How should Tehachapi look at planning for urban growth over the next 30 years?
Where will the water come from?
Should new growth rely on the variable water supply of State Water, or should we live within our means and rely on the safe yield of groundwater?
How many lots and developments are already entitled in Tehachapi and the surrounding communities?
If existing entitlements are built out, how much water is left?
Should water for new growth come from existing water users?
Is this an Urban vs. Farms issue and where's the balance?
When do we prioritize saving open space and farms over growth of homes and developments...or do we simply build until Tehachapi has no more water and no farms left?
I will not answer all of these questions today, but these are questions that need to be considered as Tehachapi looks into the future at updating the Rural Urban Water Management plan for the entire area and how this fits into the current culture and lifestyle of Tehachapi residents. Urban growth has its benefits, but it does threaten our way of life and it is increasingly close to threatening the farming lands and culture of Tehachapi. How important is the existing open space culture of Tehachapi to you? Email me and let me know how you feel.
If farms are squeezed out, they will not simply go idle, these investments require a return on capital and they will be forced to develop if that's what the residents and local agencies of the area place as a higher priority. Who's ready for an ocean of homes vs. fields of green vegetables, grapes, apple trees, and other agricultural uses? Once again, I'd like to hear your voice! Email me your opinions.
According to the CBO we should plan for a 0.3% growth rate, but a study conducted by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, California's population is projected to expand by 14.9% between 2020 and 2040; a 0.745% growth rate.
As local agencies look at updating the Rural Urban Water Management Plan, this data is an important consideration. Tehachapi could possibly grow faster or slower than these projections and local policy and how we prioritize our water is a very important factor in determining this outcome.
Population growth is projected to slow over the next 30 years. As fertility rates remain below the replacement rate (the fertility rate required for a generation to exactly replace itself in the absence of immigration), population growth is increasingly driven by net immigration flows.
Demographic Research by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia suggests that California will continue it's historical growth trend of 0.75%.
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