Exhibit V - Resolution Approving Plan Amendment Application P24-03963

Exhibit V
Resolution Approving Plan
Amendment Application P24-03963

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South Central
Specific Plan
Draft
November 2024

EXHIBIT A

South Central
Specific Plan
South Central
Speci/f_i.ligac Plan
South Central
Speci/f_i.ligac Plan
South Central
Speci/f_i.ligac Plan
$
$
$
SC
SP
SC
SP
SC
SP
$
SC
SP
$
Draft
Alternate formats of this document will be provided by the City upon request.

To request alternate formats contact:

Planning and Development Staff at (559) 621-8277
www.fresno.gov/SCSP

Acknowledgements
Mayor
Jerry Dyer
City Manager
Georgeanne White
Thomas Esqueda (former)
Planning and Development
Department Director
Jennifer Clark
Project Team
Sophia Pagoulatos, Planning Manager
Michelle Zumwalt, Architect
Kara Hammerschmidt, Graphics Technician
Karlo Guillermo, GIS Specialist
Maeketah Sayasane, GIS Specialist
Talia Kolluri, Assistant City Attorney
Kristi Costa, Senior Deputy City Attorney
Marisela Martinez, Planner (former)
Summer Rooks, Projects Admin. (former)
Amber Piona, Planner (former)
Contributions from City Staff
Casey Lauderdale, Supervising Planner
Drew Wilson, FAX Planning Manager
Maya Mubarak, Planner II
Preston Her, Planner II
Jeff Long FAX, Senior Regional Planner
Paul Zhoa, ISD Program Administrator (former)
Jill Gormley, Public Works Assistant Director
Andreina Aguilar, Chief Engineering Tech
Peter Maraccini, Licensed Engineer Manager
Ann Kloose, Public Works Manager
Ted Semonious, Fire Deputy Chief
Robert Beckwith. Police Captain
Ed Chinevere, PARCS Assistant Director
Lance Lippincott, Economic Dev. Director (former)
Phillip Weathers, Street Maint. Supervisor
Lorenzo Nadora, Solid Waste Manager
City Council
Annalisa Perea, District 1
Mike Karbassi, District 2
Miguel Arias, District 3
Tyler Maxwell, District 4
Luis Chavez, District 5
Garry Bredefeld, District 6
Nelson Esparza, District 7
Planning Commission
Peter Vang Gurdeep S ingh Shergill
Linda M Calandra David Criner
Kathy Bray Monica Diaz
Jaqueline Lyday
Advisory Committee
Steven Brock Nick A udino
Courtney Smittcamp Mike Betts
Ethan Smith James Hinojosa
Romana Campos Debra Raco
Rosa DePew Daniel Macias
Naomi Dias Terry H irshfield
Charles Garabedian
Hydraulic Analysis (Akel
Engineering)
Tony Akel
Brad Kooiman
Non-Residential
Market Analysis (EPS)
Amy Lapin
Emilio Balingit
Victoria Allensworth

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1

1.1 Purpose 2

1.2 Plan Area and Boundaries 2

1.3 History of Development in the Plan Area 6

1.4 Population and Projections 9

1.5 E
conomic Vitality and Job Creation 11

1.6 Community Health 11

1.7 General Plan Consistency 13

1.8 Planning Context 16

1.9 Statutory Authority 23

1.10 Plan Structure 23
Planning Process & Community 27Engagement

2.1 Introduction 28

2.2 Public Participation Process 28

2.3 C
ommunity Input 29

2.4 South Central Specific Plan Advisory 31
Committee

2.5 Selection of Preferred Alternative 31
Vision, Guiding Principles & Policies 37

3.1 Introduction 38

3.2 Vision 38

3.3 Guiding Principles 41

3.4 Policies 42
Land Use 47

4.1 Introduction 48

4.2 Land Use Planning in Plan Area 48

4.3 Current
Geography 49

4.4 Planned Land Use 57
Development Standards 67

5.1 Development Regulations 68
02 01
03 04
05 Circulation 79

6.1 Introduction 80

6.2 Transportation Improvements 80
Public Facilities & Infrastructure 103

7.1 Introduction 104

7.2 Infrastructure- Wet Utilities 104

7.3 Infrastructure- Dry Utilities 116
7 .4 Solid Waste 118

7.5 Public Facilities 119

7.6 Communications 124
Implementation 133

8.1 Introduction 134

8.2 California Environmental Quality Act 134

8.3 Implementing Policies 135

8.4 Funding 141
Glossary 147
Appendices 153
Appendix A- Market Study 154
Appendix B- Community Outreach Summaries 154
Appendix C- City Council Resolution 154
Appendix D- Alternatives 155
Appendix E- Hydraulic Analysis 155
06 07
08 A
G

FIGURES &
TABLES
Introduction Figures:

Figure 1-1: Regional Context 3
Figure 1-2: Sphere of Influence 4
Figure 1-3: Plan Area 5
Figure 1-4: Historic Growth Pattern 7
Figure 1-5: Disadvataged Unincorporated Communities and 12 Calenviroscreen 4.0
Figure 1-6: Fresno General Plan, Figure IM-1 Priority Incentive Areas 14 Figure 1-7: Planning C
ontext 17
Introduction T ables:

T able 1-1: Market Demand, T arget Buildout, and Assumed 10 Development for Specific Plan Alternatives 2022-2040
Land Use Figures:

Figure 4-1: Existing Land Use 50
Figure 4-2: Aerial 52
Figure 4-3: Developed and Undeveloped Land 53
Figur
e 4-4: Farmland 56
Figure 4-5: Specific Plan Planned Land Use 61
Figure 4-6: Adopted General Plan Planned Land Use 62
Figure 4-7: Adopted General Plan Land Use Changing by the 63 Specific Plan Planned Land Use
Figure 4-8: Dual Planned Land Use 64
Land Use T ables:

T able 4-1: Existing Land Use Acreages in the Plan Area in 51 September 2022
T able 4-2: Full Development Acreage Capacity for the Plan Area in 54 September 2022
T able 4-3: General Plan Land Use Designations 57
T
able 4-4: Planned Land Use Acreages in September 2022 60 01 04
Development Standards Figures:

Figure 5-1: South Central Overlay Zone 69
Figure 5-2: Specific Plan Planned Land Use and Buffer 70 Figure 5-3: Shared Property Line Setback 72
Figure 5-4: Fr
onting a Major Arterial or Collector Street Condition 72 Circulation Figures:

Figure 6-1: Existing and Planned Bicycle & Trail Network 82 Figure 6-2: Bikeway Classifications 83
Figure 6-3: Existing and Planned Sidewalk Network 84
Figure 6-4: Existing and Planned Transit Routes 86
Figure 6-5: Major Street Circulation 89
Figure 6-6: Planned Number of Roadway Lane Changes 91
Figure 6-7: Caltrans Interchange Projects 94
Figure 6-8: Designated Truck Routes (2005) 96
Figure 6-9: Railways 100
Circulation T ables:

T able 6-1: Number of Lanes in the Plan Area 90
Public Facilities & Infrastructure Figures:

Figure 7-1: Specific Plan Water Distribution System Improvements 108 Figure 7-2: Adopted General Plan Water Distribution System 109 Improvements
Figure 7-3: Specific Plan Sewer Collection System Improvements 110 Figur
e 7-4: Adopted General Plan Sewer Collection System 111 Improvements
Figure 7-5: Existing and Planned Open Space 113
Figure 7-6: Fresno Irrigation District Canal Network 115 Figure 7-7: Religious Institutions and Other Public Facilities 117 Figure 7-8: Existing Schools and School District Boundaries 121 Figure 7-9: Law Enforcement 123
Figure 7-10: Fire Protection 125
Figure 7-11: Existing and Planned Intelligent Transportation 126 System (ITS)
Figure 7-12: City of Fresno Existing Fiber Optic Cable and Conduit 128 Figure 7-13: Proposed Fiber Optic Broadband 130
Public Facilities & Infrastructure T ables:

T able 7-1: Specific Plan and General Plan Water and Wastewater 107 System Improvement Needs Comparison
05 06
07 1
Chapter 1: Introduction |
1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose 2

1.2 Plan Area and Boundaries 2

1.3 History of Development in the Plan Area 6

1.4 Population and Projections 9

1.5 Economic Vitality and Job Creation 11

1.6 Community Health 11

1.7 General Plan Consistency 13

1.8 Planning Context 16

1.9 Statutory Authority 23

1.10 Plan Structure 23
CHAPTER 1:

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Purpose
South Central Fresno is an area with ample
land for development and is prime for growth
due to its central location in California
and the San Joaquin Valley as well as its
proximity to Fresno’s Downtown, railways,
and two highways (State Routes 41 and
99). Beginning as early as 1918
1, the City of
Fresno has recognized the area’s economic
importance and from 1956 onward has
planned for industrial development through
several iterations of the Fresno General Plan
(General Plan). In the current General Plan,
South Central Fresno is identified as the
South Industrial Priority Area (see Figure
1-6) and as such it will require infrastructure
investment to meet the needs of a variety of
major job-creating industrial sectors, as well
as improvements to enhance the current
business operations.

