westlake Archives - Stop and Move

Categories : UncategorizedTags : almonds assemi drought fresno gettysburg granville shaw sprawl westlake1 Comment

The Westlake sprawl project, with artificial lake, is dead!

On November 6, 2014February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Yesterday’s election news keeping you down? Maybe this surprising development will brighten your day.

This week, the Fresno Bee reported that the massive Westlake sprawl project has been put on hold – for at least a decade. The news came as a great surprise because last December the developer, Granville, began mobilizing bulldozers to flatten the land.

Developer Darius Assemi, president of Granville Homes, said the timing isn’t right for his Westlake development, which lies beyond Fresno’s city limits. The cost to build is too high and he’s waiting to see the city of Fresno’s growth plan for the area before moving ahead with the project. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : air pollution air quality conservation drought landscaping short term thinking waste water westlakeLeave a comment

Drought and poor air: Short-term thinking will haunt 2014

On January 1, 2014February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

This country has a serious problem with planning for the future, and the lack of forward thinking is no clearer than in Fresno.

If you’ve read the Bee over the past few months, you’ve been hit over and over again in the head with two major themes:

-California is in the middle of a serious drought
-Air quality is worse now than it’s been in years

The two are linked of course, and are the result of long-term weather patterns; the same system that is keeping the rain away is stagnating the air. The problem is that many local planning decisions can help alleviate these concerns, but instead, local government turns a blind eye and makes it worse. Click to read more!

Categories : UncategorizedTags : ashlan drought granville leapfrog shaw sprawl water west fresno westlake9 Comments

Westlake: Another Granville Disaster

On October 31, 2013February 19, 2018 By jamesinclair

Update: Kiel Shmidt has put together an excellent map of the project, how it compared to another Granville development (Running Horse) and the city boundaries.

That map can be seen here.

The Fresno Bee has published their article on the subject, including some good pictures of the site. That article can be read here.

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In 2005, Granville proposed a giant exurban residential development west of Fresno.

Now they’re making moves to actually build it.

They’re calling it Westlake, and they want to use 430 acres to build 2,600 new homes….and a giant lake. In typical Granville fashion, they want to do this in the middle of nowhere, far from jobs, businesses, and entertainment. Well, not nowhere – the area has plenty of productive farms. Click to read more!