budget.
CEQA ANALYSIS
The action is not defined as a “project” per Section 15378(b)(5) of the CEQA Guidelines because the action is the acceptance of a strategic planning document and authorization to submit that document for federal review, and therefore, it is an organizational and administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment and is not subject to CEQA.
APPROVED BY THE CITY ATTORNEY
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution No. 3077
2. Shafter, CA_CEDS Packet_Spring 2026
3. 260505_CCM_CEDS Acceptance
RESOLUTION NO. 3077
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SHAFTER
ACCEPTING THE CITY OF SHAFTER COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (CEDS) AND AUTHORIZING SUBMISSION TO THE U.S. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION FOR REVIEW WHEREAS, on January 20, 2026, the City Council of the City of Shafter (“City”) adopted Resolution No. 3057 authorizing the formation of a U.S. Economic Development Administration (“EDA”) Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (“CEDS”) and CEDS Committee; and WHEREAS, the City and Civic Solutions Partnership LLC (“CivicSol”) prepared the CEDS document as part of its broader Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan (“EDSP”) as a complementary and aligned deliverable intended to support implementation, expand future funding competitiveness, and ensure economic resilience for submission to the U.S Department of Commerce, EDA; and
WHEREAS, the completed CEDS was shaped through the CEDS Committee and broader project engagement process, with participation from City staff and representatives from employers, small businesses, education, and regional economic development partners; and WHEREAS, the CEDS aligns with publicly available EDA guidance and content expectations, including the major components of summary background, SWOT analysis, strategic direction and action plan, and evaluation framework, with economic resilience and metrics incorporated throughout the document; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to formally accept the completed CEDS and authorize Staff to submit the document, this Resolution, and other documentation as necessary to EDA for review; and
WHEREAS, acceptance and submission of the CEDS does not guarantee EDA approval, but will allow the City to proceed with federal review and respond to any comments or requested refinements as needed.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SHAFTER HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by this reference.
Section 2. The City of Shafter City Council hereby accepts the City of Shafter Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (“CEDS”).
Section 3. The City of Shafter City Council hereby approves and authorizes the City Manager or City Manager’s designee to submit the CEDS, this Resolution, and other necessary documentation to the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration for review and to take related administrative actions necessary to support the review process.
Shafter City Council Resolution No. 3077
May 5, 2026
Section 4. Acceptance of the CEDS and authorization to submit it for review does not constitute approval of any specific project or funding application. Any future action involving funding commitments or other implementation measures requiring City Council approval shall be brought back to the City Council separately, as appropriate.
Section 5. Severability. If any provision of this Resolution or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications, and to this end, the provisions of this Resolution are declared to be severable.
Section 6. This Resolution shall become effective immediately.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED THIS 5
th DAY OF MAY, 2026.
Chad Givens, Mayor
ATTEST:
______________________________
Yazmina Pallares, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
________________________________
Marco Martinez, City Attorney
City of Shafter CEDS | Spring 2026 1
CITY OF SHAFTER, CALIFORNIA
Comprehensive
Economic
Development
Strategy
Shafter—Where Industry Meets Opportunity.
Built to Produce. Rooted in Community.
Spring 2026
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary
Section 1: Summary Background
Section 2: SWOT Analysis
Section 3: Strategic Direction and Action Plan
Section 4: Evaluation Framework
Section 5: Acknowledgments
City of Shafter CEDS | Spring 2026 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Shafter — Where Industry Meets Opportunity.
Over the past two decades, Shafter made disciplined bets on infrastructure, land use, and industrial recruitment—and those bets paid off. Traded sectors generate over $1 billion in annual exports.
World-class logistics operations anchor the employment base. Rail, highway, broadband, and airport assets rival those of cities many times Shafter's size. Three-quarters of Shafter's jobs are in traded sectors—far exceeding national averages—and a newly operational container exchange adds a structural efficiency advantage that no other Central Valley market currently offers.
But that industrial capacity has not yet translated into the broad-based prosperity the community needs. Wages remain below regional benchmarks despite strong export performance. Population growth is outpacing job creation—and while Shafter has a strong pipeline of single-family development, the next phase of growth will require a broader mix of housing options to support the workforce, retain existing residents, and keep pace with economic expansion. Growth is concentrated in logistics and agriculture—two clusters that anchor the economy but leave Shafter exposed if either faces disruption. And while traded sector concentration is exceptional, the economic value generated per job falls short of what those same sectors produce elsewhere. Shafter has built an export economy—the question this plan addresses is how to diversify it, raise the value it generates, and ensure that growth in industry translates into rising wages, expanding opportunity, and broadly shared prosperity for every household.
The Framework: Six Goals for Shafter's Next Chapter
The strategy is organized around six interconnected goals. Each addresses a critical dimension of economic competitiveness, and each reinforces the others. Together, they ladder to a single vision:
Shafter—Where Industry Meets Opportunity. Built to Produce. Rooted in Community.
Goal 1: The Logistics Advantage. Scale Shafter's logistics advantage by supporting automation-driven, technology-enabled distribution and supply chain operations—deepening the competitive position that already sets Shafter apart.
Goal 2: From Field to Future. Position Shafter as a hub for value-added agriculture and nextgeneration agricultural innovation—transforming a foundational sector into a platform for higher-value production and processing.
Goal 3: Make It Here. Grow Shafter's role in aviation technologies and advanced manufacturing— capturing regional momentum in aerospace and precision manufacturing before it consolidates elsewhere.
Goal 4: Power the Whole Economy. Support resilient energy systems while growing a cluster of companies that design and deploy these technologies—turning Kern County's energy assets into a competitive advantage for every sector in this plan.