Industry in South Central Fresno shares
the Plan Area with rural residents and a
few neighborhoods such as Daleville and
the southern part of Calwa. Residents and
engaged community groups have long
advocated for equitable consideration in the
development of the area and implementation
of improvements that would enhance their
overall quality of life. New development will
need to take into consideration the needs of
these residents and mitigate negative health
impacts.

As stated by the Attorney General of California
Rob Bonta, “Economic investment and
economic prosperity can live side-by-side with
justice”

2. The purpose of this Plan is to serve as
a policy and regulatory document that seeks
to balance economic benefit, environmental
impacts, and quality of life.

1.2 Plan Area and Boundaries
The area addressed by the South Central
Specific Plan (Plan) lies within Fresno County,
in the southernmost part of the city of Fresno,
(see Figure 1-1), and located just southeast
of Downtown Fresno (see Figure 1-2). The
South Central Specific Plan Area (Plan Area),
as depicted in Figure 1-3, covers 5,567 acres
(8.7 square miles). The Plan Area is generally
located south of California Avenue, north
of American Avenue, and between Fig and
Peach Avenues. It includes the area within
1 Cheney, Charles Henry. “Progress of a City Plan for Fresno.” June 1, 1918. 2 Taub, David. “In Fresno, CA Attorney General Pushes ‘Blueprint’ for Industrial, Neighborhood Balance.” GV Wire, 9 Aug. Web Article.

South Central Specific Plan
2 |
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§¨¦
5 San J o aquin River
Fresno County
Madera County
Fresno County
Tulare County
Fresno County
Kings County
Dos Palos
Madera
Visalia
Chowchilla
Tulare
Atwater
Merced
San Joaquin
Lemoore
Hanford
Corcoran
Clovis
Dinuba
ExeterFarmersville
Lindsay
Coalinga
Firebaugh
Fowler
Kingsburg
Mendota
Orange CoveParlier
Reedley
Sanger
Selma
Huron
Kerman
Woodlake
99 41
180
180
168
9941
FIGURE 1-1: REGIONAL CONTEXTLegend
Fresno Sphere of Influence
Fresno City Limits
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Fresno County
State Highways
City/Town
[
South Central Specific Plan
Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, Intermap, increment P Corp., GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community. 2016 Census Designated Places; City of Fresno GIS Data, Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 10 20
Miles
Fresno
Chapter 1: Introduction |
3 Figure 1-1: Regional Context
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Whites Bridge
Maple
Brawley
Herndon
Bullard
Shaw
Clovis Fowler
T emperance
West
Palm
Clovis
Fowler
T emperance
De Wolf
Shields
McKinley
Belmont
Chestnut
Peach
American
Cedar
Grantland Hayes
Elm East
Marks West
Walnut
Cornelia
North
California
Jensen
Ashlan
Grantland
Hayes
Cornelia
Brawley
Marks
Shaw
Bullard
Herndon
Nees
De Wolf
Shields
McKinley
Belmont
California
Jensen
North
Kings Canyon
Ashlan
Peach
Behymer
Copper
Shepherd
Nees
Blackstone
First
Cedar
Chestnut
Garfield
Bryan
Polk
Blythe
Valentine
Van Ness
Fruit
Maroa
Fresno
Millbrook
Maple
Willow
Dakota
Clinton
Olive
Gettysburg
Barstow
Sierra
Alluvial
Nielsen
Kearney
Muscat
Annadale
Church
Willow
Minnewawa
Malaga
Orange
Bryan
Sunnyside Armstrong
Locan
Fig
Cherry
Hughes
Fruit
Polk
Valentine
Blythe
Alluvial
Sierra
Barstow
Perrin
Sunnyside
Armstrong
Locan
Clinton
Olive
Tulare
Butler
Church
Annadale
Dakota
Minnewawa
International
T eague
California
State
University
Fresno
Fresno
International
Airport
Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater
Reclamation Facility
99 41
180
180
168
9941
FIGURE 1-2: SPHERE OF INFLUENCELegend
Fresno Sphere of Influence
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Fresno City Limits (Incorporated)
Fresno County (unincorporated)
Clovis City Limits
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data, Prepared by the Planning and Development Department 0 2 4
Miles
SCSP
SS aa nn JJ oo aa qq uu ii nn RR ii vv ee rr
Downtown
Fresno
South Central Specific Plan
4 |
Figure 1-2: Sphere of Influence
·|}þ
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CENTRAL

AMERICAN
WILLOW
JENSEN

GOLDEN STATE

ANNADALE
ELM
CEDAR
B
CHERRY
MAPLE

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR
ORANGE

CALIFORNIA
CHURCH
NORTH
EAST
PEACH

VAN NESS
FIG
MAPLE
MALAGA

VENTURA
G

CHESTNUT

VENTURA
G

CHESTNUT
MUSCAT
99 41
41 99
FIGURE 1-3: PLAN AREA
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend
Fresno Sphere of Influence
Fresno City Limits
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Land in Fresno County that is outside of the
Fresno City Limits and within the Fresno
Sphere of Influence
Chapter 1: Introduction |
5 Figure 1-3: Plan Area
Colony System of Settlement, Fresno County CA - ‘The Pioneer Years’ 1903, p.120 the Fresno city limits and the area outside of
the city in the county of Fresno and within
Fresno’s planning sphere of influence (SOI).

The county land in the SOI is anticipated to be
voluntarily annexed into the city over time as
development is proposed. For more discussion
on the SOI in the Plan Area see Chapter 4.

The Plan Area has a range of property types
including industrial, warehouse, commercial,
public facilities, educational, religious, and
residential. Major transportation networks
such as State Routes (SR) 41 and 99, Burlington
Northern Sante Fe (BNSF) and Union Pacific
(UP) rail lines and irrigations canals traverse
the Plan Area. Land has been cleared and
structures underway for the future alignment
of the California high speed rail line.

1.3 History of Development in
the Plan Area
Until 1945 much of the Plan Area was in the
county of Fresno. Annexation of land into
the city of Fresno began in 1945 and has
continued through 2021 as shown in Figure
1-4. Prior to 1945, the Plan Area was primarily
agricultural with some rural homes and flat
vacant prairie with natural grasses. After the
city of Fresno was founded in 1872, investors
purchased large agricultural subdivisions
known as colonies. The large colonies were
subdivided into smaller parcels (typically 20
and 40 acres), advertised, and individually sold
for the development of agriculture.

The Central California Colony (3,840 acres)
was the first to form in the Plan Area in 1875
followed by the Fresno Colony in 1875. A
big selling point for these parcels was the
newly built canals, constructed between
1870 and 1880 by the Fresno Canal and
Irrigation Company. These canals diverted
and conveyed Kings River water to irrigate
every parcel in the two colonies and are still
in use today. Typically, homes and agricultural
buildings were developed on the parcels as
well. The Fresno Colony was situated just
south of the growing Downtown Fresno, so
close that residents of this colony could send
their children to schools in the Fresno school
district. Easy access to city amenities was also
a key selling point for potential buyers.

Along with irrigation water, the Central Pacific
Railroad (now the Union Pacific Railroad)
developed in the Plan Area and opened for
South Central Specific Plan
6 |
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CENTRAL

AMERICAN
WILLOW
JENSEN

GOLDEN STATE

ANNADALE
ELM
CEDAR
B
CHERRY
MAPLE

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR
ORANGE

CALIFORNIA
CHURCH
NORTH
EAST
PEACH

VAN NESS
FIG
MAPLE
MALAGA

VENTURA
G

CHESTNUT

VENTURA
G

CHESTNUT

CHESTNUT
MUSCAT
Calwa
Daleville
99 41
41 99
FIGURE 1-4: HISTORIC GROWTH PATTERN
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Annexation Year
1945 - 1959
1960 - 1974
1975 - 1989
1990 - 2004
2005 - 2021
Legend
Fresno Sphere of Influence
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Fresno City Limits
Chapter 1: Introduction |
7 Figure 1-4: Historic Growth Pattern
service in the spring of 1872. This allowed the
agriculture industry to expand its markets by
transporting goods for purchase to regions
beyond Fresno County.

Historically, the location of industrial
development in Fresno has coincided with
the transportation networks in place at
the time they were built. When Downtown
Fresno was founded, cottage industries
such as warehouses, lumber yards, livery
stables, blacksmiths, fruit packing, granaries,
soap works, laundries, breweries, and
food manufacturing developed alongside
residential neighborhoods and adjacent to the
railroad. In 1922, with the development of the
Atchison, Topeka, and Sante Fe Railroad (now
Burlington Northern and Sante Fe Railroad)
and railway station in the Plan Area, industrial
development soon expanded from Downtown
Fresno into the Plan Area, along the railways.

