COMMUNITY TO LOSE, GAIN CALIFORNIA CITY WILL DROP DESERT TORTOISE ZONE.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer CALIFORNIA California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). CITY - California City officials are revising the community's planned annexation annexation, in international law, formal act by which a state asserts its sovereignty over a territory previously outside its jurisdiction. Many kinds of territory have been subject to annexation, chief among them those inhabited by settlers of the annexing power, to better shape boundaries for future growth. Originally, the city planned to annex an·nex tr.v. an·nexed, an·nex·ing, an·nex·es 1. To append or attach, especially to a larger or more significant thing. 2. 62 square miles A square mil is a unit of area, equal to the area of a square with sides of length one mil. A mil is one thousandth of an international inch. This unit of area is usually used in specifying the area of the cross section of a wire or cable. . Now, officials want to add 27 square miles of developable land and drop the same number of acres in an area that has less potential. The move will still allow the city to meet expected growth but avoids a turf turf: see lawn. turf In horticulture, the surface layer of soil with its matted, dense vegetation, usually grasses grown for ornamental or recreational use. war with Mojave over potentially valuable property along a new freeway bypass interchange An interchange is a location where two things meet, usually perform some kind of exchange, and possibly go on their ways again. It is most commonly used in four contexts:
``Our goals are still the same,'' said California City Mayor Larry Adams. ``We have an opportunity to cut a large portion of our community that is sensitive desert-tortoise habitat and gain land that has a greater potential for development.'' The new plan involves annexing 27 square miles located west of California City Boulevard and between the existing city boundaries and the Mojave-Barstow Highway (58). The city plans to drop 27 square miles of uninhabited desert at the far-flung city's northern and eastern edges. Originally, city officials proposed adding 62 square miles extending south to the highway, taking advantage of the Highway 58 bypass route under construction around Mojave, while dropping 63 square miles of uninhabited desert at the city's northern and eastern edges. The original annexation plan included the northeast corner of the interchange for the 58 and 14 highways under construction. The interchange is within the boundaries of the Mojave Public Utilities District. The area is also part of the territory being studied by Kern Kern, river, 155 mi (249 km) long, rising in the S Sierra Nevada Mts., E Calif., and flowing south, then southwest to a reservoir in the extreme southern part of the San Joaquin valley. The river has Isabella Dam as its chief facility. County officials for the specific plan for Mojave's development, and it also is an area that would be part of any city boundaries should Mojave try to incorporate. ``It's much more practical,'' Mojave Town President Bill Deaver said of the new annexation plan. ``It removes a point of contention that the communities don't need.'' California City officials say they want to annex the new territory because it will better position the city for growth. City officials also hinted they have major economic development projects they are trying to line up for the new territory, but they wouldn't elaborate. At the same time, the city wants to cut territory that is undeveloped and will likely be problematic for any future development. The land includes habitat for the desert tortoise desert tortoise see gopherus agassizii. , which gets government protection as a threatened species. Public hearings for the annexation plan will be held March 5 and 19. CAPTION(S): map Map: CALIFORNIA CITY BOUNDARY |
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