Farmland Preservation Program

Policy RC-9-c of the Fresno General Plan directs the City of Fresno to create a Farmland Preservation Program. The adoption of a Farmland Preservation Ordinance will direct how the City of Fresno implements the program.

Policy RC-9-c
Farmland Preservation Program

In coordination with regional partners or independently, establish a Farmland Preservation Program. When Prime Farmland, Unique Farmland, or Farmland of Statewide Importance is converted to urban uses outside City limits, this program would require that the developer of such a project mitigate the loss of such farmland consistent with the requirements of CEQA. The Farmland Preservation Program shall provide several mitigation options that may include, but are not limited to the following: Restrictive Covenants or Deeds, In Lieu Fees, Mitigation Banks, Fee Title Acquisition, Conservation Easements, Land Use Regulation, or any other mitigation method that is in compliance with the requirements of CEQA. The Farmland Preservation Program may be modeled after some or all of the programs described by the California Council of Land Trusts.

Program Environmental Impact Report for the City of Fresno General Plan Amendment No. P19-04226

The City of Fresno is preparing a Program Environmental Impact Report for the continued implementation of the approved Fresno General Plan, text changes to the Mobility and Transportation Element related to Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) analysis, and an update to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan. This update, consistent with Section 15168 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, is intended to streamline the implementation of the General Plan’s programs and projects by supporting them with updated environmental analysis, regulatory framework, and mitigation measures, pursuant to CEQA. Two major goals of updating the EIR include:

• Complying with new legislation as it relates to various resource topic area as defined by CEQA; and
• Updating the technical analyses to reflect the current baseline conditions of 2019.

Final Program Environmental Impact Report – July 2021
Note to reader: the FPEIR consists of the Recirculated Draft Program EIR from March 2021, the Draft PEIR from March 2020, and the Response to Comments documents from July 2020 and 2021respectively.

Response to Comments – July 2021

Appendices

Appendix L – Comment Letters

Appendix M – Settlement Agreement

Appendix N – Settlement Agreement Summary

Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program

Recirculate Draft Program Environmental Impact Report – March 2021

Bilingual Notice of Availability

Recirculated Draft Program Environmental Impact Report

Appendices

Appendix C – Air Quality

Appendix G – Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan Update

Appendix J – Transportation

Upcoming Public Hearing Dates:
Planning Commission: August 4, 2021 at 6:00 PM
City Council: August 19 at 10:00 AM
Agendas

Final Program Environmental Impact Report (FPEIR)
Note to reader: the FPEIR consists of the Draft Program EIR and the Response to Comments documents

View the Draft Program Environmental Impact Report

View the Response to Comments

Appendices

A: Notice of Preparation

B: Public Scoping Comments

C: Air Quality – Caleemod Output Files

D: Biological Resources

E: Native American Consultation

F: Geology and Soils

G: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan Update

H: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Summary

I: Noise

J: Traffic Impact Analysis

View the Updated Notice of Availability with 15-day Time Extension for Public Comment
View the Notice of Availability

About the Project Area
The General Plan Planning Area encompasses approximately 106,000 acres and includes all areas within the City’s current City limits and the current Sphere of Influence.

View Fresno Planning Boundary Map

Notice of Preparation (NOP)
Pursuant to provisions of CEQA, the City has prepared a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the proposed project. Once a decision is made to prepare an EIR, the lead agency must prepare a NOP to inform all responsible and trustee agencies that an EIR will be prepared (CEQA Guidelines Section 15082). The purpose of this NOP is to provide agencies, interested parties, and organizations with sufficient information describing the proposed project and the potential environmental effects to enable meaningful input related to the scope and content of information to be included in the EIR.

View Notice of Preparation

Public Review Period for the NOP
The NOP is being circulated for public review and comment for a period of 30 days beginning May 16, 2019. Comments in response to the NOP will be accepted through 5 p.m., June 17, 2019. Please send your written comments to Ms. Pagoulatos and include your name, address, and phone number and/or email address so that we may contact you for clarification, if necessary.

Contact:
Sophia Pagoulatos, Planning Manager
Development and Resource Management
2600 Fresno Street, Room 3065
Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 621-8062
[email protected]

Scoping Meeting
The City held a public scoping meeting to inform interested parties about the General Plan PEIR and to provide agencies and the public with an opportunity to provide comments on the scope and content of the PEIR. The meeting time and location was as follows:

Fresno City Hall
Room 2165 (Meeting Room A), Second Floor
2600 Fresno Street
Fresno, CA 93721
Date: May 21, 2019
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