With the invention of the automobile, followed
by mass production starting in 1913, Fresno
residents began purchasing vehicles for
convenience and to transport goods. This
led to the need to increase the quantity, size,
and quality of the road network from Fresno
to outlying rural residents and neighboring
communities. By the 1920s and 30s the major
roadways in the Plan Area developed on a
north/south and east/west grid generally
spaced a half mile to a mile apart. The Golden
State Highway was an exception when it
developed diagonally adjacent to the Central
Pacific Railroad. Following historical patterns,
industrial and commercial businesses
developed along these major corridors. In 1961,
SR-99 came into the Plan Area followed by SR-
41 in 1997. New industrial clusters developed
along both sides of these highways.

These new highways and industrial
development replaced existing residential
neighborhoods and rural residential
properties. There are a few residential
communities within Fresno’s SOI, such as
Calwa and Daleville, that have expressed
a desire to remain intact with safeguards
put in place to protect them from impacts
associated with new industrial development
nearby. These small communities and a few
rural residential properties are all that remain
today of the rural residential development
patterns prior to the City’s focus on industrial
zoning in the Plan Area as solidified in the
City’s first General Plan in 1956.

Calwa
Calwa neighborhood, May 2024, from
intersection of Cedar and Vine Avenues
Calwa Townsite was established in 1911 by
Speed B. Leas as a community for employees
of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad
switching yard. Calwa was named after the
California Wine Association’s winery located
just outside the Plan Area on the west side
of the railroad tracks. The California Wine
Association (1894-1936) was an organization of
South Central Specific Plan
8 |
winemakers and dealers who came together
after the 1893 economic depression to
collectively set prices for the industry. Many of
the vineyards in the Fresno area came under
the association’s control in the early 1900s.

The Calwa Townsite was originally located
between Jensen and Vine and Cedar and the
railroad tracks, but quickly expanded to the
north with the North Calwa Addition (1913),
Esperanza Tract (1913), and Sequoia Village
(1914) subdivisions. The Santa Fe Depot,
visible at the corner of Vine and Sunset, was
developed in 1922 when the railroad moved
its main line to the north side of the yard. Also
nearby were two large industrial buildings,
the Sunland Sulfur Company (later the Food,
Machinery and Chemical fertilizer company)
and Roma Vineyards Winery. One last small
residential subdivision came in the late 1940’s
and after that industrial and some commercial
continued to expand to this day.

Daleville
Daleville is a small, unincorporated community,
approximately 26 acres in size. It is located
at the southern edge of Fresno’s SOI at the
northeast and northwest corner of Cherry and
Central Avenues. Development in Daleville
began in the 1950s and now includes 42
homes, a church, and a small corner market.

The community is served by the Orange
Center School District and the Orange Center
Elementary School was built within walking
distance in 1952.

Daleville shares some regional history with
the Central California Colony, one of the first
successful agricultural colonies in the Central
Valley. The colony was renowned for the lush
assortment of trees that accompanied the
roads, “Nine Varieties of cherry trees were
planted along Cherry Avenue; cork elms on
Elm Avenue; a variety of fruit trees on Fruit
Avenue; and West Avenue was to be planted
later with eucalyptus trees… all were young
trees of the finest known varieties, and were
planted as part of the project, rather than
being left to the colonists.”
3 Daleville remained
a rural community in the county of Fresno
surrounded by agriculture up until the 21st
century when Fresno’s city limits expanded
to the edge of Daleville and industry followed.

Ulta Warehouse, built in 2018, established a tall
landscape berm along its property border with
Daleville. The berm with its trees and plantings
serve as an effective visual buffer between
the operations at Ulta and the community of
Daleville. See photo opposite Chapter 5 cover
page.

1.4 Population and Projections
The City contracted with Economic & Planning
Systems, Inc. (EPS) to conduct a Market
Study for the Plan Area which can be found
in Appendix A. Portions of that study are
included here to provide an understanding
of the current and projected population and
development in the Plan Area.

The Plan Area contains a small residential
population comprising approximately
400 housing units and an estimated 1,130
residents. Residential uses in the Plan Area
are largely characterized by rural residential
and a few small subdivisions. The Plan Area
is directly adjacent to two neighborhoods
in the unincorporated County – Calwa and
Malaga - comprising about 720 dwelling units
and 2,660 residents in total. The southern
part of Calwa is in the Plan Area. The Plan
Area also contains one school, Orange Center
Chapter 1: Introduction |
9 3 Thickens, Pioneer Agricultural Colonies of Fresno County Table 1-1: Market Demand, Target Buildout, and Assumed Development for Specific Plan Alternatives 2022-2040
South Central Specific Plan
10 |
Assumed Development for Each Specific Plan AlternativeTarget EPS Estimated Buildout:

Non- Market 200% Alternative 1:

Residential Demand 2022- Estimated No Project Alternative 2: Alternative 3: Alternative 4:

Use 2040 (square Demand 2022- (Existing Blended Community Business footage) 2040 (square General Plan)
footage)
Retail 433,338 866,676 340,492 866,676 3,871,826 277,375 Office 289,395 578,790 578,790 578,790 4,008,553 578,790 Industrial 5,288,139 10,576,278 11,102,462 10,576,278 4,141,365 11,165,579 T otal Non- 6,010,872 12,021,744 12,021,744 12,021,744 12,021,744 12,021,744Residential Residential N/A N/A 0 91 739 0Units
Source: EPS Market Study (See Appendix A)
Elementary School, which is a public school
for students in kindergarten through eighth
grade. In 2024, the student enrollment was
approximately 336 students.

The residential population in the Plan Area is
not projected to grow much between 2022
and 2040 (the projected life span of this Plan).

As shown in Table 1-1, there is capacity for 91
new residential units which could equate to
approximately 282 residents.

The Plan Area contains an estimated 18.6
million square feet of existing industrial
development, representing approximately 30
percent of industrial building space citywide.

It also contains a minimal amount of retail and
office space, representing about one percent
of space citywide. Employment forecasts
suggest the Plan Area could support demand
for approximately 350 acres of nonresidential
development between 2022 and 2040 which
equates to just over 6 million square feet as
shown in Table 1-1. Much of this demand is
anticipated for industrial space, including
heavy and light industrial, and research &
development (R&D)/flex space. Estimated
demand for commercial retail development
from employees and households in and
surrounding the Plan Area could support
approximately 29 acres or 433,338 square feet
by 2040.

City staff directed the Environmental Impact
Report (EIR) consultant, Ascent Environmental,
Inc. (Ascent) to recalibrate a target buildout to
reflect twice the market demand estimated
by EPS in order to capture the level of demand
the City anticipates could happen with the
adoption of this Plan. The EPS Estimated
Market Demand is based on development
in the Plan Area from 2010-2021. The City
believes that once this Plan and EIR are
adopted the demand for development in the
Plan Area will increase. The City assumes
12,021,744 square feet of new non-residential
development between 2022 and 2040 as
shown in Table 1-1.

The City considered three land use
alternatives with varying amounts of assumed
nonresidential use square footages based
on planned land use designations provided
by each alternative. See Chapter 2 for Plan
Alternatives.

1.5 Economic Vitality and Job
Creation
One intention of this Plan is to improve
Fresno’s overall economic competitiveness
by supporting employment opportunities
for all residents. To do so, job creation must
keep up with population growth. Though the
population in the Plan Area is unlikely to grow,
the population in the rest of the city according
to the EPS Market Study, is projected to
add an estimated 176,000 to 216,000 new
residents and nearly 70,000 new employees
between 2022 and 2040. This level of growth
translates into 9,800 to 12,000 new residents
and 2,500 to 3,900 new jobs per year, on
average. If these numbers hold true, Fresno
will likely continue to maintain its status as the
34th largest city in the United States and the
5th largest city in California. New businesses,
along with the expansion of existing ones, will
be needed in the Plan Area to provide jobs to
Fresno’s ever-increasing population.

Expanding, retaining, attracting, and creating
businesses is one of the challenges facing
the City today. Fresno’s regional economy
is dominated by agriculture and Fresno
County ranks first in the nation for agricultural
production.
4 Fresno has leveraged the
surrounding agricultural economy to develop
industries up and downstream of farming,
such as agricultural technologies, supply
chain
management, agricultural services
(brokering and export), food innovation and
processing facilities, water technology, and
other precision manufacturers. Other markets
prime for investment are medical industries
and green industries
such as solar, biofuels,
recycling, and other forms of alternative
energy. More recently, the City has capitalized
on its strategic geographic location and
access to key transportation routes to grow
its distribution, e-commerce, and advanced
manufacturing sectors.

