Kern County General Plan - Chapter 1, Land Use - County of Kern

3. Rural communities are historically identifiable small-scale non-urban settlements
located in outlying areas of the County which contain a mixture of residential and
supportive commercial and other uses serving the community and the surrounding
rural population. The County will ensure that the unique character of these
communities is preserved and enhanced by recognizing the scale, density, size,
and composition of development as summarized in Appendix B.
4. The County shall require the adoption of a specific plan prior to development
approval in areas (1) designated Map Code 4.3 (Specific Plan Required) on the
General Plan maps; (2) for a development classified as a ALand Project@ (see
Special Treatment Areas’ Assumptions section for a definition of “Land Project”); or
(3) proposing to amend a resource designation (Map Code 8.x) equal to or greater
than 40 acres to commercial/industrial map codes. Until a Specific Plan is adopted,
the Map Code 4.3 (Specific Plan Required) areas will have the following interim
General Plan land use designation:
(a) In areas designated Specific Plan Required the interim designations will
reflect the existing zoning pattern pending the owner's or multiple owners’
submission of an acceptable plan pursuant to stipulated guidelines found in
Appendix C of this General Plan and subsequent County adoption of a
Specific Plan. (Appendix C contains a summary of the Specific Plan
Required areas)
5. Specific Plan Areas guidelines shall be used to ensure adequate consideration of
the General Plan goals and policies governing development and resource
management. (These guidelines are presented in Appendix C.)
6. If a Specific Plan Required area, Map Code 4.3, is subdivided prior to adoption of
a formal Specific Plan, the Map Code 4.3 designation shall be reviewed for
amendment or recession. The recession, through a publicly noticed General
Plan Amendment process, shall be based on the practicality of a Specific Plan on
the remainder of the property.
IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES: SPECIAL TREATMENT AREAS
A. Where particular policies or standards are not addressed within a Special
Treatment Area, the provisions of the Kern County General Plan shall govern.
B. As each special treatment area, Map Code 4.3 (Specific Plan Required) or Map
Code 4.2 (Interim Rural Community Plan), has a Specific Plan adopted pursuant to
Government Code Section 65450 et seq., the map provision shall concurrently be
changed to Map Code 4.1 (Accepted County Plan Area).
C. Zone the accepted plan areas in a manner which is consistent with their equivalent
General Plan designation.
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