View Scoping Meeting Presentation

Work Program Outline
Task 1 – Project Initiation
1.1 Technical Advisory Committee Formation
1.2 Kick-Off Meeting
1.3 Data Collection/Document Review
1.4 Notice of Preparation
Task 2 – Project Description
Task 3 – Administrative Draft EIR
3.1 Aesthetics
3.2 Agriculture and Forestry Resources
3.3 Air Quality
3.4 Biological Resources
3.5 Cultural Resources
3.6 Geology and Soils
3.7 Greenhouse Gas Emissions
3.8 Hazards and Hazardous Materials
3.9 Hydrology and Water Quality
3.10 Land Use and Planning
3.11 Mineral Resources
3.12 Noise
3.13 Population and Housing
3.14 Public Services and Recreation
3.15 Transportation and Traffic
3.16 Tribal Cultural Resources
3.17 Utilities and Service Systems
3.18 Energy Conservation
3.19 Alternatives Analysis
3.20 CEQA-Required Assessment Conclusions
3.21 Other Chapters
Task 4 – Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan Update
4.1 Provide an Evidence-Based 2020 Reduction Target
4.2 SB 32 Alignment of the GHG Reduction Plan
4.3 Monitoring Tools Update
4.4 Draft GHG Reduction Plan Update
Task 5 – Screencheck Draft EIR
Task 6 – Public Review Draft EIR
Task 7 – Administrative Final EIR/Response to Comments
7.1 Administrative Final EIR/Response to Comments
7.2 Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
Task 8 – Screencheck Final EIR/Response to Comments
Task 9 – Final EIR/Response to Comments
Task 10 – CEQA Findings and Statement of Overriding Considerations
Task 11 – Project Management Meeting

PUBLIC COMMENT
The City of Fresno will receive public comments on the Draft PEIR from March 6 through April 20, 2020. Written comments should be received no later than 5pm (PST) on April 20, 2020. Please send your written comments to Sophia Pagoulatos and include your name, address, and phone number and/or email address so that we may contact you for clarification, if necessary.  Comments may be made in person, by first class mail, facsimile or email to:

City of Fresno
Planning and Development Department
2600 Fresno Street, Room 3065
Fresno, CA 93721
Attention: Sophia Pagoulatos, Planning Manager
Telephone: (559) 621-8062  Fax: (559) 498-1026
Email: [email protected]

Public Disclaimer
Please be advised, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Brown Act, all forms of community feedback and public input that is provided to the City of Fresno will be made available to the general public.

Brownfields Program

Text Amendment Application No. P24-00794

In 2023, the City Council initiated Resolution No. 2023-064 to amend the Development Code to address citywide housing shortages. Text Amendment Application No. P24-00794 proposes the following:

• Conversion of office to residential uses: ministerial approval of the new office to dwelling conversion residential use classification. This includes parcels in the Office Zone that have an existing commercial use.

• Housing in Multi-Family Residential Districts near bus stops: ministerial approval of multi-family residential developments in multi-family districts (RM-1, RM-2, RM-3) within half a mile of an existing bus stop.

• Housing in Mixed-Use Zone Districts: ministerial approval for single-unit dwelling attached and multi-unit residential housing types in mixed use districts (NMX, CMX, RMX, CMS, and CR) within the City’s Infill Priority Area; and

• New multi-family in Office Zones: ministerial approval of new standalone multi-unit residential development in the O zone district (“New Residential Development on Office Parcels”).

To analyze potential environmental impacts, a Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared and released for public review and comment from November 20, 2024 to December 20, 2024. Please visit the links below to review the Mitigated Negative Declaration and public comments received:

Text Amendment Application No. P24-00794 will be considered by the Fresno City Council on Thursday, March 27th at 9:15am or thereafter. The meeting will be held at the address below:

Fresno City Hall Council Chamber
2600 Fresno Street
Fresno, California 93721

To access upcoming agendas, please visit: https://fresno.legistar.com/Departments.aspx

For more information, please contact Adrienne Asadoorian-Gilbert, Supervising Planner at [email protected] or (559) 621-8339.

Para más información en español, contacte [email protected] 

Tower District Specific Plan Update

Papé Materials Handling Project
(Development Permit Application No. P22-04027)

Project Description:

The proposed project includes the construction of a two-story, 52,600 square-foot commercial building for rental, sale, repair and maintenance of construction and warehouse equipment. The proposed commercial building includes office space for staff, and warehousing and shop areas. The proposed project would also include the construction of a separate 6,000 square-foot vehicle wash and storage building along the site’s northern boundary, employee and customer parking, landscaped areas, and equipment storage racks and a stormwater retention basin along the eastern portion of the site. 

To facilitate the future development of the subject property, the proposed project would provide, as required, dedications for public street rights-of-way, as well as the construction of public facilities and infrastructure in accordance with the standards, specifications, and policies of the City of Fresno.

