Community Input

Results from Phase III Community Forums

Leadership Bakersfield - February 18, 2000

Our Slogan

  • A great place to call home
  • Home to the family
  • We're all in it together

Our Image

  • Progressive
  • World destination
  • Fun and safe place to live
  • Friendly people
  • Good jobs
  • Active-forward thinking
  • Safe place-open and supportive of a cosmopolitan environment
  • Agricultural preservation
  • Healthy environment

Our Reputation

  • Safe place to live -family friendly
  • Business destination
  • Strong academic excellence
  • High-tech
  • Strong economy
  • Great housing
  • Inclusive
  • Arts & Culture
  • Strong education - K-12 & college
  • Dynamic
  • World class health care and research

Busines Environment

  • High tech central supportive
  • Opportunities are bountiful
  • Growing
  • Educated
  • Open to new ideas and willing to incubate and support
  • Diversity of opportunities
  • Business friendly - minimum regulation & taxes
  • Support of entrepreneur business (the small business person)
  • Less regulation for businesses
  • Family friendly policies in all workplaces

Arts & Culture

  • More!
  • Public Art Mecca
  • Arts education for all
  • Available to all - economic status not a barrier for access
  • Always something going on
  • More ethnically diverse

Heart of the City

  • Cohesive
  • Gang-free
  • Lots of trees
  • Kid/family friendly
  • Affordable housing
  • All cultures and languages welcome!
  • Hiking is safe, though alone
  • Arts & culture center
  • Entertainment, dining & shopping downtown
  • River running thoufhout city year-round
  • Stop Urban Sprawl

Our Values

  • Friendliness (Where everyone knows your name)
  • People aren't afraid to stand up for what they know is right

Technology

  • Hub of development
  • High speed wireless network throughout area to all homes

Transportation

  • Increased direct jet service
  • Bullet service
  • Ability to get to major attractions easier
  • 7 day/24 hour transportation
  • Accessible and affordable
  • Convenient rail service

Biggest Changes

  • Increased health care insurance for kids
  • Increased access to health care
  • No underclass
  • No racist attitudes
  • Well-funded schools and universities
  • No gangs-no crime
  • Celebrate differences
  • Cure cancer, heart disease, diabetes

Break-thrus

  • Healthier youth and adults
  • Clean air
  • Women CEOs
  • Tolerance!
  • Decling homeless population
  • No Aids
  • Affordable/quality child care

Looking Back I'm Most Proud of

  • People communicating from all walks of life
  • Safe communities
  • Democracy
  • Vision 2020

What's Our Vision for Our Economy over the next 10-20 years?

  • Affordable,quality child care
  • Diverse economy - high tech
  • Regional center for distribution (ie store & deliver e-business outputs)
  • Connected to Northern & Southern Cal, Arizona, Nevada via high speed rail & major roadways
  • Economic opportunity and training for individuals at all socio-economic levels
  • Many opportunities for all types of individuals
  • Continued agricultural preservation
  • Healthy workforce-initiatives that support employers to support healthy lifestyles
  • Stable, full-employment
  • Strong tourism industry
  • Attract major business H.Q. Eliminate ceilings for professionals

What kind of Economic Development Initiatives do we want to create?

  • Investment back into our community
  • Child care language included in long term economic development plans - invest in child care!
  • Access to affordable education and vocational training
  • Continued affordable housing market!
  • Not to develop in prime farmland
  • Projects to recycle profits back into the community
  • Those that help diversify the economy from oil and ag (attract industries that are less cyclical)
  • Incentive to develop within; not without
  • Tapping into global market

What kind of Jobs do we want to Attract here over the next 10-20 years?

  • Hi-Tec caring industry
  • Be the next Silicon Valley
  • All services for the community retail/wholesale
  • Nurses/helath care providers -quantity
  • Higher skilled workforce-better educated workforce
  • Human resource research and development
  • Professional positions (major corporations, insurance companies, etc.)
  • Top Notch academics
  • Invest in those who take care of our children-parents, child care providers, teachers
  • Enviro-friendly businesses
  • Jobs that promote cultural diversity
  • High tech, high touch health care & preventive health
  • Teach social as well as technical skills
  • Top child care and adult care
  • Specialization
  • Emergency response

In our Community's Future …WE WANT

  • Close-knit neighborhoods
  • Water in the Kern River 365 days/year
  • Multilingual, global citizens
  • Better libraries
  • More reliable water supply
  • Self-sufficiency with the employment opportunity and training to support it
  • Larger CSUB campus - more students, more educational options, more community involvement
  • Maybe, also, U.C. of private university, too
  • Clean air
  • Government that is forward looking and responsive
  • Qualtiy housing for our elderly population
  • City area pride
  • Quality transportation/acfcess
  • Community that takes pride in our environment
  • More community based recreation & education programs
  • Family friendly employers
  • Affordable/qualtiy child care - "Children really are our future"
  • Safety - reduce crime
  • Cure for Aids
  • Nordstrom "real" shopping
  • To be unique!

In our Community's Future…WE DON'T WANT

  • Urban sprawl on productive farmland ..ie NW & SW Bakersfield
  • Water in Kern without taking water from Farms
  • "Islands" in community that don't participate in funding schools
  • Bigots
  • To be just another suburb of L.A.
  • Poor air quality
  • Apathy
  • Racism
  • Poverty without opportunity to improve
  • Development that puts our natural resources at rish (groundwater protection)
  • High teen pregnancy rate
  • Fear for safety
  • A "Big City" mentality
  • Gangs

Our Vision for Downtown

  • Better access from Southwest and Northwest Bakersfield
  • Arboreteum/botanical garden
  • Nordstroms
  • Riverwalk
  • Trees
  • Shopping, entertainment, walking paths
  • Outdoor theatre
  • Teen Center!
  • Attractive tourist center
  • Natural gas tour bus
  • Greeters!
  • Occupational health clinic
  • Child care center
  • Major hotel
  • Expandable Convention Center
  • Farmers Market
  • Museum
  • Pedi-taxi people mover
  • Shopping/restaurants/entertainment district
  • Support business & tourism & local support
  • Hospital
  • Beach
  • Commercial/recreation life along the river
  • Outside cafes
  • Use the river not the canals
  • Regional event - our version of a Rose Parade
  • Kern River Festivale
  • Accessable to all

Common Themes - Meeting Wrap-up

  • Safety
  • Family-friendly
  • Technology
  • High level of support for education
  • Air quality
  • Good transportation system
  • Support for Ag
  • Good health
  • Celebration of differences
  • Recreation
  • Water themes
  • Focus on education
  • Child care
  • Good stewardship of resources air, water
  • Arts & Culture
  • Affordable housing
  • Comaraderie
  • Educational opportunities
  • Efficient transportation
  • Elimination of helath concerns
  • Confidence in the FUTURE