Kern, California — 2025 Year in Review
Land use and zoning activity from city and county planning meetings in Kern during 2025.
Kern County indexed 2,617 projects with at least one decision in 2025, leading to 3,407 approved and 18 denied actions. Approval was effectively unanimous at 99.5% — typical for a county where most agenda items are administrative or staff-recommended. Bakersfield led with 999 projects (38% of the county), followed by Shafter at 350.
“Projects with decisions” counts unique projects. “Approved” and “Denied” count individual actions (one project can have multiple actions across meetings).
2,617
Projects with decisions
3,407
Approved actions
18
Denied actions
99.5%
Approval rate (of actions)
By city
| City | Projects | Approved actions | Denied actions | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arvin | 261 | 420 | 1 | 99.8% |
| Bakersfield | 999 | 1,237 | 12 | 99.0% |
| California City | 84 | 92 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Delano | 159 | 188 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Fairfax | 62 | 64 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Greenfield | 139 | 209 | 1 | 99.5% |
| Maricopa | 37 | 44 | 0 | 100.0% |
| McFarland | 22 | 29 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Ridgecrest | 69 | 102 | 2 | 98.1% |
| Shafter | 350 | 460 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Tehachapi | 175 | 245 | 2 | 99.2% |
| Wasco | 260 | 317 | 0 | 100.0% |
Data from public meeting documents processed by Boardwalk. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. Not all cities are included.