Quote of the Week
“That’s what I fight harder for, to make sure that people on minimum wage, and people on fixed income, have a right to live where they want to live.”
–Desiree “Dez” Martinez, housing advocate and founder of We Are Not Invisible, after inking a landmark affordable housing settlement with the City of Clovis.
This Week in Fresnoland
‘A momentous about-face’
This week, Clovis announced a new deal that opens the door to thousands of new affordable homes in the city.
“I am excited to bring a lot more opportunities to low-income individuals, especially with people that might want to live in Clovis that are of color…and for minorities,” Dez Martinez told Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela.
In 2019, Martinez and a team of attorneys sued Clovis over policies the courts eventually ruled were discriminatory and illegal.
One of those attorneys, Patience Milrod, called Tuesday’s settlement “historic” and “revolutionary.”
The Fresno Bee’s Marek Warszawski – a consistent critic of the City Council’s contempt for California housing policies – celebrated the settlement as “a momentous about-face in a city where ‘They can’t force poor minorities on us’ has long been the unofficial motto.”
Over the years, there have been plenty of examples of Clovis leaders openly lamenting affordable housing laws. Some even made it into the lawsuit that eventually forced the city’s hand.
And city leaders, frequently cheered on by residents, battled Martinez and her attorneys. They tried to fight it all the way up to the state Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case last year.
But on Tuesday, the Clovis mayor was “pleased” with the announcement and talked about “working cooperatively” with attorneys to implement the new deal, which includes significant rezoning plans and new rules and programs incentivizing affordable housing projects in the city.
It marked the end of a long chapter for Martinez, who didn’t seek any financial damages in connection with the lawsuit.
“I keep doing this because I don’t have anything to lose. I’ve had everything in my life taken from me,” Martinez told Fresnoland. “They can’t scare me to stop advocating. Many times, I felt that they’ve tried.”
A home in the foothills away from Fresno’s ‘skyrises?’
Fresno County supervisors this week adopted an updated General Plan that clears the way for development on the San Joaquin and Kings rivers. Critics say the plan is bad for the air around communities already living close to some of the most polluted in the nation.
The plan also sets up Fresno County to miss state-required climate emissions goals by as much as 300%, Fresnoland’s Gregory Weaver reported this week.
Fresno County’s General Plan heavily favors revenue-generating projects, Weaver reported, including an industrial park, suburban expansion, and a 7,000-acre luxury development along the Kings River, which was included in the new General Plan despite a Planning Commission’s recommendation against it.
Critics of the new plan included the Sierra Club and the City of Fresno, which said the county’s plan to address environmental impacts was inadequate.
Supervisor Steve Brandau defended the new plan, saying Fresno County is feeling the pressure to provide housing options outside of Fresno’s (apparently towering) “skyrises.”
“The truth is, Madera is building a new city on the other side of the river,” Brandau said.” We have to make adjustments.”
‘Business friendly’ vs ‘environmental dumping ground?’
Another air quality debate emerged two days later when the Fresno City Council greenlighted a $100 million warehouse development project.
Project supporters touted the potential for hundreds of new jobs while critics slammed the potential air quality effects for a neighborhood already facing some of the worst air in the city, Fresnoland’s Julianna Morano reported.
The council voted 5-2 Thursday to approve the final version of an Environmental Impact Report, Morano reported, along with water supply reports and pollution mitigation plans.
Mayor Jerry Dyer said the project was an opportunity for the city to beef up its “business-friendly” credentials.
“We unfortunately do have a reputation in Fresno for not being business-friendly,” Dyer said. “Some of that deserved, some of that undeserved. But it has caused development to move into nearby jurisdictions.”
Councilmember Miguel Arias said it’s part of the city’s long history of using the southwest as an “environmental dumping ground.”
Fresno City Council makes big changes after Fresnoland investigation
The Fresno City Council is overhauling its process for creating committees, six months after a Fresnoland investigation revealed that the city failed to follow its own rules and procedures for several years.
