What's at stake:
Can homes be converted to industrial uses if left vacant? Will new rules push street vendors into the shadows?
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Councilmember Arias’ motion on the Tower District plan failed to receive a second vote; the Central Valley Cheese building retains industrial zoning; and, past plans for Producers’ Dairy expansion of truck parking have been withdrawn with the city.
The Fresno City Council on Thursday advanced two contentious measures that could reshape one of the city’s most historic neighborhoods, initiating a long-term planning process for the Tower District while street vendors tearfully protested new rules that would restrict their movements and impose fines many say they cannot afford.
In separate votes, the council initiated the environmental review of the South Tower District land use plan and delayed action on a street vending ordinance that critics say would devastate immigrant entrepreneurs.
The land use plan would affect approximately 100,000 residents and address decades-old tensions between homes and industry. At issue are roughly two dozen homes near Palm and Belmont that predate the city’s first zoning codes but were later zoned for industrial use.
“There’s 23 existing homes that are zoned industrial,” said Kiel Lopez-Schmidt, executive director of the South Tower Community Land Trust, which has purchased one property for affordable housing and is in escrow on another near Highway 180. “A lot of the data is clear that there are significant health disparities focused on the south part of [Tower District].”
Under current rules, these homes could be required to convert to industrial or office space if left vacant for as little as 90 days, according to Jennifer Clark, the city’s planning director. Industrial operators, through the Economic Development Corporation, have fought to preserve their ability to convert residential properties to industrial use, arguing they need room to expand.
In a failed motion, Councilmember Miguel Arias attempted to direct planning staff to study rezoning these homes in the new Tower plan to accommodate residential use even after extended vacancy – a potential compromise that would preserve housing while not completely blocking industrial development.
Meanwhile, street vendors fought back tears as they urged the council to reject new vending restrictions. The proposed ordinance, which has undergone several major revisions since its surprise roll-out in September, would create new limits on where vendors can operate, including keeping them 50 feet from restaurants and 100 feet from residences.
“Truthfully, a lot of us, what it’s going to make us feel is the need to hide from you guys,” said Alma Gonzalez, a street vendor who argued that vending work allows more family time than restaurant or field work. “We’re being pushed into a corner.”
After pushback in recent weeks from vendors, the latest version now exempts fruit, corn and snow cone vendors from some residential restrictions and allows vendors to use shade structures for themselves, though not for customers. The city also cut the number of departments authorized to enforce the rules and has repeatedly scaled back penalties.
Arias announced the latest fine structure: starting with warnings before escalating to $25, $50 and $100 fines for repeated violations. The ordinance would also restrict vending hours in the Tower District from Thursday to Sunday at midnight, which he said addresses “significant and ongoing criminal activity by some of the gangs that have moved in.”
“I know you may not understand the situation in which we are living,” said Martha Alvarado, “because we are hiding in the shadows due to our legal status. With the stress we are feeling with our sales being so low and having to pay these fines, we ask you to reconsider this.”
The proposal follows the city’s recent shift of outdoor vendor activities from Thursday ArtHop nights to “Why Not Wednesdays.” Cultiva de la Salud, a local nonprofit, has plans to open a kitchen for street vendors in the works, but the new laws proposed on Thursday would be yet another setback for the economic viability of Fresno’s street vendors.
“You’ve codified economic animus through this policy,” said Veva Islas, executive director of Cultiva de la Salud. “You’re treating mobile food vendors differently from all other food businesses in the way you are regulating them.”
About one year left until final Tower plan vote, city says
The broader Tower District plan also proposes rezoning some industrial areas to mixed-use development. While advocates have pushed for mixed-use zoning for the abandoned Central Valley Cheese building on Belmont Avenue, which was recently donated to Radio Bilingüe for a new broadcasting tower and cultural center, that property remains industrial under the proposed zoning map.
“The cultural center has long been the dream of many in this area,” said Hugo Morales, co-executive director of Radio Bilingüe. “It’s the only public radio that literally gives the microphone to farmworkers, janitors, teachers and street vendors. We will be proud moving into that neighborhood.”
The public radio station received $2 million in funding, split between state Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula and the California Endowment, to build the cultural center and a 130-foot tower that will expand broadcasts throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
Industrial interests have bolstered their response to the proposed Tower District zoning changes. Producers Dairy recently hired former Fresno deputy city manager Aldi Ramirez as chief of staff. A previous plan to expand operations and add truck parking has been withdrawn from city review, as stakeholders deliberate the future of the property along H Street, where Producers announced earlier this year that they will be demolishing the grain silos.
US milk production has increased more than 20% since 2010, according to the USDA, and Producers Dairy is one of California’s biggest dairy operations.
As part of the Tower plan, the city will also study nine potential park locations in the coming months, including sites at Olive and Calaveras, and Belmont and Van Ness.
A draft environmental impact report for the South Tower plan is expected by summer 2025, with the city council likely to vote on the final plan in fall 2025, according to city planner Adrian Assadorian. The extended timeline represents a delay from earlier projections that had suggested possible council action by this December.
The council will take up the street vending ordinance again at the next meeting on November 21. If passed, it would take effect in January 2025.
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