Exhibit AA
PowerPoint Presentation
South Central Specific Plan
Fresno City Council
December 5, 2024
In-Person & Virtual Meeting
City Council Chambers
Introduction
Presentation Outline
1. Background
2. Outreach & Engagement
3. Plan Overview
4. Environmental Impact Report
5. Public Comment
6. Land Use Change Requests
7. Recommendations
1. Background
Purpose
Implement Council
Resolution 2019-235
Balance economic
benefit, environmental
impacts and quality of
life
Refine the Fresno
General Plan for the
South Industrial
Priority Area
South Central Specific
Plan Boundary with
Council Districts
5,567 acres within
the Plan Area
57% within Fresno City
43% within Fresno County
Planning History
1973: North Avenue Industrial Triangle Specific Plan adopted 1992: Roosevelt Community Plan adopted
2014: Fresno General Plan adopted
2019 (Spring): South Industrial Priority Area planning process began including outreach activities
2019 (Fall): City Council Resolution 2019-235 adopted – redirecting planning efforts and renamed the plan to South Central
Specific Plan
2020 - 2021: Stakeholder, community, and Advisory Committee meetings
2022: Market Study and Hydraulic Analysis
2023: Plan and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) drafted 2024: Revised Plan and Final EIR released, Open House held, Planning Commission and City Council consideration
City Council Resolution 2019-235
1. Incorporate reductions in the zoning intensity of undeveloped lands near sensitive uses* to provide buffers to protect sensitive uses from adverse impacts from more intense land uses in a manner that reflects stakeholder input;
2. Include new land use designations, policies, and implementation actions specific to the plan area and incorporate relevant environmental mitigation measures reflective of community input and the analysis prepared for the Environmental Impact Report; and
3. Facilitate and promote economic development that advances community priorities relating to industry type, employment opportunities, job quality, and community benefits.
*Sensitive uses in this Plan include residences, schools, religious institutions, playgrounds, childcare centers, hospitals, retirement homes, and convalescent homes.
2. Outreach & Engagement
Outreach
• Email
• Direct mail
• Flyers
• Social media
• Webpage
• Legal notices
Engagement
• Community Workshops (7)
• Stakeholder Interviews (8)
• Advisory Committee
Meetings (8)
• Open House (1)
Key Takeaways
• Community/Stakeholder Concerns and Solutions
• Vision, Guiding Principles, and Policies
• Land Use Map
• Development Standards
3. Plan Overview
1. Introduction
2. Planning Process &
Community Engagement
3. Vision, Guiding Principles
& Policies
4. Land Use
5. Development Standards
6. Circulation
7. Public Facilities &
Infrastructure
8. Implementation
Glossary and Appendices
Chapters
Vision
The South Central Specific Plan Area
is characterized by development that
maximizes economic benefit with job
growth for residents, while reducing
impacts on the environment, and
improving quality of life.
