Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee

City of Fresno Ted C Wills 770 N. San Pablo Ave. Fresno, CA 93728 Meeting Minutes - Final Tuesday, May 14, 2024 5:30 PM Special Meeting In Person and/or Electronic, Ted C Wills, 770 N San Pablo Ave., Fresno, CA 93728 Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee Chairperson - Christopher Johnson Vice Chair - Janay Conley Board Member - Annie Lokrantz Board Member - Michael Birdsong Board Member - Myra Coble Board Member - James Kitch Board Member - Joseph Catania Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final May 14, 2024 Implementation Committee THE COMMITTEE WELCOMES YOU TO TED C. WILLS COMMUNITY CENTER, LOCATED AT 770 N SAN PABLO AVE, 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 May 14, 2024 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 May 14, 2024 Implementation Committee I. Call to Order & Roll Call Chair called the meeting to order at 5:34 pm and initiated roll call. Also present were Long Range Planning staff Jennifer Clark, Sophia Pagoulatos, Adrienne Asadoorian-Gilbert, Yamilex Nava, Maya Mubarak, and Matthew Chea. Chair disclosed his visit to Producers Dairy. Present 5 - Chairperson Christopher Johnson, Board Member Michael Birdsong, Board Member Annie Lokrantz, Board Member James Kitch, and Board Member Joseph Catania Absent 2 - Vice Chair Janay Conley, and Board Member Myra Coble II. Approve Agenda On motion of Board Member Birdsong, seconded by Board Member Lokrantz,the above MINUTES were APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5 - Chairperson Johnson, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Conley and Board Member Coble III. Approve Meeting Minutes III-A ID 24-670 April 30, 2024 Tower District Specific Implementation Committee Regular Meeting Minutes On motion of Board Member Catania, seconded by Board Member Birdsong, that the above Action Item be APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5 - Chairperson Johnson, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Conley and Board Member Coble IV. Council District Updates City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 4 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final May 14, 2024 Implementation Committee N/A +V. Staff Updates Asadoorian-Gilbert provided an update on the South Central Fresno Truck Reroute Study and a schedule update of the Tower District Specific Plan Update. VI. Continued Matters N/A VII. New Matters VII-A ID 24-671 Review and consider the Implementation Committee’s policy recommendations on Parks and Public Facilities, Conservation and Historic Preservation, Circulation, and Land Use. Asadoorian-Gilbert reviewed the Committee's independent review of all the policies. Policy C 1.1: Catania inquired about the possibility of removing the bike lanes. Staff responded by stating that nothing is permanent and that the city is preparing to initiate the ATP to identify locations where changes should or could be made. Birdsong and Johnson expressed concerns that the bike lanes are contributing to traffic issues. Policy C 1.2 Catania stated Belmont Ave is in distress. Policy C 8.4 Johnson stated that having a BID won't solve the trash issue. Policy LU 3.2 Catania stated concern about the lack of parking in the area. Policy LU 4.3: Johnson mentioned that the frontage on Palm Ave between McKinley Ave and Olive Ave is a problematic area. Birdsong suggested removing ACUs from the policy, and everyone consented. Policy LU 4.8: Johnson stated that there is increased traffic from the food vendors and asked if they require a permit to operate. Staff stated that this is monitored through Code Enforcement and recommended reporting through City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 5 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final May 14, 2024 Implementation Committee FresnoGO. Staff also informed the Committee that while state law permits more food vendors, they still need to adhere to specific requirements. The public has expressed concerns about the Belmont underpass causing excessive speeding, and the lack of parking for customers. LU 5.1 needs more details to comply with ADA guidelines. The policy should remove industrial zoning in housing areas, and the Cheese building should also remove its industrial zoning. One member thinks ADUs are great and support sidewalk improvements, especially in South Tower. The Belmont design also needs improvement. There are concerns about Weber Ave and the traffic it's causing. Clarification is needed regarding the western boundary for the proposed historic district and recommended property owners should be given notice of what it would entail to own a historic property. Catania inquired about the procedures for changing industrial zoned residences and staff stated City Council will assess policies and proposed land use map. On motion of Chairperson Johnson, seconded by Board Member Birdsong, that the above Discussion Item be APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5 - Chairperson Johnson, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Conley and Board Member Coble Birdsong motions to consider the concept of rezoning any residences zoned as Industrial back to residential and the rezoning of the Cheese Factory from Industrial to something other than that. Seconded by Catania passed by everyone. On motion of Board Member Birdsong, seconded by Board Member Catania, that the above Discussion Item be APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5 - Chairperson Johnson, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 6 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final May 14, 2024 Implementation Committee Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Conley and Board Member Coble Johnson motioned to change policy LU 4.3 to keep the first part of the policy but remove ADUs and ACUs seconded by Birdsong passed by everyone. On motion of Chairperson Johnson, seconded by Board Member Birdsong, that the above Discussion Item be APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5 - Chairperson Johnson, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania Absent: 2 - Vice Chair Conley and Board Member Coble VIII. Unscheduled Oral Communications Member of the public shared that the South Tower Community Land Trust got keys to it's first house. IX. Adjournment The Chair adjourned meeting at 7:21 pm. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 7