Documenter: Heather Halsey Martinez

Summary

• The commission approved a medium density housing development by Lennar Homes on 62 acres east of Fowler Avenue between Fancher Creek and Kings Canyon Roads. It will be the final phase of the Fancher Creek development, and plans include a park on the south side of Fancher Creek Road and a trail extension east of the subdivision to Cypress Avenue.

• The commission reviewed updates to its rules and regulations, which it will formally approve and adopt at the next meeting on May 19. The most significant change is that documents must be submitted no later than 24 hours prior to the planning commission meeting in which the related item is being heard. The requirement aligns with what is required by the Fresno City Council and participants would still be able to present documents during meetings.

• Jennifer Clark, director of planning & development for the City of Fresno, told the commission the city council is working to appoint the new member of the planning commission. She said that she hopes the new member will join within the next one to two meetings.

The Scene

The Fresno Planning Commission meeting took place on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. The agenda was not available online prior to the meeting and I was unable to reach anyone via phone at the Planning Department. Due to the COVID-19 state of emergency, all City of Fresno public meetings are held via Zoom or phone and the council chambers are closed to the public. Meetings are also viewable on CMAC and the City of Fresno’s YouTube channel.

Names of officials:

Kathy Bray, Chairperson (also owner of Denham Resources)

Brad Hardie, Vice Chair (also President of Regency Property Management)

David Criner, Commissioner (also pastor at Saint Rest Baptist Church)

Debra McKenzie, Commissioner (also Director of Administration for Central California Legal Services)

Peter Vang, Commissioner (also Associate at Thiesen Dueker Financial Consulting Group)

Monica Diaz, Commissioner

Vacant, Commissioner (Raj Sodhi-Layne resigned from the commission on Jan. 1, 2021, creating a vacant vice chair position. Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer took office in January 2021 and it has been reported that he selected Haley Wagner-Drilling to fill the vacant seat, but her appointment is awaiting approval by the Fresno City Council.) 

Criner was not present during roll call. All other commissioners were present via Zoom or phone. 

The meeting opened quickly with the Pledge of Allegiance, during which an image of an American flag was shown on screen. 

No items were on the consent calendar. 

Actions

• Approved unanimously a proposed development agreement with Lennar Homes for approximately 62 gross acres (45 net acres) located on the east side of Fowler Avenue between Fancher Creek and Kings Canyon Roads. The development will include a park and trail extension. 

  • Planning Manager Will Tackett said an EIR on the development was approved by the Fresno City Council in 2005, as well as a tentative tract map. 

  • This is the last phase of the Fancher Creek development. Existing residential developments are on the north, east, south and west.

  • Gives a term of 2 years following the effective date. 

  • Approved for medium density residential. Includes a park and trail extension east of the subdivision to Cypress Avenue.

  • Mike Gehrke, attorney for Lennar Homes, was on the call and said he had nothing to add, but thanked Tackett and everyone involved. 

  • “I’m glad to see there’s a park being built there, that’s great,” Bray said.

• Reviewed amendments to the City of Fresno Planning Commission rules and regulations. It will be placed on the agenda for May 19 for formal approval and adoption. 

  • Mike Sanchez, assistant director to planning and development staff, presented the revisions: 

    • Update to the present name of the planning department. 

    • Update the order of business by removing the minutes and give it its own section during the deliberations, so they can be discussed if needed. 

    • Change name from, “Communications,” to, “Non-entitlement items.” 

    • Add a rule requiring the submission of documents to the commission no later than 24 hours prior to the planning commission meeting in which the related item is being heard. 

      • The amendment would mirror the Fresno City Council’s rule.

      • “As the commission is aware, we’ve had recent situations where we’ve had last minute document dumps and that led to some delays in processing, so adding this provision to the bylaws would stem that from occurring,” Sanchez said.

    • Corrections to grammar and formatting throughout. 

  • Vang asked what would happen if documents are received later than 24 hours prior. Sanchez said that it would be part of the record, but that it wouldn’t be part of the proceedings for that matter. 

  • Raj Badhesha, deputy city attorney for the City of Fresno, said currently staff scrambles to try and ensure the commission receives the documents. “Anyone can present anything at the meeting, but staff would not be responsible for scrambling within 24 hours prior to the meeting,” he said. “This rule has been taken by the City Council rules and just modified for the planning commission.” 

  • The new rule will be put in place to avoid situations like what occurred during the April 7 meeting when the commission was supposed to vote on an industrial rezone in southwest Fresno, but postponed the decision due to correspondence that arrived just hours before the meeting. 

  • “In view of not our last meeting, but the one before when we had so much come in late that we couldn’t really review then we had to put the meeting off and then the public was unhappy about that, I think this is a good answer so that we can make a decision when it’s happening and when people are there and we don’t have to tell them they gotta come back later,” Bray said. “I’m very much in favor of this, I think it’s a very good idea.” 

Jennifer Clark, director of planning & development for the City of Fresno, told the commission the city council is, “diligently working,” on appointing the new member of the commission. “I know that helps you reach quorum in certain situations,” she said. “I hope within the next one to two meetings that we’ll have an additional member to the planning commission.”

Bray opened the meeting for public comments and no comments were made.

The meeting adjourned at 6:24 p.m. Future meetings are scheduled for May 19, June 2 and 16.

Summary

• The commission approved a medium density housing development by Lennar Homes on 62 acres east of Fowler Avenue between Fancher Creek and Kings Canyon Roads. It will be the final phase of the Fancher Creek development and plans include a park on the south side of Fancher Creek Road and a trail extension east of the subdivision to Cypress Avenue.

• The commission reviewed updates to its rules and regulations, which it will formally approve and adopt at the next meeting on May 19. The most significant change is that documents must be submitted no later than 24 hours prior to the planning commission meeting in which the related item is being heard. The requirement aligns with what is required by the Fresno City Council and participants would still be able to present documents during meetings.

• Jennifer Clark, director of planning & development for the City of Fresno, told the commission the city council is working to appoint the new member of the planning commission. She said that she hopes the new member will join within the next one to two meetings.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at Documenters-admin@thefresnoland.com with “Correction Request” in the subject line.