Council accepts College Avenue and 304 Avenue public improvements; to negotiate landscaping maintenance with Porterville College

The Porterville City Council accepted public improvements for College Avenue and the newly created 304 Avenue constructed by Porterville College and approved the college’s plan to complete required landscape improvements in fiscal year 2026–27. Council also directed staff to negotiate an interim maintenance agreement with the college for landscaping until a landscape and lighting district can be formed.

Director of Engineering and Project Management Javier Sanchez told the council that once street improvements are accepted, responsibility for the streets transfers to the city. The college remains responsible for landscape maintenance until a district is formed; because the tax assessor’s deadline for including new assessments has passed for the current fiscal year, the district could not be formed in time and the college would remain responsible for landscaping in the near term. Staff presented two options: leave maintenance solely with the college or direct staff to pursue an interim maintenance agreement.

Representatives from Kern Community College District (Daniel Reed) and Porterville College described the timeline: the college intends to phase remaining landscaping and hoped to donate the roads to the city after two readings by the college board, which Reed estimated would take approximately two months. Council accepted the public improvements and approved the college’s plan to complete landscaping in FY 2026–27, and directed staff to negotiate maintenance arrangements; the motion passed 3–0.

Council asked staff to explore an alternate maintenance agreement (rather than immediately forming an assessment district) and to return with options and potential costs. Staff noted there is no immediate fiscal impact to the city because the assessment district has not been formed.