CVPA News

Solar Panel Farm in Cummings Valley? What are we thinking???

Did you know that 300 acres of prime agricultural land in Cummings Valley has been earmarked for installation of 3,200 solar panels? Recurrent Energy is currently in the Environmental Impact Report stage with the Kern County Planning Department to do just that. The proposed project covers 300 acres along Pellisier currently known as Superior Sod. This is one of ten projects underway by Recurrent Energy in Kern County. The other nine are in areas of the desert. This is the only project proposed in prime agricultural farmland.

California’s Central Valley was known as The Bread Basket of the World - the world’s preeminent producer. During the past decade, farmland has suffered a rapid loss of agricultural land caused by Federal water restrictions, urban growth and local government planning that has changed the Central Valley into an area we could compare to Appalachia. Since the California Gold Rush, almost 700 thousand acres on the floor of the Valley have been taken by urban growth. In just the next generation, we face the loss of an additional one million acres.

The foregoing gives us a glimpse of the future for our unique and productive agricultural area. CVPA is very supportive of alternative clean energy but not with the sacrifice of locally grown food. The message is simple – America’s farms and ranches provide an unparalleled abundance of fresh, healthy and local food, but they are rapidly disappearing. Once gone, they cannot be replaced! Our food is not produced in a supermarket freezer section. That’s why supporting local food and farms is more important than ever. Someone once said, “If you like foreign oil, you will love foreign food!”

Enclosed is a self-addressed, stamped post card questionnaire. It is critical that your opinion be counted before permanent changes occur. Please give us your opinion as soon as possible!

*Please note there is another important topic on the post card. Wind energy companies are considering expansion into areas closer to population and westward on the Tehachapi Mountains. CVPA would like to take a proactive position on this matter but, again, we need your opinion!

J Huckins

TAKE THE TIME RIGHT NOW TO COMPLETE THE ENCLOSED OPINION (Advisory only) POST CARD AND DROP IT INTO THE MAIL.