1.6 Community Health
CalEnviroScreen 4.0
The CalEnviroScreen is a mapping tool that
helps California communities that are most
affected by many sources of pollution, and
where people are often especially vulnerable
to pollution’s effects. CalEnviroScreen uses
environmental, health, and socioeconomic
information to score every census tract in
the state. The scores are mapped so that
different communities can be compared.

Areas with higher scores experience a much
higher pollution burden than areas with lower
scores. The census tracts located within the
Plan Area are within the top five percentile of
environmentally burdened areas in the state.
(See Figure 1-5).

The City recognizes the need to study the
relationship between air pollution and health
outcomes in relation to future conditions
in the area. A Health Impact Assessment
(HIA) along with a Truck Reroute Study was
conducted for the South Central Fresno
Assembly Bill (AB) 617 boundary area. The
Chapter 1: Introduction |
11 4 United States Department of Agriculture. “2022 Census of Agriculture.” United States Summary and Sate Data, Volume 1 - Geographic Area Series - Part 51. February 2024. ·|}þ
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CENTRAL

AMERICAN
WILLOW
JENSEN

GOLDEN STATE

ANNADALE
ELM
CEDAR
B
CHERRY
MAPLE

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR
ORANGE

CALIFORNIA
CHURCH
NORTH
EAST
PEACH

VAN NESS
FIG
MAPLE
MALAGA

VENTURA
G

CHESTNUT

VENTURA
G

CHESTNUT

CHESTNUT
MUSCAT

VENTURA
G

CHESTNUT

CENTRAL

AMERICAN
WILLOW
JENSEN

GOLDEN STATE

ANNADALE
ELM
CEDAR
B
CHERRY
MAPLE

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR
ORANGE

CALIFORNIA
CHURCH
NORTH
EAST
PEACH

VAN NESS
FIG
MAPLE
MALAGA

96.3 99.0

99.0 99.9

99.4 84.9

99.9 100
99 41
41 99
FIGURE 1-5: DISADVANTAGED UNINCORPORATED
COMMUNITIES AND CALENVIROSCREEN 4.0
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: 2021 CalEnviroScreen 4.0 (OEHHA, CalEPA) and City of Fresno GIS Data Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend
CalEnviroScreen 4.0 Percentile Range
Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities
Fresno City Limits
!
! !
!
!
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)

80.0% - 90.0%

90.1% - 99.0%

99.1% - 100%
Fresno Sphere of Influence
South Central Specific Plan
12 |
Figure 1-5: Disadvantaged Unincorporated
Communities and Calenviroscreen 4.0
Plan Area lies within this boundary (see Figure
1-7). See Section 1.8 Planning Context for a
brief description of the HIA and Truck Reroute
Study.

Disadvantaged Unincorporated
Communities
California Senate Bill 244 (Wolk, 2011; SB
244) requires local municipalities to identify
Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities
(DUCs) within or adjacent to their SOI,
analyze the infrastructure needs of the DUCs
(including water, wastewater, stormwater
drainage, and structural fire protection), and
evaluate potential funding mechanisms to
make service extension feasible. This analysis
was completed in Chapter 3 of the General
Plan.

DUCs are defined as settled places not within
city limits where the median household
income is 80 percent or less than the
statewide median household income. Under
the policy set forth by the Fresno Local Agency
Formation Commission (Fresno LAFCo), a
DUC must also have at least 15 residences with
a density of one unit per acre or greater.

On February 12, 2020, Fresno LAFCo
comprehensively updated its DUC database
based upon new demographic datasets and
median household income levels within the
County of Fresno. In 2020, Fresno LAFCo
identified a total of six DUCs located within
or proximate to Fresno’s SOI (See Figure 1-5)
including Calwa and Daleville.

1.7 General Plan Consistency
The General Plan envisioned that the Plan
Area would be prioritized for industrial
development, fulfilling several General Plan
goals related to attracting and retaining
industrial firms needed to implement the
City’s economic development strategy.

The General Plan identifies the Plan Area as
a priority area for industrial development
incentives in Figure 1-6. The Plan is consistent
with the following General Plan goals,
objectives, and implementing policies:

General Plan Goals5

1. Increase opportunity, economic
development, business and job creation.

9. Promote a city of healthy communities
and improve quality of life in established
neighborhoods.
• Emphasize supporting established
neighborhoods in Fresno with safe,
well maintained, and accessible
streets, public utilities, education
and job training, proximity to jobs,
retail services, and health care,
affordable housing, youth development
opportunities, open space and
parks, transportation options, and
opportunities for home grown
businesses.

12. Resolve existing public infrastructure
and service deficiencies, make full use
of existing infrastructure, and invest in
improvements to increase competitiveness
and promote economic growth.

13. Emphasize the City as a role model for
Chapter 1: Introduction |
13 5 The General Plan Goals are numbered as they are in the General Plan and are not intended to be numerically consis tent in this section.

Downtown Planning Area
Phase 1 Bus Rapid Transit Corridors (BRT)
Blackstone BRT Corridor
Ventura Kings Canyon BRT Corridor
Phase 2 Bus Rapid Transit Corridors (BRT)
IOZ
Shaw BRT Corridor
California BRT Corridor
South Industrial Priority Area
South Industrial Priority Area
Infill Opportunity Zones (IOZ)
180
41 99
168
180
99 41
Figure IM-1:

Priority Areas for
Development Incentives
Planning Area
Sphere of Influence
City Limits
Source: City of Fresno, 2014.
0 2 4
MILES
11/2
Downtown

SHAW AVE SHAW AVE

HERNDON AVE HERNDON AVE

B L ACKSTONE AVE

WILLOW AVE

ASHLAN AVE

SHIELDS AVE

MCKINLEY AVE

CEDAR AVE

SHIELDS AVESHIELDS AVE

ASHLAN AVE

MCKINLEY AVE

KINGS CANYON RD

HIGHLAND AVEKINGS CANY ON RD

OLIVE AVE OLIVE AVE

BUTLER AVE

JENSEN AVE

NORTH AVENORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

KEARNEY BLVD

BELMONT AVE BELMONT AVE

BULLARD AVE

NEES AVE

SHEPHERD AVE

GRANTLAND AVE

GARFIELD AVE

BLYTHE AVE

BRAWLEY AVE

MARKS AVE

CLINTON AVE

BRA WLEY A VE

POLK AVE

MARKS AVE

WEST AVE

PALM AVE

WEBER AVE

GOLDEN STATE BLVD

FRESNO ST

WALNUT AVE

FIG AVE CENTRAL AVE

AMERICAN AVE

PEACH AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

CHESTNUT AVE CLOVIS AVE

CLOVIS AVE

FOWLER AVE

TEMPERANCE AVE

JENSEN AVETEMPERANCE AVE

FIRST ST

BLACKSTONE AVE

FRESNO ST

GOLDEN STATE BLVD
H ST

VAN NESS AVE

BARSTOW AVE
FRIANT
RD

CALIFORNIA AVE

FRUIT AVE

DE WOLFE AVE

COPPER AVE

FT WASHINGTON RD

FIRST ST

ASHLAN AVE

FOWLER AVE

MAROA AVE

CHURCH AVE

ANNADALE

ELM AVE

CHERRY AVE

EAST AVEORANGE AVE

MAPLE AVE

WILLOW AVE

FRUIT AVE

WEST AVEHUGHES AVE

CLINTON AVE CLINTON AVE

DAKOTA AVE

VAN NESS AVE

ALLUVIAL AVE

BEHYMER AVE

PERRIN AVE

TEAGUE AVE

GETTYSBURG AVEGETTYSBURG AVE

VETERANS

AUDUBON DR

BRYAN AVEHAYES AVE

CORNELIA AVE

VALENTINE AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

TULARE AVE

MCKINLEY AVE

GATES AVE

BULLARD AVE

WHITESBRIDGE AVE

MAPLE AVE
LANE
Fresno Yosemite
International
Airport
California
State University
Fresno
Fresno-Clovis
Regional Wastewater
Reclamation Facility (RWRF)
San
J o a q uin Rive r
South Central Specific Plan
14 |
Figure 1-6: Fresno General Plan, Figure IM-1
Priority Incentive Areas
good growth management planning,
efficient processing and permit
streamlining, effective urban development
policies, environmental quality, and a
strong economy. Work collaboratively
with other jurisdictions and institutions to
further these values throughout the region.

16. Protect and improve public health and
safety.

General Plan Objectives
ED-1 Support economic development
by maintaining a strong working
relationship with the business
community and improving the
business climate for current and future
businesses.

D -2 Enhance the visual image of all
“gateway” routes entering the Fresno
Planning Area.

LU-1 Establish a comprehensive citywide
land use planning strategy to meet
economic development objectives,
achieve efficient and equitable use of
resources and infrastructure, and create
an attractive living environment.

