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Bakersfield planning panel approves Cal Water PFAS treatment retrofit with landscaping agreement
Summary
The Planning Commission on June 18 approved a director's review for Cal Water to add a PFAS treatment system at a well at 1316 R Street, subject to coordination with the Parks & Recreation Department on pedestrian-level landscaping; staff had recommended approval after Cal Water reduced tank height and added fencing and trees.
The City of Bakersfield Planning Commission voted June 18 to approve a director's review and approval (PPSPR 260048) for Cal Water to modify an existing water well at 1316 R Street to install a PFAS treatment system, with the condition that Cal Water and the Parks & Recreation Department coordinate on additional landscaping and aesthetics.
Assistant Planner Andrea Merello told commissioners the revised design reduces the treatment vessel height from 26 feet to 14.5 feet, replaces perimeter chain-link with a wrought-iron fence and adds eight Spartan/Italian cypress trees on the east side for screening. “Staff recommends approval for the updated request for director's review and approval PPSPR 260048 with conditions of approval as provided in the project's draft resolution,” Merello said.
Commissioners and staff discussed maintenance responsibilities for the parkland immediately west of the site. Fidel Gonzales of the Recreation and Parks Department said the boundary between city and homeowners association maintenance is sometimes unclear and that staff would review the area to determine whether the city or the HOA is responsible. “We will be going out there and reviewing the areas and trying to determine where the issues may lie,” Gonzales said.
Rafael Molina, district manager for Cal Water, described the utility as “in the community for 100 years” and emphasized the company's willingness to work with city staff and local stakeholders on aesthetics. Molina presented renderings showing the reduced vessels, new wrought-iron fencing and proposed cypress screening and said Cal Water’s conservation team would coordinate whether plantings are inside or outside the fenced area.
After discussion, a commissioner amended a motion to support staff's recommendation to include a caveat directing Cal Water to continue working with Parks & Rec (and the adjacent HOA where applicable) to address the aesthetics and landscaping around the facility. The motion passed; the clerk recorded Commissioners Strickland, Core and Brar as absent for the vote.
The action is a director's review approval rather than a zoning change, and staff noted the revisions were made after roughly 26 public comment letters at an earlier hearing. The approval includes the conditions listed in the project's draft resolution and the explicit direction that Cal Water coordinate with Parks & Rec to explore pedestrian‑level vegetative screening outside the fenced area where feasible.
