Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee

City of Fresno Tower Theater 815 E Olive Ave., Fresno, CA 93728 Meeting Minutes - Final Tuesday, September 19, 2023 5:30 PM Regular Meeting In Person and/or Electronic Tower Theater Lounge Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee Chairperson - Christopher Johnson Vice Chair - Michael Birdsong Board Member - Annie Lokrantz Board Member - Janay Conley Board Member - Myra Coble Board Member - James Kitch Board Member - Joseph Catania Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final September 19, 2023 Implementation Committee THE COMMITTEE WELCOMES YOU TO THE TOWER THEATER, LOCATED AT 815 E OLIVE AVENUE, FRESNO, CA 93728 The meeting can also be viewed live at 5:30 P.M. on Comcast Channel 96 and AT&T channel 99. PUBLIC COMMENT: The following options are available for members of the public who want to address Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee: 1. You are invited to a Zoom webinar. a) Register in advance for this webinar: https://fresno-gov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_taAP1qgNRGGeXj2cB5mzQQ After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. b) If you do not wish for your name to appear on the screen, then use the drop down menu and click on “rename” to rename yourself. c) Those addressing Committee must state their name for the record. OR 2. Join by phone: 1-669-900-9128 Webinar ID: 951 8694 8275 a) Those addressing the Committee must state their name and address for the record. 3. Email: LongRangePlanning@fresno.gov a) Attendees may also email comments to be read during the meeting. Please 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. b) Emails will be a maximum of 450 words. c) All comments received will be distributed to the Tower District Specific Plan City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 2 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final September 19, 2023 Implementation Committee Implementation Committee prior and during the meeting and will be a part of the official record. d) Notwithstanding subsection c) above, unless otherwise required by law to be accepted by the City at or prior to a Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee meeting, no documents shall be accepted for review unless they are submitted to Long Range Planning at least 24 hours prior to the commencement of the meeting at which the associated agenda item is to be heard. All participants will be on mute until they are called upon at which point they will be unmuted. To prevent participants from having their video on, we will remove the option to show their video. Pursuant to the Executive Order, and in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in the Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee meeting, please contact the Planning Division, 559-621-8277 within 48 hours of the meeting. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 3 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final September 19, 2023 Implementation Committee I. Call to Order & Roll Call Chair Johnson called the meeting to order at 5:34 pm and initiated the roll call. Also present were Long Range Planning staff Casey Lauderdale, Yamilex Nava, Preston Her, Adrienne Asadorian, Karlo Guillermo; consultant team Peter Winch, and Diego Velasco; Council District Staff Gabriela Olea (District 3), Brenda Cosio (District 1) Present 7 - Chairperson Christopher Johnson, Vice Chair Michael Birdsong, Board Member Annie Lokrantz, Board Member Janay Conley, Board Member Myra Coble, Board Member James Kitch, and Board Member Joseph Catania II. Approve Agenda On motion of Vice Chair Birdsong, seconded by Board Member Coble,the above AGENDA were APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Chairperson Johnson, Vice Chair Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Conley, Board Member Coble, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania III. Approve Meeting Minutes III-A ID 23-1364 August 15, 2023 Tower District Specific Implementation Committee Regular Meeting Minutes On motion of Vice Chair Birdsong, seconded by Board Member Lokrantz, that the above ACTION Item be APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Chairperson Johnson, Vice Chair Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Conley, Board Member Coble, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania IV. Council District Updates Staff member Gabriela who shared an update on the smoke shop Text Amendment. It is in the final stages and will go through all the District Committees before being presented to the Planning Commission and then City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 4 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final September 19, 2023 Implementation Committee City Council. The District 1 and 4 Business Façade program has begun for Tower District businesses. It is first-come-first-served until December and applications can be submitted through the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation website. Johnson asked when the Palm Avenue project would be completed. Staff member Olea stated it would be in October and added that the District office will hold a bike and helmet giveaway for the kids to commemorate the two bike lanes. Brenda, from