LU-7 Plan and support industrial
development to promote job growth.

Create and maintain a transportation
MT-1 system that is safe, efficient, provides
access in an equitable manner, and
optimizes travel by all modes.

MT-11 Achieve necessary capacity increasing
and inter-modal connectivity enhancing
improvements to the goods movement
transportation system to support the
growth in critical farm product and
value-added industries.

General Plan Implementing Policies
ED -1-d Strategic Land Regulation. Explore
increasing the amount of land
properly zoned, consistent with
the General Plan, and ready to be
expeditiously developed, redeveloped,
and/or revitalized for economic
development and job creation
purposes. Establish a priority infill
development program for sites and
districts.

ED-1-e Ready to Go Sites. Establish a list of
“ready-to-go” or “shovel-ready” sites
in consultation with property owners
and provide the list to interested
developers and businesses seeking
sites in the city.

D-2-c Highway Beautification. Work
with Caltrans, the Fresno Council
of Governments, Tree Fresno,
neighboring jurisdictions, and other
organizations to obtain funding for
highway beautification programs.

LU-1-b Land Use Definition and
Compatibility.

Include zoning districts and standards
in the Development Code that
provide for the General Plan land use
designations and create appropriate
transitions or buffers between new
development with existing uses,
taking into consideration the health
and safety of the community.

LU-7-a Incentives for a Diversity of Industries,
Increased Food Processing and
Manufacturing, and Related
Employment Opportunities in Fresno.

Use the City’s Capital Improvement
Program to set priorities for locations
and timing of water, sewer, and
transportation infrastructure
Chapter 1: Introduction |
15 investments by the City and initiate
implementation programs to
encourage development of targeted
industries as identified under Policy
ED-3-c, in employment land use areas
designated on Figure LU-1: Land Use
Diagram.

LU-7-b Business and Industrial Parks. Promote
business and industrial park sites that
are of sufficient size, unified in design,
and diversified in activity to attract a
full range of business types needed for
economic growth.

LU-7-c Efficiency of Industrial Uses. Promote
industrial land use clusters to
maximize the operational efficiency of
similar activities.
• Provide access to a range of
transportation modes through plans
and incentives, ensuring that local,
regional, and national connections
are available to industrial uses;
• Develop a strategy to promote rail-
accessible sites for industries that
need such capability; and
• Ensure timely access to the
full range of urban services
for industrial development by
coordinating proposed plans with
the annual and long-range City
infrastructure planning.

MT-1-d Integrate Land Use and Transportation
Planning. Plan for and maintain a
coordinated and well integrated
land use pattern, local circulation
network and transportation system
that accommodates planned growth,
reduces impacts on adjacent land
uses, and preserves the integrity of
established neighborhoods.

1.8 Planning Context
Over the years the City has invested heavily
in planning for future development within
the city, including areas where it intends
to grow. Planning for that growth helps the
City anticipate the needs of its residents
and businesses as well as foster sustainable
management of man-made and natural
resources for future generations. The Plan
Area is within the Fresno General Plan plan
area and was considered under that plan.

Many other planning efforts have occurred
within or adjacent to the Plan Area, or have
included the Plan Area. All have implications
for the future development of South Central
Fresno. The planning areas for many of
these plans can be seen in Figure 1-7. Full
implementation of this Plan will require the
North Avenue Industrial Triangle Specific Plan
to be repealed and the overlapping portion of
the Roosevelt Community Plan to be replaced
with this Plan to allow for consistency.

In this section are descriptions of eight
previous planning efforts that have been
adopted and two planning efforts that are
still underway as of October 2024. The eight
planning efforts that have been adopted are as
follows:

1. North Avenue Industrial Triangle Specific
Plan (1973)

2. Roosevelt Community Plan (1992)

3. Fresno General Plan (2014)

4. Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan
(2016)

5. Fresno Active Transportation Plan (2017)

6. Southwest Fresno Specific Plan (2017)

7. Elm Avenue Revitalization Strategy (2019)

8. Transformative Climate Communities
Program (2019)
The two planning efforts that are underway
and not adopted are:

9. South Central Fresno AB617 Community
Truck Reroute Study and Fresno Community
Environmental Health Impact Assessment

10. Central Southeast Area Specific Plan
South Central Specific Plan
16 |
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Maple
Bra
wley
Clovis
Chestnut
Peach
American
Cedar
Elm Ea
st
M
ark
s
W
est
Walnut
North
Muscat
Annadale
W
illow
Minnewawa
Malaga
Orange
Su
nnyside
Fig
Cherry
Hughes
Fru
it
Valentine
Blythe
Fresno
International
Airport
Downtown
Fresno
Jensen
Church
California
Butler
Kings Canyon
Tulare
Belmont
·|}þ
180
180
168
99 41
FIGURE 1-7: PLANNING CONTEXT
Boundaries
Elm Avenue Revitalization Strategy
Roosevelt Community Plan
South Central Fresno AB 617 Community Truck Reroute Study and Fresno Community Environmental Health Impact Assessment North Avenue Industrial Triangle Specific Plan
Southwest Fresno Specific Plan
Central Southeast Area Specific Plan
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Downtown Neighborhoods Specific Plan (DNSP)
Transformative Climate Communities Program (TCC)
Fresno City Limits
Fresno Sphere of Influence
[
South Central Specific Plan
0 1 2
Miles
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
Central
Note:The Fresno General Plan and Active
Transportation Plan boundaries encompass the
entire Planning Area and SOI of the city.

Legend
41·|}þ99
Chapter 1: Introduction |
17 Figure 1-7: Planning Context
South Central Specific Plan
18 |
Previous Planning Efforts
1973
North Avenue Industrial Triangle
Specific Plan
The North Avenue Industrial Triangle
Specific Plan was a multiphase plan
to develop agricultural land south of
Jensen Ave and north of the Central
Canal between SR-41 and 99 into a
heavy industrial district. The City Council
adopted the North Avenue Industrial
Triangle Specific Plan and associated
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) at a
public meeting on September 27, 1973
(Resolution 73- 456).
1992
Roosevelt Community
Plan
The Roosevelt Community Plan was
a community level refinement of the
1984 General Plan and an update to the
earlier 1978 Roosevelt Community Plan.

It provides high level goals and policies
for the Roosevelt Community to promote
well-balanced, cohesive development.

The draft Roosevelt Community Plan was
officially initiated by the City Council in
1991. Ten public meetings were held in
the winter of 1991 and spring of 1992 and
the City Council adopted the updated
Roosevelt Community Plan and the
associated Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) on April 7, 1992 (Resolution 92-141).

Chapter 1: Introduction |
19 2014
Fresno General Plan
The Fresno General Plan is a forward
looking, comprehensive, and long range
plan that recommends strategies to
support the community’s vision of Fresno
as a vibrant, growing city, infused with a
sense of heritage and community. The
planning process began in mid-2010 and
included extensive public outreach. More
than 160 stakeholders were interviewed,
over 100 presentations were given to
neighborhood, business, educational,
social, and non-profit groups.

Additionally, 19 meetings were held with
the Advisory Committee and 13 public
workshops were conducted. The City
Council adopted the Fresno General Plan
and Master Environmental Impact Report
(MEIR) on December 18, 2014 (Resolution
2014-226). Subsequently, the MEIR was
replaced with a PEIR on September 30,
2021 (Resolution 2021-269).
2016
Downtown Neighborhoods
Community Plan
The Downtown Neighborhoods
Community Plan (DNCP) established a
vision for revitalization of the Downtown
and surrounding neighborhoods
based on input from property owners
and residents. The DNCP addressed
conflicting issues in the City’s land use
plans and codes to prioritize the City’s
ability to implement the DNCP’s vision.

Public engagement was robust and had
several phases between 2010 and 2016.

The City Council adopted the DNCP and
the associated Program Environmental
Impact Report (PEIR) on October 20,
2016, (Resolutions 2016-212,213, 214, and
216).

South Central Specific Plan
20 |
2017
Fresno Active Transportation
Plan (ATP)
The Fresno Active Transportation Plan
(ATP) is a comprehensive guide outlining
the vision for active transportation in
the City of Fresno, and a roadmap for
achieving that vision. The ATP envisions a
complete, safe, and comfortable network
of trails, sidewalks, and bikeways that
serves all residents of Fresno. The ATP
proposes a long-term, comprehensive
network of citywide bikeways, trails,
and sidewalks that connect all parts
of Fresno. Since the build-out of
this network will take many years to
complete, the ATP also identifies a
priority network of connected bikeways
and priority pedestrian areas to focus the
City’s efforts in the near-term. The City
Council adopted the ATP on March 2,
2017 (Resolution 2017- 60).
2017
Southwest Fresno Specific
Plan
The Southwest Fresno Specific Plan
(SWFSP) is a long-range plan that
encourages a diverse housing stock with
emphasis on quality and homeownership,
more retail options, safer and more
connected streets for all transportation
modes, more educational opportunity
and job training, improvement of parks
and open space, and location of new
industrial development outside of
Southwest Fresno. The vision for the
SWFSP emerged after a multi-faceted
outreach process that included 17
meetings hosted by a 21-member
Steering Committee, 6 Community
Workshops, 10 Topic Group meetings,
and 3 Community Conversations. The
City Council adopted the SWFSP and
associated Program Environmental
Impact Report (PEIR) on October 26,
2017 (Resolutions 2017-299 – 303).