Quick Tabs: The Archives Editorials	#77 August 2011 CVPA BARBECUE, SEPTEMBER 24, 2011 The annual CVPA barbecue will be September 24, 2011 at the beautiful Souza Ranch. Festivities begin at 4:30 with dinner at 6:00. On the menu will be deep pit BBQ beef and pork with all the fixings, wine, beer, iced tea, and dessert. Prepaying guests will be placed on the entry list by sending a check to CVPA, P.O. Box 1020 , Tehachapi , CA 93581-1020 . Tickets will not be issued but your name(s) will be put on the reservation list to assure your welcome on arrival. Please note that minors will not be allowed since we are serving alcoholic beverages. Come early and enjoy the Souzas’ warm and friendly wine tasting room which will be open until 6:00 PM for those who would like to enjoy it. There will be music, raffle drawings and a great opportunity to meet and greet new and old friends. The cost is $25 per person paid in advance and $30 per person at the gate. One of the events everyone looks forward to is the raffle of spectacular gift baskets. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5 and the baskets are truly awesome. If you have won a basket previously and have no use for it, would you be kind enough to donate it back to us so it can be filled again? Or if you have new items that would make a great addition to a basket, we would love to have them. Please contact Barbara Collmer at 822-3925 or Clydell Lamkin at 822-5299. The terrific CVPA cookbook, Every Day to Gourmet, will be available for sale at the gate for $12. If you don’t have your copy of the cookbook yet, be sure to buy at least one for yourself and one for a gift. See you there! C Lamkin September 17th Trash Pickup We will meet at the Phone Company building at Stallion Springs Drive and Banducci Road at 7:AM on September the 17th. The more people we have the less time it will take. I have gloves, sacks, orange vests, and some tools for picking up litter. Every 2 person group should have a cell phone. It is a good idea to wear boots or heavy shoes. If it is raining (or snowing?) the Trash Pick Up is automatically postponed. Questions? - Call Chuck at 822-3925. Thanks. C Boles Spring Fling a Huge Success For those who were unable to attend the May 21, 2011 Spring Fling at Triassic Legacy Vineyards, you missed a grand time. The people who took the limousine to tour the Grimmway facilities returned very impressed with the Grimmway operation. Grimmway very generously donated many fresh organic vegetables for people in attendance to take home. I think everyone was excited to take home onions, beets, blueberries, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, parsley, tomatoes and carrots. Gloria Yeager prepared a buffet of a selection of recipes from the new CVPA cookbook, and they were delicious. Michelle Vance won the raffle of a dinner for eight prepared by Tim Garrison. The weather was perfect, the wine was great and a wonderful time was had by all. We have several new members that joined the CVPA after seeing the accomplishments that have been achieved by the CVPA members. The CVPA works hard to keep our beautiful valley just the way we like it. Your donations help us do that work. CVPA List of Accomplishments * 1990 Opposed zone change from Agriculture to Commercial of 35 acres at Hwy 202 and Cummings Valley Road. Our efforts resulted in reduction of commercial acreage from 35 to 6.5. No development has occurred. * 1990 Notified Kiyoko Realty that we would oppose re-zoning of 50 acres on the south side of Banducci Road west of Pellisier Road from Agriculture to 5 acre estates as proposed on their for sale signs. Zone change plans were abandoned. * 1992 Funded land use study of Cummings Valley by UCLA graduate student, Allison Cook. The study included an opinion survey which showed strong opposition to residential or commercial development in the Valley. * 1992 Published the booklet, "The Cummings Valley Region: A Bright Spot in the Tehachapi Mountains", by CVPA member, Gerry Trierweiler. * 1993 Began our biennial bus tours of Cummings and Brite Valleys to promote awareness of the history, fauna and flora, and other special attributes of the valleys. * 1993 First annual barbeque to promote a sense of belonging and camaraderie among members, and to attract new members. * 1993 Began program for removal of illegal signs and billboards in Cummings Valley - later expanded to Brite Valley. Program is ongoing as new illegal signs continue to appear. * 1994 Discouraged developer from buying 171 acres on the south side of Cummings Valley Road west of new school. Property now in organic vegetable production. * 1994 Organized mistletoe removal program for all Tehachapi area. * 1994 Sponsored/funded Camp KEEP (Kern Environmental Education Program) attendance for five Cummings Valley School students. * 1995 Began semi annual trash pickup in Cummings Valley. * 1995 Began Yellow Starthistle eradication in Cummings Valley. Later expanded to Brite Valley. * 1995 Successfully opposed zone change from Agriculture to 2.5 acre on 20 acres in Brite Valley belonging to Two Boys Farm. * 1995 Mailed opinion survey to postal route customers in the area potentially impacted by proposed Buddhist retreat next to Brite Lake (planning as much area under roof as Kmart with one building five stories high). Because of negative survey results, the Buddhists withdrew proposal. * 1996 Became tax exempt non-profit corporation. * 1999 Joined with other groups to defeat a California Department of Corrections plan to build a facility at CCI for 1500 Sexually Violent Predators. * 2001 Became annual sponsor of Adopt-A-Road Yellow Starthistle spray program for Banducci Road through Brite Valley. Also funded spraying of non-county roadsides. * 2002 Made three year commitment to help fund Russian Knapweed spray program in Brite Valley. * 2003 Our opposition to approval of motocross tracks in Cummings and Brite Valleys resulted in stringent measures to mitigate negative impacts on area residents. * 2005 Organized, worked, and partially funded program to recover mosquito-breeding old tires from throughout the Tehachapi area (1467 tires were recovered). * 2005 Passed a resolution to oppose any further subdividing in Cummings and Brite Valleys until such time as a need for more residential parcels is demonstrated. Sent copies with cover letter to all area Realtors. * 2005 Funded continued spraying of Yellow Starthistle along the upper reaches of Brite Creek. * 2005 Mailed an opinion survey to 1307 property owners in the Brite Valley area including Alpine Forest Park and Jury ranch area. Respondents are overwhelmingly opposed to increasing the potential for residential or commercial development, and place a high value on open space. * 2006 Provided $14,000 in matching funding for the Tehachapi Ag Futures Alliance program. The purpose of the AFA is to build community consensus for the importance of preserving agriculture. * 2006 Began the establishment of the Tehachapi Cummings Land Trust to be a qualified entity to hold conservation easements for landowners who wish to preserve the natural character of their property while benefitting from generous income tax deductions. * 2007 Developing a proposal for the “Kern County Blueprint” designed to preserve the agricultural lands of Cummings Valley. * 2007 Surveying Stallion Springs residents to determine support for expanding Stallion Springs into the heart of Cummings Valley. * 2008 Bus tour of historic sites in the Cummings Valley. * 2009 The Meadows project for the building of more than 3000 housings units to be annexed to Stallion Springs was defeated. * 2010 Paid $420 to appeal the issuance of a Conditional Use Permit to Susan Marlowe for the establishment of a kennel on Bear Valley Road to be operated by a known animal hoarder. The decision was reversed. * 2010 Bus tour of historic sites in the Cummings Valley and the Grimmway greenhouse operation. * And, something we will never know is, how many development minded people have been dissuaded from pursuing development plans because of the existence of CVPA. We make every effort to be vocal and visible so everyone knows we are here and what our purpose is. What does the future hold for Cummings Valley Protective Association? You can help to move this vital organization into the future. For more than two decades CVPA has fulfilled the mission of increasing awareness, appreciation and preservation of Cummings Valley's natural and agricultural beauty through resistance to commercial and residential development other than those allowed by a current Kern County General Plan. This has been accomplished by untold numbers of dedicated and resourceful volunteers. Our strength has always been in showing County government and potential developers that Cummings Valley Protective Association represents a large segment of the community. We are grateful to have your support as a member. In recent years, we have had great difficulty attracting volunteers to serve on the Board as a director or in an advisory capacity. CVPA's success has been held in the hands of a few so we must ask for your help in renewing the motivation to continue into the future. View yourself as a steward to preserve and hand over this beautiful area to future generations. We all can spare a few hours each month to protect and preserve our one-of-a-kind environment. To use an old proverb, Ask not what CVPA can do for you but what you can do for CVPA! Come on out and get involved. Call JoAnne Huckins at 661-822-6589 or Chuck Boles at 661-822-3925 Membership Request The officers and directors of this corporation are the pivotal cadre guiding the actions we take to protect our valleys. We are in desperate need of refreshing this cadre with new minds and faces rather than just recycling those who have been continually serving these past many years and have grown fatigued of the task. Please review the CVPA List of Accomplishments and the article What does the future hold for Cummings Valley Protective Association? and if you support our purposes and would like to contribute your time to serve as a corporate officer or in any other capacity, do let us know. We need you! Chuck Boles - 822-3925 or Jo Anne Huckins - 822-6589 Solar Panel Farm in Cummings Valley? What are we thinking??? Did you know that 300 acres of prime agricultural land in Cummings Valley has been earmarked for installation of 3,200 solar panels? Recurrent Energy is currently in the Environmental Impact Report stage with the Kern County Planning Department to do just that. The proposed project covers 300 acres along Pellisier currently known as Superior Sod. This is one of ten projects underway by Recurrent Energy in Kern County. The other nine are in areas of the desert. This is the only project proposed in prime agricultural farmland. California’s Central Valley was known as The Bread Basket of the World - the world’s preeminent producer. During the past decade, farmland has suffered a rapid loss of agricultural land caused by Federal water restrictions, urban growth and local government planning that has changed the Central Valley into an area we could compare to Appalachia. Since the California Gold Rush, almost 700 thousand acres on the floor of the Valley have been taken by urban growth. In just the next generation, we face the loss of an additional one million acres. The foregoing gives us a glimpse of the future for our unique and productive agricultural area. CVPA is very supportive of alternative clean energy but not with the sacrifice of locally grown food. The message is simple – America’s farms and ranches provide an unparalleled abundance of fresh, healthy and local food, but they are rapidly disappearing. Once gone, they cannot be replaced! Our food is not produced in a supermarket freezer section. That’s why supporting local food and farms is more important than ever. Someone once said, “If you like foreign oil, you will love foreign food!” Enclosed is a self-addressed, stamped post card questionnaire. It is critical that your opinion be counted before permanent changes occur. Please give us your opinion as soon as possible! *Please note there is another important topic on the post card. Wind energy companies are considering expansion into areas closer to population and westward on the Tehachapi Mountains. CVPA would like to take a proactive position on this matter but, again, we need your opinion! J Huckins TAKE THE TIME RIGHT NOW TO COMPLETE THE ENCLOSED OPINION (Advisory only) POST CARD AND DROP IT INTO THE MAIL.
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	Windmill Opinion Survey [vote for one only] ___ Commercial windmills should be allowed to move closer to populated areas of the Tehachapi Valleys and should be allowed on more mountain sides surrounding the Greater Tehachapi area. ___ Commercial windmills should not be permitted to move closer to any populated areas of the Tehachapi Valleys. Wind energy projects should not be allowed on mountain sides surrounding any of the Tehachapi Valleys. ______ _______ _______ _______ _________ _________ Solar Opinion Survey [vote for one only] ___ I do not object to the installation of 3,200 solar panels on 300 acres of agricultural land in Cummings Valley. ___ I object to the use of agriculturally zoned land for solar panel farms. The land should not be re-zoned but be preserved for agricultural purposes. Signed (optional)_________________________________________________
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