Project Location:

The proposed project is located at 4254 South Cedar Avenue, on approximately 11.75 acres, and approximately 680 feet northeast of the intersection of East Malaga Avenue and South Cedar Avenue, in Fresno, California. Site Latitude: 36.673219°, Site Longitude: –119.752433°. Mount Diablo Base & Meridian, NW quarter of Section 36, Township 14 South, Range 20 East (Assessor’s Parcel Number [APN]: 330-03-184). 

Project Entitlements:

Development Permit Application No. P22-04027, which proposes the construction of a two-story, 52,600 square-foot commercial building for rental, sale, repair and maintenance of construction and warehouse equipment.

Who do I contact for more information?

For additional information, please contact Thomas Veatch at (559) 621-8076 or via email at [email protected]. 

Notice of Preparation 

NOP Dated November 17, 2023

Comment Period

November 17, 2023 – December 18, 2023

Scoping Meeting: November 2, 2021

The CEQA process encourages comments and questions from the public throughout the planning process. Pursuant to Section 15083 of the CEQA Guidelines, a Public Scoping Meeting will be held to solicit public comments on the scope and content of the EIR. A public scoping meeting for this project will be conducted on Thursday, December 7, 2023, at a meeting room in City Hall (2600 Fresno St, Fresno, Ca 93721) on the 2nd floor, Room 2165 N, as well as on Zoom. The webinar information is provided below:

Via Zoom online meeting at:
https://fresno-gov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kDwMnQ4BTnC6Hm9VkJsbGw
Or by Phone at: 1 669 900 9128
Webinar ID: 919 2399 6864

Thomas Veatch –Planner
City of Fresno – Planning and Development Department
2600 Fresno Street, Room 3043
Fresno, CA 93721 (559) 621-8076
[email protected] 

Climate Adaptation Plan and Environmental Justice Element

Vesting Tentative Tract Map No. 6472

he City of Fresno (City) is the Lead Agency on the below-described Vesting Tentative Tract Map No. 6472 Project and has prepared a Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The NOP is intended to solicit the views of the public, interested parties, and/or agencies as to the scope and content of the environmental information which is relevant to you or your agency’s statutory responsibilities in connection with the proposed project. Specifically, the City is requesting that commenters identify environmental topics (and/or special studies) that they believe need to be explored in the forthcoming EIR, and to identify other relevant environmental issues related to the scope and content of the forthcoming EIR. 

Project Title:

Vesting Tentative Tract Map No. 6472

Project Applicant:

The Project is generally located on the southeast corner of West Shaw Avenue and North Grantland Avenue (Figure 1). The Project is within Section 16, Township 13 South, Range 19 East, of the Mount Diablo Baseline and Meridian and the U.S. Geological Survey 7.5 Minute Herndon Quadrangle. The Project is located immediately south and west of the City of Fresno corporate limits, in unincorporated Fresno County, and lies within the boundaries of the sphere of influence. The site is bounded by West Shaw Avenue (north), North Grantland Avenue (west), West Gettysburg Avenue (south) and North Bryan Avenue (east), and is situated approximately one mile southwest of State Route (SR) 99.

The Project consists of two distinct areas: a proposed residential development area and a proposed annexation area. The proposed Entitlement Area encompasses both the residential development area (APN 512-031-01S), and the Annexation Only Area that includes the unincorporated 14 parcels to the east (APNs 512-031-09 through -22), which are developed with rural residential homes. The following terms will be used to distinguish the two areas: 

• Project Site: This term refers to the approximately 80-acre parcel (APN 512-031-01S) to be developed as part of Vesting Tentative Tract Map No. 6472. This parcel will also be annexed into the City.
• Annexation Only Area: This term refers to the developed parcels (APNs 512-031-09 through -22 and adjacent Rights-of-ways).
• Entitlement Area: This term refers to both the Annexation Area and the Project Site parcels (APNs 512-031-01S and 512-031-09 through -22).

Project Description:

Vesting Tentative Tract Map No. 6472 is located on an approximately 80-acre parcel (APN 512-031-01S) on the southeast corner of West Shaw Avenue and North Grantland Avenue. The planned alignment of Veterans Boulevard bifurcates the Project Site.

The Project Site has planned land use designations of Residential Medium High Density (12-16 D.U./acre), Residential Urban Neighborhood (16-30 D.U./acre), Residential High Density (30-45 D.U./acre) and Public/Quasi-Public Facility in the Fresno General Plan. The Annexation Only Area has a planned land use designation of Residential Low Density (1-3.5 D.U./acre) in the Fresno General Plan.

Site Configuration

The Project proposes the development of 236 single-family detached dwelling units on 20.83 net acres west of the Veterans Boulevard alignment for a density of 11.3 dwelling units per net acre in the proposed RS-5 zone district. Lot sizes will range from 2,375 square feet to 5,538 square feet.

