What's at stake?
Fresno County passed a new law that will limit the amount of sexual offenders that can live in a single family home.
They also announced new board leadership, and approved a move of the department of behavioral health
The Fresno County Board Of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a new law limiting the number of sex offenders that can live in a single-family home, following complaints from Old Fig Garden residents.
The law caps the number of sexual offenders to six per home, matching regulations set by the state, with property owners facing fines totaling over $50,000 for successive violations, a six-month jail sentence and potential litigation from the county.
About two dozen members of the public have spoken on the new law since it was first presented to the board last month — with those opposed to the ordinance pleading for at least more time to find new homes for some of the residents.
The board passed the law anyway on Tuesday, with Chair Garry Bredefeld, who was among the leaders who first introduced the ordinance last year, saying the law was a matter of public safety, and needed to be passed without delay.
“I’m concerned not about, frankly, the rights of the pedophile, but the rights of law-abiding citizens to live in safe communities and not worry about their children,” Bredefeld said.
Another potential penalty for violating the new law will be the loss of a business license, if you’re operating a facility for offenders out of a single-family home.
Supervisors acknowledged the new countywide laws target two homes in Old Fig Garden managed by Centers for Living, a faith-based transitional living and supportive services provider that houses some sexual offenders. The organization is run by Dawn and John Coyle, a married couple who showed up at both of the new law’s hearings to argue against the law or to at least have more time to re-house their current residents.
“There is a population out there that nobody wants to help,” Dawn said. “We want to help them.”
John Coyle told Fresnoland over email on Tuesday that 34 individuals face homelessness as a result of the law. He did not provide information on how his organization will choose who gets to stay and leave, but added that he is not considering litigation against the county at the moment.
“I’ve only desired a partnership since we started this,” Coyle said in the email. He also said that “we made every opportunity for the supervisors to meet with since December 5th and no one accepted that invitation.”
Among the public commenters at Tuesday’s meeting were alums of the Centers For Living program who said they’ve reformed, in large part, due to the services provided by the Coyles.
Their pleas were drowned out, however, by local residents who listed an array of public safety concerns caused, at least in part, by the house’s presence in their neighborhood. The board was largely receptive to those complaints.
“I personally don’t believe that these individuals should be living in residential neighborhoods, and not because I don’t trust you,” Supervisor Luis Chavez said to John Coyle, “but because I don’t trust the heart of men that have done these unspeakable things to children.”
Fresno County Board and commissions settle on new leadership
Bredefeld was officially sworn in as the chair of the supervisors on Tuesday, through a procedural process that sees the title rotate among board members annually.
Though the process itself is routine in nature, it also helps visualize the opportunity for radical shift in Fresno politics following a 2026 election cycle that could see both the city council and county board replace the majority of its members by year’s end.
Supervisor Buddy Mendes, the former chair, will retire from politics at the end of the year; Supervisor Brian Pacheco will forgo a re-election bid to run for the state assembly; Supervisor Nathan Magsig, if he wins a bid for state senate, could also leave his seat mid-term.
Bredefeld and Chavez, who will serve as vice chair, could potentially find themselves as the veteran supervisors by the end of their second year on the job.
“Who would have ever thought the two city guys are gonna be the senior members of the board in two years? Heaven help us all in the county,” Pacheco joked from the dais at Tuesday’s meeting.
Bredefeld introduced and passed the most sponsored items among the supervisors last year.
Fresno County Behavioral Health moves to Fig Garden
The Fresno County Department of Behavioral will see their administrative staff move north soon.
A new lease, which tops out at over $6 million for a property on 5260 N Palm Ave., just north of Fig Garden Village shopping plaza, is with Fig Garden LLC., and Farid Assemi, Neema Assemi and Jeremy Reed are the listed managers of the company.
The department’s staff will move north from their current location at the University Medical Center campus.
The agreement, which can extend to as much as five years, will also give the department time to settle in before a larger move is done to a new county office building currently under construction at 5555 E Olive Ave.
The board approved the lease agreement in a unanimous 4-0 vote, with Magsig recusing himself.