Chapter 1: Introduction |
21 2019
Elm Avenue Revitalization
Strategy
The Elm Avenue Revitalization Strategy
is a brownfield area-wide planning
effort that was funded through the
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) Brownfields Area-Wide Planning
Grant. Its purpose is to serve as a
playbook for development which could
lead to the revitalization of the Elm
Avenue Corridor in Southwest Fresno.

The Strategy describes the vision for
the Elm Avenue Corridor, describes the
existing conditions of the area, as well
as current conditions of 12 study sites
and 3 community-identified catalyst
sites that are currently vacant and
considered brownfields. The Strategy
befitted greatly from the collaborative
effort of property owners, developers,
community members and leaders,
regulatory agencies, and industry
experts. The City Council adopted the
Elm Avenue Revitalization Strategy
on October 10, 2019 (Resolution No.
2019-207) and it is currently being
implemented by the Fresno EPA
Brownfields Coalition.
2017
Transformative Climate
Communities Program
The California Strategic Growth
Council (SGC) Transformative Climate
Communities Program (TCC) is a
community-driven initiative to transform
the 4.9-square mile project area through
a suite of projects and plans that will
reduce GHG emissions while also
providing local environmental, health,
economic, and social equity benefits.

In early 2018, SGC awarded Transform
Fresno a TCC grant of $66.5 million
to fund 17 projects and Transform
Fresno is leveraging $117.3 million to
fund 4 projects. The 21 projects were
determined through a 164-member
Community Steering Committee who
met regularly in 2017. After mandatory
changes made by the Strategic
Growth Council, the final Master Grant
Agreement award was signed by all
parties on April 3, 2019.

South Central Specific Plan
22 |
Planning Efforts Underway

South Central Fresno
AB 617 Community Truck
Reroute Study
Truck Routing and Implementation
Strategies Report
April 2024

APRIL 2024
South Central Fresno AB 617
Community Truck Reroute
Study and Fresno Community
Environmental Health Impact
Assessment
In 2022, the City and SJVAPCD joined
forces to undertake the South Central
Fresno AB 617 Community Truck Reroute
Study and the University of California,
Merced, began a concurrent Health Impact
Assessment (HIA) for the same area. The
Truck Reroute Study evaluated potential
strategies to address truck impacts
including air pollution, noise, traffic crashes
and congestion, active transportation
conflicts, and excess wear on local
pavements. It provides a truck route map,
toolkit, strategies, regulated areas around
sensitive uses, and an implementation
prioritization framework. The HIA assessed
the extent to which air pollution impacts
the risk of common health outcomes
across a lifespan, calculated the excess
number of cases attributed to air pollution
in the region, and conducted a community-
based health survey to explore residents’
concerns, behaviors, health outcomes, and
health needs relevant to air pollution in the
region. The results of the HIA informed the
Truck Reroute Study. In May 2024, drafts of
both documents were published for public
review.

SPECIFIC PLAN
Public Draft | April 2021
City of Fresno
central
southeast area
Central Southeast Area Specific
Plan
The Central Southeast Area Specific
Plan (CSEASP) was initiated in
2017 and a public draft of the
CSEASP was released in April 2021.

The CSEASP is intended to be an
actionable document used by the
City, developers, stakeholders, and
community members to facilitate
development in the Central Southeast
Fresno Plan Area. The project team
administered a multifaceted and
extensive engagement strategy that
leveraged a broad range of community
input throughout the planning
process including disenfranchised
populations not typically reached
in community planning efforts. The
Steering Committee and community
members brainstormed several “Big
Ideas” to stimulate positive change in
Central Southeast Fresno, including
the introduction of smaller-scale
employment generating uses such as
light industrial, clean tech, business
parks, offices, and job training centers
to provide a transition between
heavy industrial uses and residential
neighborhoods.

1.9 Statutory Authority
California law describes a Specific Plan as a
plan “for the systematic implementation of the
general plan for all or part of the area covered
by the general plan” [California Government
Code (GC) Section 65450]. Consistent with
this guidance, the City has prepared specific
plans to provide a more detailed vision,
development regulations, and implementation
plan for focused areas of the city.

GC Section 65451 requires a specific plan
to include a text and a diagram or diagrams
which specify all of the following in detail:
(1) The distribution, location, and extent of
the uses of land, including open space,
within the area covered by the plan;
(2) The proposed distribution, location, and
extent and intensity of major components
of public and private transportation,
sewage, water, drainage, solid waste
disposal, energy and other essential
facilities proposed to be located within
the area covered by the plan and needed
to support the land uses described in the
plan;
(3) Standards and criteria by which
development will proceed, and standards
for the conservation, development, and
utilization of natural resources, where
applicable; and
(4) A program of implementation measures
including regulations, programs, public
works projects, and financing measures
necessary to carry out paragraphs (1), (2),
and (3).

In addition, GC Section 65451 requires the
specific plan to include a statement of the
relationship of the specific plan to the general
plan, and the specific plan to be consistent
with the general plan (GC Section 65454).

According to GC Section 65453, “A specific
plan shall be prepared, adopted, and amended
in the same manner as a general plan, except
that a specific plan may be adopted by
resolution or ordinance and may be amended
as often as deemed necessary by the
legislative body.”

1.10 Plan Structure
The Plan is organized into eight chapters. The
Plan’s chapters are as follows:

1. Introduction. This chapter sets the
stage for the Plan. This chapter provides
a brief narrative about South Central
Fresno’s history, defines the Plan Area,
and describes the previous and current
planning efforts in the Plan Area. This
chapter also describes the relationship of
the Plan to the Fresno General Plan and
other planning efforts.

2. Planning Process & Community
Engagement. This chapter provides
a summary of the planning process,
community outreach efforts, and selection
of the preferred alternative planned land
use and development standards,

3. Vision, Guiding Principles & Policies. This
chapter describes the vision, guiding
principles, and policies that arose from
the community outreach process. The
contents of this chapter serve as the
foundation for this Plan.

Chapter 1: Introduction |
23 4. Land Use. This chapter describes existing
conditions and the planned land uses for
the Plan Area.

5. Development Standards.This chapter
provides development and design
standards for a proposed overlay zone.

6. Circulation. This chapter describes existing
conditions and circulation improvements
for the Plan Area. Specifically, this chapter
discusses truck routes, bicycle and
pedestrian facilities, and public transit.

7. Public Facilities & Infrastructure. This
chapter describes existing conditions
and infrastructure improvements needed
within the Plan Area, as well as addresses
improvements to areas in the City’s Sphere
of Influence.

8. Implementation. This final chapter outlines
how the plan will be achieved.

South Central Specific Plan
24 |
Chapter 1: Introduction |
25 Page left intenionally blank.

2 Planning Process &
Community
Engagement

2.1 Introduction 28

2.2 Public Participation Process 28

2.3 Community Input 29

2.4 South Central Specific Plan Advisory Committee 31

2.5 Selection of Preferred Alternative 31
Chapter 2: Planning Process & Community Engagement |
27 South Central Specific Plan
28 |
CHAPTER 2:

PLANNING PROCESS AND

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

2.1 Introduction
The Fresno General Plan, adopted in
December 2014, identified four priority areas
for investment and study including the South
Industrial Priority Area (SIPA). See Figure 1-6.

The City began a planning process at the
beginning of 2019 with an initial strategy of
compiling relevant policies from four existing
City plans that directly shape development
in South Central Fresno. This planning
effort was named the SIPA Specific Plan.

That planning effort was redirected by City
Council Resolution 2019-235 (see Appendix
B) for a more in-depth planning analysis and
community engagement process and the
name of the plan was changed to the South
Central Specific Plan.

2.2 Public Participation Process
Prior to the redirection, the City conducted
two community conversations in the Plan Area
in late-Spring of 2019. These events included
a brief presentation on the history and
foundations of the SIPA Specific Plan, the goals
of the plan, and the future opportunities for
participation. The City sent over 3,000 direct
mailers to landowners, posted and distributed
flyers, and sent emails to the City’s Listserv
to announce the events and request public
participation. See Appendix C for more details.

Resolution 2019-235 was adopted by the
City Council in the Fall of 2019, directing an
inclusive community engagement process
that would identify new land use designations,
key policies, and implementation actions
for the Plan Area. The primary goal of the
community engagement process was to
obtain input from residents who live within
and near the Plan Area, as well as other key
stakeholders, to inform the development of
the Plan.