The Project also proposes the development of 50-cluster style buildings on approximately 18.16 net acres east of the Veterans Boulevard alignment. Each cluster is comprised of five single-family attached units for a total of 250 units and a density of 13.76 units per net acre in the proposed RM-2 zone district. Lot sizes will range from 1,234 square feet to 1,254 square feet. The buildings will have “alley-style” garage entries, private streets, guest parking, open space, bicycle and walking trails throughout.

One 16.75-acre remainder lot is proposed at the southeast corner of West Shaw Avenue and North Grantland Avenue. The remainder lot is not included in the plan for development.

On- and off-site improvements including circulation roads, interior local streets, curb, gutter, sidewalk, open space, and landscaping are proposed as part of the project. The Project will construct the remainder of Veterans Boulevard between Shaw Avenue and Gettysburg Avenue. Water and sewer utilities will be provided by the City of Fresno and new pipelines will be installed along North Grantland Avenue and West Gettysburg Avenue.

Entitlements

Lennar Homes of California is requesting approval of the following related entitlement applications:

• Pre-zone Application No. P24-02876 proposes to pre-zone approximately 96.14 acres  from the Fresno County Rural Residential designation to the City of Fresno RS-5 (Residential Single-Family, Medium Density [21.9 acres]),RM-2 (Residential Multi-Family, Urban Neighborhood [20.95 acres]), RM-3 (Residential Multi-Family, High Density [17.84 acres]), RM-1 (Residential Multi-Family, Medium High Density [4.68 acres]), PI (Public and Institutional [3.27 acres]) and RS-3 (Residential Single-Family Low Density [27.5 acres]) zone districts.
• Annexation Application No. P24-03218 proposes the Annexation of APNs 512-031-01S, 512-031-09, 512-031-10, 512-031-11, 512-031-12, 512-031-13, 512-031-14, 512-031-15, 512-031-22, 512-031-17, 512-031-18, 512-031-19, 512-031-20, 512-031-21, 512-031-16 into the City of Fresno corporate limits and the detachment of these properties from the King River Conservation District and the North Central Fire Protection District.
• Planned Development Application No. P24-02868 requests the reduction of the minimum lot size and the reduction of minimum lot width and transfer of density.
• Development Permit Application No. P24-03242 proposes the development of the eastern portion of the residential development, including the construction of 250 single-family attached dwelling units.
• Vesting Tentative Tract Map (T-6472) (P24-01378) application proposes to subdivide the 79.96-acre parcel (APN 512-031-01S) into 486 single-family lots, two RM-1 lots, one PI lot, one RM-3 lot and one remainder lot (RM-3).

Buildout

The Project will be developed in two phases with two resultant Final Maps. Phase One consists of the 236 western single-family residential lots and Phase Two consists of the eastern 250 single-family attached units. Veterans Boulevard will be developed in tandem with Phase One and Two. Development of the Project Site is anticipated to occur between Quarter 1 2026 and Quarter 2 2027.

Persons with questions or requests for information may call Juan Lara at (559) 621-8039 or email at [email protected].

Notice of Preparation: Comment Period from November 19th to December 18th 2024. 

Notice of Preparation: Comment Period from November 19th to December 18th, 2024

Prohousing Designation

The City of Fresno is applying to become designated as a Prohousing City by the State of California. The Prohousing Designation is a recognition reserved for municipalities that proactively innovate and implement programs and policies to increase local housing production.

About the Program:

The State of California Prohousing Designation Program was created to incentivize and reward local jurisdictions in acting above and beyond State laws to reduce barriers to housing development. To receive the designation, a jurisdiction must score greater than 30 points on their application. Points are earned by having enacted, or by committing to enact, policies and programs in each of the following categories:

• Favorable Zoning and Land Use
• Acceleration of Housing Production Timeframes
• Reduction of Construction and Development Costs
• Providing Financial Subsidies

Benefits:

Prohousing jurisdictions receive prioritized access to State grants for affordable housing, including the including Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC), Infill Infrastructure Grant (IIG), Transformative Climate Communities (TCC), Solutions for Congested Corridors (SCCP), Local Partnership Program (LPP), Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), and Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program (STPG), and more. They also receive exclusive access to the Prohousing Incentive Pilot Grant. The higher the City’s application score, the higher priority it earns in access to these grants.

Public Participation:

Public Comment Period to Be Announced.

About the Application Process

The City of Fresno will post its draft application for Prohousing Designation for public review for 30 days to invite public feedback. Staff will review and respond to all comments received after the comment period. After the comment period, the City Council will consider a resolution to authorize the application for submission to the State Department of Housing and Community Development.

After the City submits its application to HCD, the State will review the application and may request changes. Once the application is finalized, the State will determine if the City of Fresno qualifies to be designated as a Prohousing City.