Tag: infill

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Clovis Infill – A Photo Update

On By jamesinclair

It feels a little odd talking about infill in Clovis. It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, as the city is known for its endless subdivisions. And yet in 2017, Old Town Clovis appears to have almost as much infill construction as Downtown Fresno going on.

I reported on two of these projects in July 2015, but I’ve added a few other ones here.

  • Centennial Plaza
  • La Quinta Inn
  • Rail-Trail Housing
  • New Library
  • Sierra Meadows Park
  • Clovis Community Hospital

Centennial Plaza

Let’s start with the big one: Centennial Plaza. This is the heart of Old Town on Pollasky, and I last took a look in May 2016 when the new plaza was finished. That update was focused on the street improvements, but now new buildings are rising up to frame the plaza. Click to read more!

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The Smart and Final saga concludes: A victory for the Fresno master plan!

On By jamesinclair

I actually began writing this post in early April, and was getting ready to publish under a VERY different title: “Fresno caves on proposed shopping development – goodbye master plan, we barely knew you.”

But here we are in June, and what at early glance appeared to be a swift win for a suburban developer, and a loss for the residents of Fresno actually has ended up with a happy ending for all involved, well, almost all. As far as land use planning goes, this was one exciting ride.
 
It all began in mid-March, when the Fresno Bee ran an article on a proposed development on Blackstone and Clinton: Click to read more!

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Will NIMBYs derail new Fresno infill plan?

On By jamesinclair

I was pleasantly surprised to see last month that the City Council approved the general plan update on a vote of 5-2. Honestly, I expected them to punt it to 2015 on some sorry excuse about a need for more input. If you haven’t been following the new plans puts a focus on infill growth, rather than sprawl.


Mayor Ashley Swearengin, who championed the plan, said the real work is just beginning as the city now must take steps to implement the document’s vision.

“Excellent vision and excellent execution may not be enough,” she told the council. “We will all challenge each other to execute as best as we can.” Click to read more!

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Will Fresno council kill infill general plan?

On By jamesinclair

Developers aching for more sprawl versus everybody else. Sound familiar?

Sometimes Fresno feels like a broken record, and this time it’s no different. Tomorrow, the City Council may finally vote on the 2035 General Plan Update. The plan supports infill development as an attempt to curtail the ever-expanding city boundary. It won’t BAN sprawl, it will just aim to decrease it. But for some, that’s too much.

Naturally, the developers of tract homes aren’t pleased, and they have the attention of Chief Tea Party Council President Steve Brandau who helped killed the fully funded BRT project, and has also eliminated every road diet proposal that comes his way. In his mind, everybody in Fresno is well-off, everybody drives, and everybody wants to live the suburban dream. After all, that’s what he wants, and so naturally, that’s all that matters. Throw in some free market voodoo, and you have yourself the developers best friend. Click to read more!

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One week remains to comment on Fresno general plan update

On By jamesinclair

All the information you need is on this page, but a quick summary here.

  • Last general plan update was November 2012
  • This proposed one is controversial because developers dislike how it mentions focusing on infill vs sprawl 
  • The draft General Plan is available for a 45-day public review period commencing on Wednesday, July 2, 2014 and ending on Monday, August 18, 2014. 

The middle point is why public comment may actually be important. Don’t let the developers sabotage the plan, let the city know you support infill development. 

Mind you, the developers have already managed to water it down:

“The Council’s modified (plan) shifted more development to
single-family housing and with more focus on growth west and southwest
of State Route 99, but maintained a strong commitment to Downtown and
major corridor revitalization, Complete Neighborhoods, and more compact
development.” Click to read more!

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Is the Fresno city council about to give the finger to fed funding?

On By jamesinclair

BRT is in the news again in Fresno. It’s sad for a variety of reasons, including the fact that they’re arguing about funding when the system was originally supposed to open this year. Fun fact: the RFP for the BRT buses went out in 2011. A winning bid was selected but obviously the buses have not been ordered.

Today, the city council will vote yet again on approving funding. Not city funding, but federal funding, free money that has fallen from the sky and is intended to help the city fix a portion of its terrible transit system.

The money didn’t come by chance. Two different mayoral administrations have supported seeking the grants (one democrat, one republican). A variety of city staffers have worked hard to submit applications for grant after grant, and have gotten the money secured – a giant coup as transit funding is limited and every city in the country is hungry for it. For example, the city grabbed onto $17 million in 2011, and a final $10 million earlier this year. Click to read more!