Through Resolution 2019-235, the City Council
directed the Plan to:

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
* Sensitive uses in this Plan include residences,
schools, religious institutions, playgrounds, child-
care centers, hospitals, retirement homes, and
convalescent homes.

Chapter 2: Planning Process & Community Engagement |
29 3. Facilitate and promote economic
development that advances community
priorities relating to industry type,
employment opportunities, job quality, and
community benefits.

The following methods were used to obtain
input from stakeholders to inform the Plan:

Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews were
conducted with advocacy groups, public
agencies, regional and local government
staff, non-profit organizations, industry and
economic development groups, business
owners, and community residents.

Community Workshops: Seven community
workshops were held on various topics,
including vision, guiding principles, goals,
mitigation measures, policies, land use
concepts, buffer techniques, and economic
development. Summaries of the seven
community workshops can be found in
Appendix B.

Environmental Impact Report Scoping
Meetings: Three public scoping meetings
were held to solicit input from agencies,
organizations, and the public on the scope and
content of the environmental information to
be included in the Draft Environmental Impact
Report.

South Central Specific Plan Advisory
Committee: The South Central Specific
Plan Advisory Committee (SCSP Advisory
Committee) members served as the
visionaries for the Plan Area, forming
consensus and providing direction for City
staff and the consultant team to create the
vision, guiding principles, goals, and policies
for the Plan.

Flyers: As part of the community engagement
process, the City prepared an outreach
program to provide noticing to the community
and encourage participation. Flyers were
available through online distribution sources,
posted at all City-owned community centers,
distributed through the Fresno Unified School
District’s Parent University liaison group,
and emailed to all individuals included in the
City’s mailing list for interested stakeholders.

All flyers were prepared in both English
and Spanish and included links for more
information in Hmong and Punjabi.

Mailers: Over 3,000 direct mailers were sent
to residents and property owners for each
meeting within the Plan Area to encourage
attendance of workshops and participation in
the planning process.

South Central Specific Plan Mailing
List: Those who requested to receive
information and notices were placed on the
Plan mailing list.

South Central Specific Plan Webpage: A
webpage was created for the Plan. The
webpage was within the main City of Fresno
webpage and contained meeting agendas,
notices, presentations, workshop summaries,
public comments, surveys, planning
documents, and land use maps.

2.3 Community Input
Community input was gathered through
multiple means. Community members were
encouraged to attend workshops held within
and near the Plan Area, send letters, email
and/or call City staff, fill out comment cards,
and complete surveys to provide input on the
development of the Plan and accompanying
Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

South Central Specific Plan
30 |
A total of seven community workshops
were held between May 2019 and February
2020. Summaries of the seven community
workshops can be found in Appendix C.

Interpretation was available in Spanish,
Hmong, and Punjabi. Workshops consisted of
a short presentation, interactive exercises at
multiple stations, and a reporting out session.

Recurring issues and concerns that were
expressed consisted of:
• Poor road conditions;
• Reroute trucks away from sensitive uses;
• Poor air quality;
• Traffic noise;
• Proximity of sensitive uses to intensive land
uses; and
• Lack of high-quality jobs.

Attendees were also given the opportunity
to provide feedback on the concept of
overlay zones, buffer techniques, and land use
concepts. Suggestions included:
• Modifying land uses to reduce adverse
impacts on sensitive uses;
• Applying buffer techniques with larger tree
cover;
• Incorporating attractive landscaping;
• Constructing walls to block visibility of
industrial uses; and
• Incorporating natural elements that could
provide dual recreational use.

As a result of these community workshops,
the Vision, Guiding Principles, and Policies
in Chapter 3 were produced and concepts
for the the Blended Plan land use map and
development regulations were developed.

Staff also received numerous comment cards,
emails, and letters from various stakeholder
groups that spoke to the issues and concerns
outlined above, as well as concerns regarding
the impact that land use changes would have
on property owners and business owners in
the Plan Area. Comments received also spoke
to the desire for elements such as air quality,
contamination, traffic, and environmental
mitigation to be analyzed in the Environmental
Impact Report.

All community input was reviewed by City
staff and provided to the SCSP Advisory
Committee in order to refine the Blended
Plan land use map, overlay zone, development
standards, vision, guiding principles, policies,
and implementation strategies included in
this Plan. This version of the Plan was titled
the “Blended Plan” because it blended
elements that buffered sensitive uses, included
environmental protection measures, and
supported economic development. See
Appendix D.

Additional community workshops were
planned for March and April of 2020; however,
these workshops were cancelled due to
the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During this time community organizations
independently conducted small-scale, socially
distanced outreach with residents to capture
their input on land use. This effort resulted
in the community organizations putting
forth the Community Plan land use map and
development regulations (see Appendix D).

The community organizations submitted
these to the SCSP Advisory Committee for
consideration.

In response, the business community put
forth the Business Plan land use map and
development regulations (see Appendix D). The
business community submitted these to the
SCSP Advisory Committee for consideration.

Chapter 2: Planning Process & Community Engagement |
31 2.4 South Central Specific Plan
Advisory Committee
To help guide the Plan in a way that reflected
the needs of stakeholders in the Plan Area, the
City established an 11-member SCSP Advisory
Committee. The SCSP Advisory Committee
was comprised of residents, business
owners, property owners, a representative
of Orange Center Elementary School, and a
representative of the Malaga County Water
District. Every SCSP Advisory Committee
meeting was publicly noticed and open to
members of the public.

The SCSP Advisory Committee worked
together to incorporate the issues,
concerns, and aspirations of stakeholders
into their recommendations. At their final
meeting, the SCSP Advisory Committee
voted to recommend the adoption of the
vision, guiding principles, and policies
listed in Chapter 3. Additionally, the SCSP
Advisory Committee worked together to
provide a recommendation on land use and
development regulations. The deliberations
included consideration of the Blended
Plan, Community Plan, and Business Plan
Alternatives and their development standards.

The SCSP Advisory Committee was undecided
on which alternative to recommend to the
City and so they submitted all three to the City
for review. See Appendix D for maps, tables,
and development standards pertaining to all
three plan alternatives.

2.5 Selection of Preferred
Alternative
The City received the recommendations from
the SCSP Advisory Committee and then hired
EPS to conduct a Nonresidential Real Estate
Market Study (see Appendix A) for the Plan
Area to provide context to the Plan and EIR,
inform buildout projections, help the City
assess the viability of the three alternatives,
and inform the selection of a preferred
alternative. The Market Study concluded
that the Plan Area has an estimated demand
for about 350 acres of nonresidential space
through 2040, inclusive of heavy and light
industrial/flex, office, and neighborhood-
serving retail. The overwhelming majority
of this estimated demand, 302 acres, could
accommodate industrial development,
followed by 23 acres of neighborhood-serving
retail space, and 21 acres of office space.

Pursuant to City Council Resolution 2019-
235, the City compared each alternative
to determine which met the three primary
directives as stated in Section 2.2. The analysis
compared each alternative with the adopted
General Plan Planned Land Use Map and
Development Code Standards and utilized
the Market Study to ensure the preferred
alternative was economically feasible.

See Appendices A and D for supporting
documents. A summary of that analysis is
below.

Blended Plan Alternative Analysis
The Blended Plan Alternative consistency
with City Council Resolution No. 2019-135 is
evaluated below:

1. Establishes a reduced intensity land use/
zoning buffer and development standards
to minimize adverse effects on sensitive
uses that reflect resident and stakeholder
input. Consistent.
a. Reduces Heavy Industrial acreage
from 71% to 54% of the total Plan
Area.
b. Assigns residential land use
designation to all existing parcels
South Central Specific Plan
32 |
with residential uses in addition
to creating a small amount of
residential capacity.
c. Creates a Business Park/Regional
Business Park land use buffer
between industrial and sensitive
land uses to reduce environmental
impacts from new development.
d. Incorporates community and SCSP
Advisory Committee input (see
Sections 2.3 and 2.4).

2. Includes new land use designations,
policies, and implementation actions
specific to the Plan Area and includes
environmental features reflective of
community input. Consistent.
a. Provides new land use designations
specific to the Plan Area.
b. Provides a vision, guiding principles,
and policies specific to the Plan
Area.
c. Increases development
requirements to minimize health
impacts to sensitive uses.

3. Facilitates and promotes economic
development that advances community
priorities relating to industry type,
employment opportunities, job quality,
and community benefits. Consistent.
a. Adds Commercial (retail) and
Business Park (office) and maintains
Industrial land uses to provide for
growth in line with Market Study
conclusions.