On Thursday, the City Council quietly approved a resolution repealing and replacing the city’s procedures for establishing new boards, commissions and committees. The resolution was among more than three dozen consent agenda items scheduled for approval Tuesday in a single council vote without public discussion, Fresnoland’s Omar Shaikh Rashad reported.
Exempt from the city’s rules for committees are “informal working groups,” which the proposal does not define or provide any details on how they would function, Rashad reported.
Additionally, “bodies created by a non-legislative body, such as the Mayor or individual Councilmember, are not subject to the Brown Act,” the resolution reads.
In August, a Fresnoland investigation revealed that the Fresno City Council’s budget committee has negotiated the city budget with the mayor’s administration in meetings closed to the public every year for the last five years.
Additionally, a Fresnoland review of California’s 10 largest cities by population found that only Fresno claims a Brown Act exemption for its budget committee. Even other San Joaquin Valley cities like Bakersfield and Stockton keep their budget committees open to the public.
Fresno Unified schools addressing food deserts
A new program at Fresno Unified schools puts young students in charge of farmers markets on campuses across the city.
In partnership with Fresno Metro Ministry, Fresno schools are making it easier for students and their families to find healthy, fresh food in neighborhoods where it’s frequently easier to find fast food, EdSource’s Lasherica Thornton reported this week.
Many Fresno neighborhoods are “food deserts” or “food swamps,” communities without viable access to healthy food or much greater access to cheap junk food options, Thornton reported.
“Bringing farmers markets to schools within a food desert or swamp — which mostly exist in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods — provides access to nutritious food,” EdSource reported.
Fresno schools have hosted farmers markets before, but the partnership with Metro Ministry allows students to get their hands dirty handling everything from crops and planning to organizing vendors and marketing.
Urban farmer Patricia Hubbard praised the program while selling kale and sweet peas at a Fort Miller Middle School market earlier this month.
“We need young people farming.”
Outside the Lines
A beloved Fresno restaurant is about to get some time in the national spotlight. Fresno’s Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant and Cantina will be featured on the popular YouTube channel America’s Best Restaurants. On its Facebook page, the restaurant is asking residents to nominate their favorite dishes to potentially feature when the channel’s producers visit early next month. KSEE
Block Beat
TOWER: The Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee will be meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 5:30 p.m. in the Tower Theater lounge. They’ll be discussing future land use concepts for the neighborhood on their agenda.
MANCHESTER: The Travelodge Motel, on Dakota just east of Blackstone Avenue, got an infusion of state Project Homekey funding to convert into permanent supportive housing. Fresnoland
FRESNO HIGH: California’s oldest running auto service station, Van Ness Auto, is up for sale for just under $2 million. The Business Journal
WEST CENTRAL: The City Council approved just under $900,000 of improvements to Quigley Park at their meeting on Thursday, including a recreation center, multi-purpose courts, a dog park, shade structures, and a softball and baseball field. Fresnoland
NORTHWEST: The City Council approved a new warming center location, inside the Mint Thrift Store on Shaw and Marty Avenues. Fresnoland
MCLANE: Beautify Fresno invites the public to participate in a neighborhood clean up from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, March 2 at the corner of Shields and Cedar avenues. Beautify Fresno
Around Town
Superhero acting legend Lou Ferrigno will visit Legends Comics and Games, 1752 Clovis Ave., in Clovis from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, March 10. The actor and retired bodybuilder is perhaps best known for playing the title role in the 1970s television show The Incredible Hulk. LEGENDS COMICS
Hip-hop icon Chuck D will speak at the Old Administration Building at Fresno City College at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28. The free event is open to the public. KVPR
Splash Fresno hosts a Soulful Mixer from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25 at the club on Olive Avenue in the Tower District. The event aims to bring the community together in celebration of Black History Month. Come discover all the local music, arts, and commerce the black community of Fresno has to offer. Splash Fresno
Fresno’s famous Rogue Festival kicks off this Friday, March 1 with six days of theater, music, dance, magic, and performance art at the acclaimed fringe festival in the Tower District. Fresno Rogue
