Facing legal threats, city leaders appeal controversial northwest Fresno housing decision

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and City Council Vice President Mike Karbassi appealed a recent planning commission decision to reject a housing project in northwest Fresno on Wednesday. 

The 82-home housing project on Herndon and Prospect Avenues will now be brought to the City Council for a hearing at a future date.

“Deciding to appeal the Planning Commission’s findings was a decision I wrestled with greatly,” Dyer said in the news release. “I tried to view the situation as if I lived in the neighborhood, while also recognizing my mayoral responsibility to look out for the financial interest of the entire city.”

Dyer and Karbassi said their decision was motivated by letters from the developer and the Greenfield Coalition asking to appeal the decision, along with advisement from the Fresno City Attorney’s office, who say the rejection may violate the California Housing Accountability Act.

“The city has been placed at substantial risk of litigation that will likely result in substantial fines and the courts approving the project as it stands today by the developer,” Dyer and Karbassi said in their joint statement. “It is logical to presume that if the Planning Commission’s decision is not appealed, the applicant could litigate, and has a strong likelihood of winning.”

The joint statement also noted that the city could be fined as much as $4.1 million if they are found violating state law.

“We are confident a ‘do nothing’ posture would be an even greater disservice to all involved,” the joint statement reads.

The project from local developer James Huelskamp of LandValue Management consists of three three-story buildings and one four-story building totaling 82 market-rate two-bedroom and two-bathroom housing units. 

“We’re obviously pleased by it,” a spokesperson for Land Value Management told Fresnoland on Thursday in response to the appeal. “(We) look forward to continuing to discuss this with the city council.”

The planning commission rejected the housing project during a well-attended hearing by opponents to the housing project during their May 15 meeting. 

Though city staff recommended the commission approve the development, Fresno Planning Commission Chair Peter Vang initiated the motion to reject the project saying it would “have issues in regards to traffic that would be detrimental to the public.”

“You want to be a good neighbor, a good steward to the community,” Vang said during the hearing’s closing statements. “I don’t want to be responsible…have my name tied to the fact that I allowed for such an apartment complex to happen.” 

Karbassi, who represents northwest Fresno, said a lack of engagement from the developer and the neighboring residents led to the swelling of opposition for the housing project. 

“With similar projects of this magnitude, it has become standard practice for developers to hold community meetings in order to build consensus with the residents impacted by a project proposal,” said Karbassi in the news release. “Based on the evidence at the recent public hearing, this developer has been unwilling to engage with residents of the Tatarian Elementary community and incorporate their requests. It is no surprise that the project’s proponents are grossly outnumbered by such overwhelming opposition.”

Despite community opposition, Dyer and Karbassi said an appeal was necessary to protect the city from litigation.

“In the end, Council Vice President Karbassi and I did not have a real choice in this matter based on California law under the Housing Accountability Act, which was made clear to us by our attorneys,” Dyer said in the news release. “To not appeal, in our opinion, would have been worse for the neighborhood based on the options available to the developer. I am committed to facilitating a meeting between the developer and the residents.”