Judge Tosses Approvals of Tejon Ranch Centennial Project

The Tejon Ranch Co. has spent several years trying to fully develop its massive 270K-acre Tejon Ranch mixed-use development about 60 miles north of Los Angeles on the Kern County border.

According to plans unveiled by the company in September, the development in an area that encompasses almost 422 square miles on a site near the junction of Interstate 5 and Highway 138 would have included a 12,000-acre planned community known as Centennial with 19,333 new homes.

But these plans were shot down this week by a judge who ordered Los Angeles County to set aside its approvals of the project, specifically its certification of an Environmental Impact report.

The effect of the court’s order is to force Tejon Ranch to go back to square one and start the entitlements process over, something that will delay the Centennial project for several years.

Tejon Ranch said in a statement it remains committed to the Centennial development and is “considering options to reinstate project approvals,” TheRealDeal reported.

These options include working with the county to resolve deficiencies in the environmental impact assessment that were raised in the case, which was filed by environment groups including the Center for Biological Diversity.

Tejon formed a joint venture called Centennial Founders with its partners, Lewis Investment Co., Pardee Homes and Standard Pacific Homes.

According to the plans for Centennial, the new community would include commercial and retail development, schools, libraries, entertainment centers and medical facilities along with up to 23,000 homes.

The partnership said in November it planned to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure to build schools, roads and parks.

The partners said Centennial’s housing would be confined to 6,000 acres of relatively flat land used for grazing by Tejon Ranch over the past 100 years, GlobeSt. reported.

About half of the site, 5,700 acres, will be set aside as permanent open space. The developers said about 80% of the open space will remain as it looks today while the rest will be woven throughout the community in parks, bikeways, trails and recreation areas.

Tejon Ranch already has started development of its Tejon Industrial Complex, where warehouses are under development for furniture retailer IKEA and computer products distributor Daisytek International, along with a Best Western Liberty Inn that opened last summer. The 4,000-acre industrial complex will build 5M SF on 350 acres in its first phase.