What's at stake:
A ballot initiative regrading public subsidies and debt for SEDA has less than a week to get city council approval to be on the November ballot.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are likely at stake.
The Fresno City Council voted in a narrow 4-3 majority to remove a SEDA ballot initiative from their meeting agenda on Thursday.
Councilmembers Miguel Arias, Annalisa Perea, Brandon Vang and Nick Richardson joined together as the voting bloc which gives the so-called “No Debt on Development” ballot initiative only one more week to be put on the November ballot.
A Fresnoland report on Wednesday showed the ballot initiative, if approved by voters, would open the door for subsidies for the first, industrial-focused phase of SEDA. That first phase, touted as affordable by Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, has $440 million in infrastructure costs not covered by existing developer fees, the report showed.
Vang was the first to suggest taking the ballot initiative off the agenda on Thursday, saying the council was still in the dark about the financial uncertainties of the first phase of SEDA.
“I’m still waiting for the financial report,” said Vang.
Vang was referring to seven months ago, in a widely attended hearing about SEDA last December, when the Fresno City Council requested a fresh financial report from the Dyer administration over how to pay for SEDA’s first phase, which is in Vang’s district.
The ballot initiative put forward by Council president Nelson Esparza earlier this week also would have restricted the use of some public funds eligible to pay for the infrastructure of SEDA’s later phases. That provision was opposed by the region’s major developer advocacy group.
On Thursday, Vang also cited letters received by city officials threatening to sue the council if the “No Debt on Development” initiative were to pass.
“My office, the council members and the mayor’s office have received letters threatening to move forward with lawsuits with regards to this item,” Vang said.
The City Council has until Aug. 7 to approve the No Debt on Development initiative to go on the November ballot.