Guiding Principles
1. Being a Good Neighbor
2. High Intensity Land Uses in the Core
3. Diverse Employment
4. Buffers for Existing Residents
5. Avoid Environmental and Neighborhood Impacts
6. Highways 99 and 41 as Gateways.
Goals & Policies
71 Policies:
• 13 covering transportation improvements
• 35 addressing air quality and environmental
impacts
• 23 regarding employment/community
development
Land Use Vision Consistent with Council
Resolution 2019-235
1. Existing residential
receives residential
land use designation
2. Creates land use
buffers between
intensive land uses
and sensitive uses
3. Adds Commercial
(retail) and Business
Park (office) in line
with Market Study
4. Reduces Heavy
Industrial by 17%
Existing General Plan
Land Use Map
Proposed Specific Plan
Land Use Map
Proposed Changes to the Existing General
Plan Land Use Map
Proposed Changes to the Zoning Map
Development Regulations Consistent
with Council Resolution 2019-235
South Central Overlay Zone
1. Prohibited Uses
2. Prohibited Uses within 1,000 feet
of a Sensitive Use
3. Uses requiring Conditional Use
Permit within 1,000 feet of a sensitive
use
4. Building setback standards
applying to specified uses adjoining a
sensitive use
5. Standards for buildings that face a
collector or arterial street
6. Additional standards for
Warehouse Storage and Distribution
Uses
1,000-foot Buffer
of Sensitive Uses
4. Environmental Impact Report
Environmental Impact Report
• Program-Level EIR
• Initial Notice of Preparation (NOP): July 8, 2019
• Revised NOP recirculated: April 14, 2021
• Public Scoping Meetings: July 8, 2019, and April
6, 2021
• Circulation of Draft EIR: May 31 – July 30, 2024
• 32 comments received
• Final EIR released on November 13, 2024
Impact Areas Analyzed
• Aesthetics
• Agriculture and Forestry
Resources
• Air Quality
• Biological Resources
• Cultural and Tribal Cultural
Resources
• Energy
• Geology, Soils, and Mineral
Resources
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions
and Climate Change
• Hazards and Hazardous
Materials
• Hydrology and Water Quality
• Land Use and Planning
• Noise
• Population and Housing
• Public Services and Recreation
• Transportation and Circulation
• Utilities and Service Systems
Impact Areas with Mitigation Measures
• Aesthetics
• Agriculture and Forestry Resources
• Air Quality
• Biological Resources
• Cultural and Tribal Cultural Resources
• Energy
• Geology, Soils, and Mineral Resources
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate
Change
• Hazards and Hazardous Materials
• Noise
• Utilities and Service Systems
63 total mitigation measures
Impact areas for which mitigation
measures are recommended:
• Hydrology and Water Quality
• Land Use and Planning
• Population and Housing
• Public Services and Recreation
• Transportation and Circulation
Impact areas for which mitigation
measures are not recommended:
Significant and Unavoidable
Impacts
• Aesthetics
• Agriculture and Forestry Resources
• Air Quality
• Cultural and Tribal Cultural Resources
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate
Change
• Noise
See identified mitigation measures in Exhibit S
and overriding considerations in Exhibit R.
5. Public Comment
Public Draft Plan and DEIR
• Plan + DEIR released May 31, 2024, for public
review
• Received 5 comment cards from Open House on June 7,
2024
• Comment Period: May 31– July 30, 2024
• Received 32 comment letters
o 344 discrete comments, requests, and questions
documented
o 21 land use change requests (3 of which the Plan does not propose to change)
Additional Property Owner
Communication
• Letters sent on October 7, 2024, to 300 private
property owners informing of proposed land use
change. Letter sent with Public Hearing Notice on
November 8, 2024, to all property owners in the
Plan Area informing of proposed new development
standards and upcoming public hearings.
o Received 33 additional comment letters
o 45 additional land use change requests (19 of which
were not proposed to change)
Final EIR + Revised Draft Plan
• Final EIR released on November 13, 2024, which
includes response to comments on the DEIR with
comment letters and revisions to the DEIR.
• Plan released November 15, 2024, and
incorporates changes to narrative, maps, policies,
and definitions. Also provided is a response to
comments on the Plan, a redline of the Public
Review Draft Plan, and comment letters received
after the public review period.
Visit www.fresno.gov/scsp to review these documents
6. Land Use Change Requests
Land Use
Change
Requests
• 66 Land Use Change
Requests
• 19 of which the Plan
does not propose to
change – outlined in red
• 3 in Council District 5
• 23 in Council District 3
• 40 in Fresno County
See Exhibit M
The Plan does
not propose to
change the land
use
Options for responding to Land Use
Change Requests
1. Approve, modify
or deny, with finding
that the change
would fall within the
scope of the EIR
2. Defer consideration
of land use change
requests until they can
be evaluated and
potentially processed
as a future Plan
amendment.
7. Recommendations
Items for Consideration:
1. Final Environmental Impact Report, including Findings of Fact and Statement of Overriding Consideration and the
Mitigation and Monitoring Reporting Program.
2. Plan Amendments repealing the North Avenue Industrial Triangle Specific Plan (930 ac) and the overlapping portion of the Roosevelt Community Plan (3,888 ac)
3. Plan Amendment adopting the South Central Specific Plan
4. Plan Amendment updating the Land Use Map of the General Plan (1,103 ac)
5. Rezone to reclassify 279 ac of property within the South Central Specific Plan to be consistent with plan amendments Planning Commission
• On November 20, 2024 the Planning Commission
recommended denial of the applications to the City
Council, by a 7-0 vote.
• 23 persons spoke in opposition to the applications,
citing concerns related to job creation, new regulations and insufficient environmental protections, among
others. No one spoke in support of the applications.
End of Presentation