Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee

City of Fresno Ted C Wills 770 N. San Pablo Ave. Fresno, CA 93728 Meeting Minutes - Final-revised Monday, September 9, 2024 5:30 PM Special Meeting 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-revised September 9, 2024 Implementation Committee THE COMMITTEE WELCOMES YOU TO THE TED C WILLS, LOCATED AT 770 N SAN PABLO AVENUE, FRESNO, CA 93728 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 Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee meetings is always encouraged and can occur by attending a meeting in Ted C Wills located at 770 N San Pablo Avenue, Fresno, CA 93728. When called to speak during a meeting, you may approach the speaker podium upon the Chair's call for any additional public comment. Unless otherwise announced, all public speakers will have up to 3 minutes to address the Committee. SUBMIT DOCUMENTS / WRITTEN COMMENTS – Email – Agenda related documents and comments can be emailed to the Long Range Planning Division. Unless otherwise required by law to be accepted by the City at or prior to a Committee meeting, no documents shall be accepted for Committee review unless they are submitted to the Long Range Planning Division at least 24 hours prior to the commencement of the meeting at which the associated agenda item is to be heard. a. Email comments to LongRangePlanning@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. c. Emails will be a maximum of 450 words. VIEWING MEETINGS (non-participatory) – For your convenience, there are ways to view Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee meetings live: 1. Community Media Access Collaborative website: https://cmac.tv/ 2. Cable Television: Comcast Channel 96 and AT&T channel 99 3. Zoom: https://fresno-gov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_taAP1qgNRGGeXj2cB5mzQQ Webinar ID: 951 8694 8275 a) Register in advance for this webinar: 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. Should any of these viewing methods listed above experience technical difficulties, the Committee meeting will continue uninterrupted. Committee meetings will only be City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 2 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final-revised September 9, 2024 Implementation Committee paused to address verifiable technical difficulties for all users participating in Zoom or in person. 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 accommodation such as language translation, should contact the Planning Department, 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-revised September 9, 2024 Implementation Committee I. Call to Order & Roll Call Present 6 - Chairperson Christopher Johnson, Board Member Michael Birdsong, Board Member Annie Lokrantz, Board Member Myra Coble, Board Member James Kitch, and Board Member Joseph Catania Absent 1 - Vice Chair Janay Conley II. Approve Agenda On motion of Board Member Birdsong, seconded by Chairperson Johnson,the above ITEM was APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Chairperson Johnson, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Coble, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania Absent: 1 - Vice Chair Conley III. Approve Meeting Minutes ID 24-1245 September 3, 2024, Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee Regular Meeting Minutes On motion of Chairperson Johnson, seconded by Board Member Birdsong, that the above Action Item be APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Chairperson Johnson, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Coble, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania Absent: 1 - Vice Chair Conley IV. Council District Updates N/A V. Chair's Report Johnson mentioned that he asked to have this added into the agenda to provide updates to the committee and public and that he continued working on preparing his review of the draft plan update. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 4 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final-revised September 9, 2024 Implementation Committee VI. Staff Updates Asadoorian-Gilbert reviewed proposed schedule for Council initiation on September 26 with preparation of the Tower Entertainment District Overlay and Objective Design Standards from October to December 2024. VII. Continued Matters ID 24-1246 Review and consider Draft Plan update and additional Committee recommendations. Chapter 4 Parks and Public Facilities The Committee recommended several changes to the Plan. These include the need for more parks. Figure 4.3 shows no new parks; therefore, work should be done to get more parks built in the area. The paragraph in section 4.2 should state 0.36 parks per 1,000 residents. There is unmet demand as the acreage of parks in the Tower District is just six percent of the City’s standard, and one planned park will not make up this deficit. There are gaps in walkable access, as most of the District is not within a 10-minute walk of a park. Need more detail on the locations, addresses, and size of new parks. Vacant parcels should be mapped, include the Central Plaza from the 1991 plan. “Dickey” is misspelled; it should be corrected. Central Plaza should be added on the vacant parcel next to the Chicken Pie Shop, and the map should be made bigger. Design concepts should be provided, and a study on Central Plaza at Olive and Wishon should be conducted. Schools should not be used instead of providing parks, and parks need to be open and accessible. Canals are a public nuisance and dangerous; this should be addressed, add designated trails on Wishon/Fulton and landscaping along bike trails. Feasibility of adding designated trails on Wishon/Fulton should be assessed, and examples of privately-owned public open spaces should be provided. More specific and detailed information on proposed sites is needed, including the names of the schools that are being considered. Language should be added to consider the parking needs of the community when entering into joint use agreements, and community-based safety options should be included. On motion of Board Member Birdsong, seconded by Board Member Lokrantz, that the above Action Item be APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 5 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final-revised September 9, 2024 Implementation Committee Aye: 6 - Chairperson Johnson, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Coble, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania Absent: 1 - Vice Chair Conley Chapter 5 Circulation The Committee recommended several changes to the Plan. These include prioritizing pedestrian safety and walkability, improving infrastructure at bus stops, enhancing shade, trash and landscaping, providing specific solutions for struggling commercial corridors, creating scenic walks, implementing a pilot or program for "green alleys", referencing C 8.5, accurately depicting the number of trees in figure 5.3, addressing traffic issues in the Tower Entertainment District overlay, adding more information on air quality, discussing the management and study of traffic impacts, adding class II and protecting pedestrians in C 1.1, including on-street parking for persons with disabilities, adding trees and shade to transit waiting areas, inserting the word “provide” in C 3.2, adding the word “prohibit” to C 6.3, maintaining public areas, ensuring resident safety, and adding industrial area buffers to residential areas. On motion of Board Member Birdsong, seconded by Board Member Lokrantz, that the above Action Item be APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Chairperson Johnson, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Coble, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania Absent: 1 - Vice Chair Conley Chapter 6 Utilities The committee recommended several changes to the plan. These include addressing issues with existing infrastructure, such as the significant impact of aging infrastructure on infill development. Additionally, there are items missing in the Draft Plan update that were included in the 1991 plan, such as electricity and gas services, street lighting, fire protection, and policing. Objectives and policies need to be added to the section related to street lighting, fire protection, and policing. On motion of Board Member Lokrantz, seconded by Board Member City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 6 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final-revised September 9, 2024 Implementation Committee Birdsong, that the above Action Item be APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Chairperson Johnson, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Coble, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania Absent: 1 - Vice Chair Conley Continued item to September 17th, 2024 On motion of Board Member Birdsong, seconded by Board Member Lokrantz, that the above Action Item be CONTINUED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Chairperson Johnson, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Coble, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania Absent: 1 - Vice Chair Conley VIII. New Matters IX. Unscheduled Oral Communications Alex Belanger highlighted the importance of integrating parks and public facilities into schools, advocating for safe access to schools and enhancing sidewalks. He also emphasized the need to focus on infrastructure for infill development in schools, identifying achievable goals, repurposing existing spaces for parks, determining the appropriate class of trucks for roads, and issuing a request for tree maintenance proposals. Aldi Ramirez discussed the committee's recommendation to rezone legal non-conforming uses, which Producers does not support. They emphasized the need to honor the separation between residential and industrial areas and mentioned their involvement in the truck re-route study. Additionally, they invited everyone to their blood drive on Saturday, 9/14. Catania suggested to move houses zoned industrial to vacant parcels in the district. X. Adjournment City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 7 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final-revised September 9, 2024 Implementation Committee City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 8