Planning Commission

City of Fresno City Hall Council Chambers 2600 Fresno Street Meeting Minutes - Final Wednesday, September 17, 2025 6:00 PM Regular Meeting City Hall Council Chambers 2600 Fresno Street Planning Commission Chairperson – Peter Vang Vice Chair - Kathy Bray Commissioner – David Criner Commissioner – Monica Diaz Commissioner – Jacqueline Lyday Commissioner - Linda M Calandra Commissioner – Gurdeep Singh Shergill Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final September 17, 2025 THE PLANNING COMMISSION WELCOMES YOU TO COUNCIL CHAMBERS, LOCATED AT CITY HALL, 2600 FRESNO STREET, FRESNO, CALIFORNIA 93721. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – Any interested person may appear at the public hearing and present written testimony or speak in favor or against the matters scheduled on the agenda. Public participation during Fresno City Planning Commission meetings is always encouraged and can occur by attending a meeting in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 2nd Floor, 2600 Fresno Street, Fresno, CA 93721. When called to speak during a meeting, you may approach the speaker podium upon the Chair’s call for public comment. All public speakers will have up to 3 minutes to address the Commission pursuant to Rule No. 13 of the Planning Commission Bylaws of the City of Fresno (available in the City Clerk’s Office). SUBMIT DOCUMENTS / WRITTEN COMMENTS – 1. E-mail – Agenda related documents and comments can be e-mailed to the Planning & Development Department. Unless otherwise required by law to be accepted by the City at or prior to a Commission meeting or hearing, no documents shall be accepted for Commission review unless they are submitted to the Planning and Development Department at least 24 hours prior to the commencement of the Commission meeting at which the associated agenda item is to be heard. All comments received at least 24 hours prior will be distributed to the Planning Commission prior and during the meeting and will be a part of the official record, pursuant to Article 4 (3). a. Email comments to PublicCommentsPlanning@fresno.gov. b. Emails should include the agenda date and item number you wish to speak on in the subject line of your email. Include your name and address for the record, at the top of the body of your email. VIEWING PLANNING MEETINGS (non-participatory) – For your convenience, there are ways to view Planning Commission meetings live: 1. Community Media Access Collaborative website: https://cmac.tv/ 2. Cable Television: Comcast Channel 96 and AT&T Channel 99 3. Participate Remotely via Zoom: https://fresno.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_JRC95sI1SW6vrTmNwLLrPw a. The above link will allow you to register in advance for remote participation in the meeting via the Zoom platform. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing additional details about joining the meeting. Should any of these viewing methods listed above experience technical difficulties, the Commission meeting will continue uninterrupted. Commission meetings will only City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 2 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final September 17, 2025 be paused to address verifiable technical difficulties for all users participating via Zoom or in the Chambers. The City of Fresno’s goal is to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Anyone requiring reasonable ADA accommodations, including sign language interpreters, or other reasonable accommodations such as language translation, should contact the office of the City Clerk at (559) 621-7650 or clerk@fresno.gov. To help ensure availability of these services, you are advised to make your request a minimum of 48 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 3 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final September 17, 2025 I. ROLL CALL Chair Vang called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Also present were Jennifer Clark, Ashley Atkinson, Sophia Pagoulatos, Phillip Siegrist, Chris Lang, Casey Lauderdale, Kari Camino, and Heather Thomas (CAO). Present 5 - Chairperson Peter Vang, Commissioner Monica Diaz, Commissioner Jacqueline G. Lyday, Commissioner Linda Calandra, and Commissioner Gurdeep Singh Shergill Absent 2 - Commissioner David Criner , and Commissioner Kathy Bray II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 6:01 p.m. Commissioner Shergill arrived at 6:01 p.m. III. PROCEDURES 6:02 p.m. Chair Vang read the procedures aloud. IV. AGENDA APPROVAL 6:03 p.m. Siegrist reported no changes to the agenda. On motion of Commissioner Diaz, seconded by Commissioner Lyday, the AGENDA was APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5 - Chairperson Vang, Commissioner Diaz, Commissioner Lyday, Commissioner Calandra, and Commissioner Shergill Absent: 2 - Commissioner Criner , and Commissioner Bray V. CONSENT CALENDAR N/A City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 4 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final September 17, 2025 VI. REPORTS BY COMMISSIONERS 6:03 p.m. None VII. CONTINUED MATTERS N/A VIII. NEW MATTERS VIII-A ID 25-1229 Consideration of an Update to Planning Commission Rules and Regulations (Bylaws) Regarding Submission of Documents 6:04 p.m. Atkinson gave a brief introduction on the proposed update to the Planning Commission Rules and Regulations (Bylaws). The update can be found in Article 4, Section 3 and proposes to modify the deadline for submitting documents to no later than 4:00 p.m. the day prior to the item being heard. The amendment is designed to ensure that documents timely submitted can be reviewed by Staff, timely disseminated to Commissioners, and duly included in the record. Public Comment: No public comment was given. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 5 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final September 17, 2025 VIII-B ID 25-1226 Workshop: Basics of Parking Requirements 6:06 p.m. Lang provided a workshop on the Basics of Parking Requirements including the general goals, on-site loading regulations, required on-site parking in the various districts, and bicycle parking requirements. He explained parking exceptions, reduced parking exceptions for Affordable Housing Developments, transit accessibility, Assembly Bill 2097, and other parking reductions. He concluded with location restrictions, setback requirements, and parking lot landscaping and shading requirements. A copy of the City of Fresno Parking Manual was also provided to the Commissioners. Commissioners had questions regarding enforcement of shading in parking lots, overflow parking flooding into neighborhoods, and parking in downtown Fresno. Clark responded to their concerns, and spoke of Grant funding for 2 new parking garages in downtown Fresno. VIII-C ID 25-1227 Workshop: West Area Neighborhoods Specific Plan 6:31 p.m. Lauderdale gave an update on the West Area Neighborhoods Specific Plan, including the benefits of Specific Plans, history of West Fresno, and concerns from residents such as conditions of roadways, and lack of access. She stated that even with positive steps forward, many challenges remained, and the community members requested a better pattern of development for the West Area, with improved infrastructure and more access to needed amenities. This lead to the initiation of the Specific Plan back in 2017 and 2018, followed by many community meetings, public outreach, and the core visions and guiding principles proposed for the West Area. Lauderdale concluded with a break down of areas impacted that were identified by the Environmental Impact Report, and was available for questions. Commissioners thanked Lauderdale for her presentation and were excited about growth in Fresno. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 6 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - Final September 17, 2025 IX. REPORT BY SECRETARY 6:56 p.m. Clark encouraged the Commissioners to read and familiarize themselves with the West Area Neighborhoods Specific Plan that will be coming before them on October 1, 2025. She also spoke of how Planning is a great tool to create vision and encourage development where the market demands it. She concluded by telling the Commission the next few meetings are full and reminded them of the importance of notifying Staff of their attendance when trying to identify quorum. X. SCHEDULED ORAL COMMUNICATIONS N/A XI. UNSCHEDULED ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 6:59 p.m. Four members of the public spoke about concerns with the West Area Neighborhoods Specific Plan, boundaries for the Plan, parking, spending of Grant money, and lack of community notification. XII. ADJOURNMENT Chair Vang adjourned the meeting at 7:15 p.m. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 7