FAQ
Certificate of Compliance
Are certificates of compliance used for anything else?
Kern County uses the Certificate of Compliance as a means of officially recognizing the legal…
What is a certificate of compliance?
A Certificate of Compliance is a legal recorded document which certifies that a parcel of…
How long does it take to process a certificate of compliance?
The Planning and Natural Resources Department will attempt to process requests for Certificates of Compliance…
Does a certificate of compliance mean that all laws are satisfied?
The issuance of a Certificate of Compliance simply means that the parcel complies with the…
Can a certificate of compliance be issued for illegal parcels?
On occasion, we find that parcels have been created after March 4, 1972, in violation…
Conditional Use Permit
What are the submittal requirements for a conditional use permit?
Applications for a conditional use permit may be obtained at the Kern County Planning and…
What is the conditional use permit process?
After a conditional use permit application has been formally accepted as complete, the application will…
What is a conditional use permit (CUP)?
Certain uses of land or types of businesses specified in the Kern County Zoning Ordinance…
How long does it take to process a conditional use permit?
Before permits can be obtained, the appli-cant will have to satisfy any conditions approved for…
Easement & Street Vacation
What are the submittal requirements for a vacation?
Applications can be mailed or obtained directly from the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources…
What is the process to vacant an easement?
There are two types of vacations – a summary vacation or a nonsummary vacation. A…
What is a vacation?
The term “vacation” means the complete or partial abandonment or termination of the public right…
What happens after the vacation is approved?
The action of the Board of Supervisors is final and is not subject to appeal.…
What considerations affect the outcome of a nonsummary vacation?
Planning Staff considers all comments from property owners, agencies, and departments when formulating a report…
How long does it take to process a vacation?
A summary vacation requires approximately six (6) to eight (8) weeks processing time, while a…
Estray Ordinance
How is the estray ordinance amended?
There is a formal application for amending the estray ordinance. Applicants wishing to amend the…
What is the process?
On receipt of a request to amend the estray ordinance, a file is made and…
What is an estray ordinance?
The California Food and Agriculture Code allows the Board of Supervisors to declare certain portions…
How much time will this process take?
Before the request is accepted for processing, a preliminary review is performed by staff to…
After the request has been approved, what happens?
After a decision is made by the Board of Supervisors to amend the estray ordinance,…
General Plan Amendment
What are the submittal requirements for a general plan amendment?
Applications to amend the general plan may be obtained from the Planning and Natural Resources…
What is the process for a general plan amendment application?
After the general plan amendment application is accepted as complete, work begins on determining the…
What is a general plan?
California law requires that each county and city in the state develop and adopt a…
How long does the process take?
After being accepted as complete, applications which require a Negative Declaration or do not require…
After the project is approved, what follows?
Unless there are special conditions attached to a project, the approval of a general plan…
Lot Line Adjustment
What happens after the lot line adjustment application is accepted as complete?
Under normal circumstances, the lot line adjustment process does not require any public hearings or…
What are the submittal requirements for a lot line adjustment?
Applications for a lot line adjustment may be obtained at the Planning and Natural Resources Department…
How long does it take to process a lot line adjustment?
Over-the-counter processing is offered for proposed lot line adjustments containing parcels/lots that were previously included…
Parcel Map
What is a parcel map (PM)?
A “parcel map” is a land division map processed through the Planning and Natural Resources…
What are the submittal requirements for a parcel map?
Applications for a parcel map may be obtained at the Planning and Natural Resources Department public…
How long does it take to process a parcel map?
An applicant can expect to receive an initial written response within 30 days of submittal…
Parcel Map Waiver
What is a parcel map waiver (PMW)?
Normally when land is subdivided, both a tentative and final map are required by the State…
What are the submittal requirements for a parcel map waiver?
Applications for a parcel map waiver may be obtained at the Kern County Planning and Natural…
What is the process a parcel map waiver goes through?
After a parcel map waiver application has been formally accepted as complete, the illustration is…
Precise Development Plan
What are the submittal requirements for a precise development plan?
Applications and instructions for preparation of a PD plan can be mailed or obtained directly…
What is the process required for approval of a precise development plan?
