Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee

City of Fresno Ted C Wills 770 N. San Pablo Ave. Fresno, CA 93728 Meeting Minutes - Final Tuesday, October 15, 2024 5:30 PM Regular 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 October 15, 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 October 15, 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 October 15, 2024 Implementation Committee I. Call to Order & Roll Call Chair called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm and initiated roll call. Also present were Long Range Planning staff Sophia Pagoulatos, Adrienne Asadoorian-Gilbert, and Ashley Atkinson; consultant team Dan Zack. Present 7 - Chairperson Christopher Johnson, Vice Chair Janay Conley, Board Member Annie Lokrantz, Board Member Michael Birdsong, Board Member Myra Coble, Board Member James Kitch, and Board Member Joseph Catania II. Approve Agenda On motion of Board Member Lokrantz, seconded by Board Member Birdsong,the above AGENDA was APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Chairperson Johnson, Vice Chair Conley, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Coble, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania III. Approve Meeting Minutes III-A ID 24-1375 September 17, 2024, Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee Regular Meeting Minutes On motion of Board Member Lokrantz, seconded by Board Member Birdsong, that the above Action Item be APPROVED. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 7 - Chairperson Johnson, Vice Chair Conley, Board Member Lokrantz, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Coble, Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania IV. Council District Updates N/A V. Chair's Report Johnson gave a summary of the two City Council meetings that were held. Birdsong asked whether Council members who are recused from voting on City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 4 Tower District Specific Plan Meeting Minutes - Final October 15, 2024 Implementation Committee the Tower Plan due to owning property in the District would also be unable to vote on the General Plan. Staff responded that they are following the guidance of the City Attorneys in this matter. Conley commented on Staff's excellent presentation of the Plan to Council. VI. Staff Updates Asadoorian-Gilbert gave an update on the City Council workshop, City Council initiation, and the voting members: Arias from District 3, Esparza from District 7, Maxwell from District 4, and Bredefeld from District 6. She also discussed the need to upgrade the level of environmental review to an Environmental Impact Report and discussed meeting logistics with a potential new location in Fresno City Hall in room 2165A every second Tuesday of the month. Conley asked about parking arrangements, and staff reassured that a parking pass is not required after 5 PM. VII. Continued Matters N/A VIII. New Matters VIII-A ID 24-1376 Workshop on the Tower District Specific Plan Design Guidelines. Consultant Dan Zack gave a presentation and provided context for the creation of the design guidelines and shared a brief history of the Tower District. IX. Unscheduled Oral Communications Brooke Payton asked why the library wasn't mentioned in the Design Guidelines presentation. X. Adjournment The Chair adjourned meeting at 6:12 pm. City of Fresno ***Subject to Mayoral Veto Page 5