Bakersfield Opens Review of Draft RISE 2045 General Plan
The City of Bakersfield has opened public review of its draft RISE 2045 General Plan, starting a formal comment period on a document intended to guide growth and public policy within the city through 2045.
The city’s public-review announcement was dated July 23, 2026. Residents, developers and others interested in Bakersfield’s future have until September 27, 2026, to comment on the draft. That deadline is the end of the current comment period, not an adoption date.
RISE 2045 remains a proposal. The city has not adopted the plan, and the materials identify additional environmental review and adoption steps after the public-review period.
What the draft would guide
The plan is built around a 2045 planning horizon and addresses long-term land use, housing, economic development and infrastructure planning in Bakersfield. Its stated scope also includes transportation and environmental decisions affecting future growth across the city.
That makes the review broader than approval of a single housing, commercial or infrastructure project. A general plan establishes a framework for future decisions about how the city grows and how related public needs are considered. The approved materials do not show that RISE 2045 itself authorizes specific development projects.
The planning topics include local jobs and economic development as well as housing and land use. Transportation and infrastructure are part of the long-term planning picture, meaning the draft is relevant to future decisions about where growth may occur and what public systems may need to support it.
Fair housing and environmental justice are included
Supporting materials include a Bakersfield-specific fair-housing and environmental-justice analysis. The RISE 2045 Fair Housing and Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Appendix documents a planning framework for considering those issues.
The supporting planning materials also identify future school and safe-routes considerations. One planned new Bakersfield elementary school is identified for completion by the end of 2028.
That school reference should be read as background in the supporting materials, not as a commitment made by the general-plan action itself. The supplied materials do not establish that adoption of RISE 2045 would approve or guarantee the school project.
Why the comment period matters
The public-review period gives Bakersfield residents and developers a defined opportunity to respond before the city moves to the next stages of the process. Comments can address the draft’s approach to housing, land use, jobs, transportation, infrastructure, fair housing and environmental justice.
Because the plan is intended to guide decisions over a period ending in 2045, the issues under review concern more than the city’s immediate projects. The draft could shape the framework used for later growth, development and public-investment decisions, although its final effect cannot be known until the document is reviewed and adopted.
What happens next
The known next step is the close of the public-comment period on September 27, 2026. After that, environmental review and the later process for considering and adopting the plan remain ahead.
The approved materials do not provide an adoption date. The draft could change in response to public input, and the September 27 deadline should not be treated as the date when new citywide rules take effect.
For now, RISE 2045 is a draft under public review. People seeking to influence its direction must submit comments during the current review period before the city proceeds with the remaining environmental and adoption steps.
Sources
- Bakersfield is asking for public input on its plan for the city through 2045, Reddit lead pointing to local planning information
- RISE 2045 Fair Housing and Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Appendix, Bakersfield 2045 planning project
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