4 City of Shafter CEDS | Spring 2026
Goal 5: Corridors That Tell Our Story. Transform Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard Road from industrial pass-throughs into economic destinations that support business growth and reflect the community Shafter is becoming.
Goal 6: Built to Execute. Strengthen Shafter's economic development capacity to support businesses, deepen partnerships, and deliver this strategy—ensuring the city has the institutional infrastructure to match its physical infrastructure.
The goal is not to reinvent Shafter. It is to build on what Shafter has already proven it can do—and ensure that the next chapter of growth creates pathways to prosperity that are as deliberate and durable as the infrastructure that made it possible.
How This Plan Was Built
This plan is grounded in both rigorous analysis and authentic community voice. CivicSol conducted industry cluster analyses across five export-oriented sectors, benchmarked Shafter against fifteen regional and aspirational peer communities, assessed global trends shaping each target sector, and evaluated land use and infrastructure conditions along Shafter's key economic corridors. That analytical foundation was tested and shaped through twelve one-on-one leadership interviews with city officials and key stakeholders, seven sector-specific roundtables bringing together employers, educators, and regional partners, and iterative sessions with a Steering Committee that guided the plan from discovery through strategy. The result is a plan built not on outside assumptions but on Shafter's own strengths, constraints, and strategic opportunities—as understood by the people who know it best.
City of Shafter CEDS | Spring 2026 5
SECTION 1: SUMMARY BACKGROUND
This section provides a summary background of the economic conditions of Shafter and its regional context, satisfying the requirement under 13 C.F.R. § 303.7(a)(1).
Shafter's Economic Position: Built Deliberately.
Shafter's economic position is not an accident. Over the past two decades, the city made patient, forward-looking decisions—entitling industrial land before demand arrived, investing in infrastructure calibrated to logistics and manufacturing trends, and building a reputation for regulatory competence and follow-through that most communities of any size cannot match. Those decisions compounded into something real.
The Assets
The question is not whether Shafter can compete—it is how deliberately it chooses to do so.
A Multimodal Logistics Platform Few Peers Can Match.
The Wonderful Industrial Park, dual Class I rail, I-5 and Highway 99 access, a newly operational container exchange, available industrial land, and efficient entitlement processes create a physical infrastructure position that appreciates as land-constrained competitors lose capacity.
A Young, Diverse, Growing Population.
Population grew 9% from 2018–2023—nearly three times faster than Kern County. The median age is the youngest among regional peers, with prime-age workforce concentration well above national averages.
Technology-Ready Infrastructure.
A special-district-owned airport with 100+ acres of leasable greenfield land, full hangars, and operational flexibility for drone technology and applied aerospace—plus city-owned dark fiber broadband providing redundancy and connectivity most peer communities cannot offer.
An Energy-Rich Region.
Kern County's diversity of solar, wind, natural gas, and emerging hydrogen assets makes energy not just a sector but a competitiveness platform underlying every cluster in this plan.
Anchor Employers and Institutional Partners.
The Wonderful Company provides employer stability, infrastructure investment, and a workforce development dimension rare for a city of Shafter's size. Regional partners, including B3K Prosperity, Kern EDC, Bakersfield College, and CSU Bakersfield, among others, amplify what any single city can do alone.
The Challenges
Shafter's growth trajectory is real—but growth alone does not guarantee prosperity. Several structural tensions demand strategic attention:
6 City of Shafter CEDS | Spring 2026
Demographic Momentum Has Not Translated into Economic Prosperity.
Shafter is young, diverse, and fast-growing—but poverty rates remain elevated, median wages lag, and population growth is outpacing job creation by a factor of three.
The Jobs are Here, but the Value Per Job is Not.
Three-quarters of Shafter's jobs are in traded sectors, yet economic output per worker falls short of what those same sectors produce regionally and nationally.
Career Pathways Haven’t Kept Pace with the Economy’s Demands.
Across both regional and aspirational peer comparisons, the connection between residents and credentials is the single largest structural gap—requiring accessible career pathways and industryrecognized certifications, not just traditional degrees.
Growth is Concentrated in Logistics, and Other Clusters Need Attention.
Recent employment gains are driven almost entirely by logistics. Agriculture faces projected decline.
Manufacturing and aerospace show regional momentum but minimal local presence.
Corridors Function as Pass-Throughs, Not Destinations.
Lerdo Highway and 7th Standard Road carry industrial traffic but offer limited services, identity, or community-facing amenities—a missed opportunity as residential development accelerates nearby.
Housing Mix Is Not Yet Fully Aligned with Workforce and Economic Needs.
Residential growth has been a key driver of population expansion, and Shafter has a strong pipeline of single-family development. But as job creation accelerates, a broader range of housing options will be needed to attract and retain the workers that industry growth demands.
Local-Serving Business Has Not Kept Pace with Growth.
Traded sectors generate significant economic activity, but a substantial share of local spending is captured outside the city—meaning that dollars earned in Shafter leave Shafter. Closing this gap requires deliberate support for local entrepreneurs that gives residents somewhere to spend locally.
The Imperative
The risk is not decline. The risk is stagnation amid growth.
Shafter's industrial base will continue to generate activity. Logistics will grow. Population will increase.
But without a strategic framework that connects industry growth to workforce outcomes, corridor investment to community identity, and institutional capacity to the complexity of the economy, Shafter risks a future where growth continues but prosperity does not follow.
An economy that produces jobs but not careers. That attracts investment but not value. That builds infrastructure but not community. That outcome is not inevitable, but it is the default trajectory without intervention.
This plan provides the intervention. It is built on what Shafter does best—disciplined, infrastructuredriven economic development—and extends that discipline to the workforce pathways, corridor development, and institutional strategies that will determine whether the next decade of growth produces something fundamentally better.