City OKs transit area plan
Development to be around High Speed Rail station
PALMDALE — The City Council on Tuesday approved the Palmdale Transit Area Specific Plan that will customize the planning process, land use, and zoning regulations for future transit-oriented development around the proposed downtown California High Speed Rail station.
The Council’s action caps a four-year planning and community engagement effort, funded in part by station area planning funds from the California High Speed Rail Authority.
The specific plan document is a tool which will be used by developers, property owners, city staff and other decisions to help maximize development potential around the future station. The specific plan lays out how land can be developed in the 746-area project area surrounding the future station to create a vibrant mixed-use station area that embodies sustainable, economic and social development.
The plan boundaries are Technology Drive to the north, the Antelope Valley Freeway to the west, Avenue Q-9 to the south, and 10th Place East to the east.
“The future arrival of the California High Speed Rail System, including a multi-modal rail station near the existing Palmdale Transportation Center, will really transform the way the residents live, work and play in this area,” Se
nior Planner Megan Taggart said during a presentation at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The plan focuses on increasing density around the future highspeed rail station and enables a pedestrian-oriented district with a mix of commercial and public uses while being mindful of neighborhood character.
The City and the California High Speed Rail Authority released a joint statement Wednesday.
“The concept is to have all the different modes — California High-Speed Rail, Metrolink, lo
cal transit, Brightline West, Amtrak, Greyhound and future light rail — in one location,” Mayor Steve Hofbauer said in a statement. “This plan will accomplish that and more. It will help create a vibrant city center that will be an important part of our future.”
“This is a significant milestone in the ongoing progress of the high-speed rail program and the partnership between the Authority and the City of Palmdale,” said LaDonna DiCamillo, the Authority’s Southern California Regional Director. “Palmdale is an important rail crossroads in our state, and
we look forward to continue working with the city to grow the local economy and vastly expand transportation options with this station.”
Councilmembers expressed concern about the impact of the future high speed rail station on residents and business owners in response to public comments.
“Anything that centers around having a better transportation center I’m supportive of, and I think that staff has done a good job putting this together. It’s going to be a difficult transition,” Councilman Austin Bishop said.
Councilman Juan Carrillo asked what the city is doing to make sure families who live in the area currently are not driven out of their neighborhood.
“I think what he’s talking about it very valid question about how do we mitigate the gentrification to the potential alienation of the people who have been living in the area,” Hofbauer said.
The Palmdale Transportation Center is part of the Bakersfield to Palmdale project section, an approximately 80-mile corridor that travels through or near the cities of Edison, Tehachapi, Rosamond, Lancaster and Palmdale. The Authority issued the Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the Bakersfield to Palmdale project section at the beginning of 2020, with the final report scheduled to be issued in spring 2021.
The high-speed rail project is currently under construction on 119 miles in the Central Valley, with more than 4,500 construction workers dispatched since the start of construction and 570 certified small businesses contributing to the high-speed rail program from throughout the state.
Visit: https://cityofpalmdale.org/426/Palmdale-Multimodal-High-Speed-Rail-Stat for details on the City’s action or the plan itself.