District 1, clarified that the bike lanes on Palm will be completed by October 16 and a façade grant workshop will be held later in that week. Lokrantz asked staff if District 7 had been contacted. Staff replied that an email had been sent, but that they would make an extra effort to contact them. V. Staff Updates V-A ID 23-1368 Staff Update on 2023-2024 Project Schedule Lauderdale provided an update on the project schedule. Circulation and Parks will be moved to October, originally planned for December. In November, the Entertainment District will be discussed, and in December, a revitalization strategy and development feasibility discussion will be held. Two more meetings will be scheduled in late January or early February, where the committee will vote on the policies they wish to see included in the Specific Plan. The Specific Plan is anticipated to be presented to City Council in December of 2024. A member of the public expressed concern that Downtown Fresno lacks bike lanes. Staff replied that the current focus is on the Tower Specific Plan timeline, but they could connect the commenter with other resources. V-B ID 23-1370 Introduction to the history of “Redlining” in the Tower District Staff member Lauderdale gave a brief introduction of what redlining is. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 5 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final September 19, 2023 Implementation Committee Staff member Her summarized the work that was done for the display on redlining for the Tower District Workshop and gave a brief history on the topic. Johnson asked if the redlining map was created recently and Her clarified that the information that was used to make the map was from a study done by the University of Richmond. Birdsong suggested adding a policy to support literacy in the community like access to tutoring. Member of the public stated a historical note about the role Fresno State (now the location of Fresno City College) had on housing in the neighborhood. Member of the public expressed concerns about pedestrian safety throughout the City of Fresno and staff acknowledged the concerns and referenced the Central South East Specific Plan and the Kings Canyon Corridor Transit-Oriented Development Connectivity Study to address some of the quality of life concerns. Members of the public expressed gratitude for bringing up the issue of redlining and giving it attention. V-C ID 23-1374 Workshop on Prototype Sites, including Urban Design & Financial Feasibility Studies a. Presentation b. Discussion c. Team progress. Velasco presented the different prototype site opportunities there are in the Tower District area, the types of development and feasibility, and site characteristics. Catania asked about the feasibility of constructing housing above the existing commercial buildings and Velasco confirmed it is possible but there would be some adversities. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 6 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final September 19, 2023 Implementation Committee Members of the public expressed interest and critiques for the different prototypes displayed and expressed a need for other land uses aside from commercial ones. A number of topics were also discussed, such as canals, cottage courts, community art, green spaces, grants, accessibility, and gentrification protection for tenants. VI. Continued Matters N/A VII. New Matters VII-A ID 23-1372 Regular Monthly Subcommittee Updates: 1. Implementation Role Subcommittee 2. Historic Preservation Subcommittee 3. Land Use, Zoning, & Entertainment District Subcommittee 4. Circulation Subcommittee 5. Public Spaces Subcommittee Johnson outlined the details of the historic preservation subcommittee meeting where policies were reviewed. He let the public know there were handouts of the notes taken during the meeting. Birdsong reiterated that they looked over the health and equity spreadsheet and reviewed existing policies to determine whether or not to keep, revise, or replace them. VII-B ID 23-1373 Review & Comment on Historic Preservation Presentation and Policy Recommendations for the Specific Plan Update. Winch summarized the historical resources in the community, the feedback that was received from the community, health and equity, goals and policies, and recommendations for the Plan update. Johnson shared an appreciation for the work that had been done and asked about the effort that would be required to conduct a comprehensive historic survey. Members of the public expressed the need to build in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as the need to preserve the homes around Producers and pointed out the fact that in the original Specific Plan, City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 7 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final September 19, 2023 Implementation Committee the Central Valley Cheese building was supposed to be renovated, however, it never was. VIII. Unscheduled Oral Communications Lauderdale thanked everyone who attended the second workshop, and Johnson thanked all the outreach efforts made. IX. Adjournment Next Meeting: October 17, 2023 at Tower Theater The Chair adjourned meeting at 8:03 pm City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 8