Director’s Hearings are conducted by the Hearing Officer and are held the first and third…
What is a precise development (PD) plan?
If your property is zoned with the PD combing district with your base zoning, such…
What happens if the land use changes?
The Director may approve minor plan modifications to an approved PD plan if it is determined that…
What happens after the precise development plan is approved?
Any decision rendered at the Director’s Hearing is subject to appeal by any interested party.…
How long does it take to process a precise development plan?
Applicants should allow up to 30 days for completion of the preliminary review. If the…
Are there any exceptions to a precise development plan?
The Director has the authority to approve a temporary use in a PD District if…
Special Development Standards
What are the special development standards?
The Kern County Zoning Ordinance regulates the use of private property. It lists certain allowed…
When are the special development standards imposed?
The Special Development Standards are an integral part of the building permit process. This process…
What should be shown on the site plan?
A site plan must contain the following information: Topographic information (when deemed necessary by the…
How do I obtain approval of my site plan?
A site plan should be included with the building or grading permit and will be…
Are special development standards required for every project?
It is important to note that not all of the development standards are required for…
Specific Plan
How do I start the specific plan process?
After you have been formally advised that your project warrants the preparation of a specific…
How do I go about preparing a specific plan?
It is suggested that anyone preparing a specific plan in Kern County consult Appendix C…
How can I determine if I need a specific plan?
Prior to accepting an application for a development project, the Department typically suggests to a…
What is a specific plan?
A specific plan is a tool that the Planning and Natural Resources Department use to…
What information does a specific plan contain?
State law (Government Code Section 65450 et seq.) states that a specific plan must include…
What does a specific plan look like?
According to state law, a specific plan must be in the form of a map…
What determines if my development is subject to a specific plan?
In some instances, a developer may choose to prepare a specific plan simply because he…
Other considerations
Following environmental review, a public hearing will be scheduled before the Kern County Planning Commission. …
Tract Maps
What is the process a tract map goes through?
After a tract map application has been formally accepted as complete, the map is sent…
What are the submittal requirements for a tract map?
Applications for a tract map may be obtained at the Planning and Natural Resources Department public…
What is a tract map?
A tract map is one of the processes used to subdivide real property into smaller…
How long is the tentative approval of a tract map good for?
The life of an approved tentative tract map is for an initial period of thirty-six…
How long does it take to process a tract map?
Unless an environmental document is required, a tract map will typically take between six to…
Zone Change
What is a zone district?
Base zone districts were established to regulate and allow a diversity of land uses. The…
What are the submittal requirements for a zone change?
Applications can be mailed, obtained directly from the Department, or their website. Submittal requirements include…
When is a zone change necessary?
A property owner may discover that their property’s existing zone district does not allow a…
What is the process for a zone change?
Completed applications will be set for a public hearing before the Kern County Planning Commission…
What happens after the zone change is approved?
If the Board of Supervisors approves the zone change, it normally becomes effective in thirty…
What considerations affect the outcome of a zone change application?
Most completed zone change applications are ultimately approved if they are consistent with the overlaying…
How long does it take to process a zone change?
Applicants should allow two (2) weeks for a preliminary review. A typical zone change will…
Zone Modification / Variance
What are the submittal requirements for a zone variance or modification?
Applications can be mailed, obtained directly from the Department or the department website at https://www.kernplanning.com/planning. Along…
When is a zone variance or modification necessary?
The most common requests relate to setbacks. For example, a property owner may wish to…
What is the process for a zone variance or modification?
Completed applications are set for a Director’s hearing. Property owners within 500 feet of the…
What is the difference between a zone modification and variance?
A modification may be processed to provide limited reduction of the following: A. Lot sizes, not to…
What is a zone modification or zone variance?
The Zoning Ordinance lists development standards for each zone district. Relief from strict application of…
What happens if the zone variance or modification is approved?
Any decision rendered at the hearing is subject to appeal by any interested party. The…
What considerations affect the outcome of a zone variance or modification applicationn?
In order for Staff to recommend approval of a modification or variance, certain findings are…
How long does it take to process a zone variance or modification?
Applicants should allow approximately two (2) weeks for a preliminary review. If the application is…