Community Plan Alternative Analysis
The Community Plan Alternative consistency
with City Council Resolution No. 2019-135 is
evaluated below:

1. Establishes a reduced intensity land use/
zoning buffer and development standards
to minimize adverse effects on sensitive
uses that reflect resident and stakeholder
input. Partially Consistent.
a. Reduces land use intensity adjacent
to sensitive uses.
b. Assigns residential land use
designation to all parcels with
existing Residential uses in addition
to creating a small amount of new
residential capacity.
c. Creates a Commercial land use
buffer between industrial and
sensitive land uses to reduce
environmental impacts from new
development.
d. Public participation in the
development of these features
was not as broad as the Blended
Alternative.

2. Includes new land use designations,
policies, and implementation actions
specific to the Plan Area and includes
environmental features reflective of
community input. Consistent.
a. Provides new land use designations
specific to the Plan Area.
b. Provides a vision, guiding principles,
and policies specific to the Plan
Area.
c. Attempts to mitigate environmental
effects by eliminating most industrial
land uses and increasing the number
of prohibited uses in the Plan Area.

3. Facilitates and promotes economic
development that advances community
priorities relating to industry type,
employment opportunities, job quality,
and community benefits. Inconsistent.

Chapter 2: Planning Process & Community Engagement |
33 a. Nearly eliminates Heavy Industrial,
doubles Light Industrial, and
increases Commercial land uses
by 2,081 total acres, resulting in
legal non-conforming status for
1,246 acres of existing developed
industrial parcels.
b. Proposes 2,058 acres of Commercial
land use changes in excess of what is
forecast in the Market Study, which
would not foster healthy economic
development.
c. Proposes a 2,500 foot regulatory
buffer, compared to 1,000 feet for
the Blended and Business Plans
and triples the number of use
classifications prohibited within
the buffer compared to the other
alternatives. This could severely
restrict industrial development in
the Plan Area, which conflicts with
the Market Study.

Business Plan Alternative Analysis
The Business Plan Alternative consistency
with City Council Resolution No. 2019-135 is
evaluated below:

1. Establishes a reduced intensity land use/
zoning buffer and development standards
to minimize adverse effects on sensitive
uses that reflect resident and stakeholder
input. Inconsistent.
a. Replaces existing Business Park
buffers around existing residential
with more intense Heavy and Light
Industrial Land Uses.
b. Proposes no other land use changes
to reduce adverse impacts on
sensitive uses.
c. Public participation in the
development of these features
was not as broad as the Blended
Alternative.

2. Includes new land use designations,
policies, and implementation actions
specific to the Plan Area and includes
environmental features reflective of
community input. Partially Consistent.
a. Provides new land use designations
specific to the Plan Area.
b. Provides a vision, guiding principles,
and policies specific to the Plan
Area.
c. Increases development
requirements to minimize health
impacts to sensitive uses, but not
to the extent of the Blended Plan
Alternative.

3. Facilitates and promotes economic
development that advances community
priorities relating to industry type,
employment opportunities, job quality,
and community benefits. Partially
Consistent.
a. Maintains Industrial but reduces
Business Park (Office) and
Commercial (retail) land uses, which
conflicts with the Market Study.

Blended Plan Alternative Chosen
Following City Council Resolution 2019-235,
the City determined that the Blended Plan
Alternative was the only alternative consistent
with City Council direction. It also struck a
reasonable balance between the General
Plan’s goal for the Plan Area to develop
primarily as industrial and manufacturing to
attract high tech and well-paying jobs while
buffering sensitive uses from potential health
and environmental impacts of future industry.

The Blended Plan Alternative aligns with the
estimated non-residential demand for the
South Central Specific Plan
34 |
Plan Area through 2040 and leaves adequate
land flexibility to accommodate a range
of nonresidential land uses beyond 2040.

Additionally, the Blended Plan Alternative
proposes an overlay zone with increased
development standards to be applied to future
industrial development to further address
health and environmental concerns for
sensitive uses.

From here on out in the Plan, the Blended
Plan Alternative Planned Land Use map and
development standards are referred to as the
Plan or the Specific Plan Planned Land Use
map and development standards.

Chapter 2: Planning Process & Community Engagement |
35 Page left intentionally blank

3 Vision, Guiding
Principles, &
Policies

3.1 Introduction 38

3.2 Vision 38

3.3 Guiding Principles 41

3.4 Policies 42
Chapter 3: Vision, Guiding Principles & Policies |
37 CHAPTER 3:

VISION, GUIDING

PRINCIPLES, & POLICIES

3.1 Introduction
This Plan serves as a policy and regulatory
document that is a result of community
participation and input. The vision, guiding
principles, and policies serve as the foundation
of this Plan.

3.2 Vision
Vision Statement
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.

Maximize Economic Benefit
This Plan seeks to improve Fresno’s overall
economic competitiveness by supporting
employment opportunities for residents,
laying the groundwork for employers to
realize new development opportunities for
their businesses, and encouraging existing
established businesses to expand and thrive.

This Plan maximizes economic benefit in the
following ways:
• Aligns with City Council Resolution 2019-
235 to facilitate and promote economic
development that advances community
priorities related to industry type,
employment opportunities, job quality,
and community benefit. (See Sections 2.1,

2.2, and 2.5, and Appendix B)
• Provides CEQA streamlining for
development projects that are consistent
with the Plan through a certified
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the
Plan Area.
• Aligns with Fresno’s General Plan vision
for the Plan Area to develop primarily as
industrial and manufacturing to attract
high tech and well-paying jobs for its
residents. (See Section 1.7)
• Ensures businesses and landowners
can continue to pursue industrial
development in the Plan Area as planned
South Central Specific Plan
38 |
since the first General Plan identified
industrial land uses for the area in the
1956 Fresno General Plan and as early as
1918 in Charles Henry Cheney’s “Progress
of a City Plan for Fresno.” (See Section 1.1
and Chapter 4)
• Follows the Market Study forecast which
suggests the Plan Area could support
350 acres of nonresidential development
between 2022 and 2040 which equates
to at least 6 million building square feet.

The EIR assessed double that amount,
12 million square feet. Much of the
demand is for light and heavy industrial
and research and development/flex
space. This would be in addition to the
approximately 2,483 acres of industrial
land which equates to approximately 18.6
million square feet of existing industrial
building development in the Plan Area.
(See Sections 1.4, 1.5, and 2.5)
• Adds Commercial (retail) and Business
Park (office) to provide for growth in line
with the Market Study conclusions. (See
Chapter 4, and Appendix A)
• Allows for a diversity of employment
opportunities including an accessible and
resilient employment zone at the core of
the Plan Area. (See Chapter 4)
• Supports development by planning for
future circulation (vehicle roadways,
highway linkages, transit routes,
designated truck routes, railways, and
pedestrian and bicycle network), wet
(water supply, wastewater, storm water,
and irrigation) and dry (gas, electric, and
communication) utilities, and solid waste
infrastructure needs. (See Chapters 6, 7,
and 8)
• Planning for fiber optic broadband to
deploy faster, more reliable, and efficient
internet to the Plan Area benefits
businesses and residents. (See Section

7.5)
• Establishes diverse employment as a
guiding principle. (See Sections 3.3 and

8.3)
• Prioritizes Economic Development,
Job Training, and Employment as
implementing policy strategies
supported by policies E-1 through E-10.
(See Sections 3.4 and 8.3)
Reduce Impacts on the Environment
This Plan seeks to reduce the impacts on
the environment that can occur with new
development. Much of the demand for new
development in the Plan Area is for light
and heavy industrial, business park (office),
research and development/flex space, and a
small amount of commercial. Measures have
been created in this Plan and accompanying
EIR to address impacts on the environment
associated with new development.

This Plan reduces impacts on the environment
in the following ways:
• Aligns with City Council Resolution
2019-235 to incorporate relevant
environmental mitigation measures
reflective of community input and the
environmental analysis prepared for
the EIR and mitigation measures. (See
Sections 2.1, 2.2, and 2.5, Appendix B, and
EIR)
• Requires environmental mitigation
measures for future development
projects in the Plan Area to address
environmental impacts related to air
quality, noise, vibration, lighting and glare,
farmland preservation, soils, biological
resources, and construction, through a
certified EIR for the Plan Area. (See EIR)
Chapter 3: Vision, Guiding Principles & Policies |
39 • Incorporates upon adoption, the
reduction of truck routes in the Plan Area
from the South Central Fresno AB 617
Community Truck Reroute Study
• Proposes balancing anticipated
groundwater use with sufficient recharge
of imported surface water. (See Section

7.3)
• Establishes development standards that
reduce air quality impacts by reducing
truck emissions (truck idling and queuing
time), fossil fuel use (zero-net energy,
zero emission equipment, solar power,
EV charging stations and parking, and
electric plug-in for transport refrigeration
units), heat-island effect (solar-reflective
roof and pavement), and requiring a
recycling program, environmentally
responsible practices during construction
(highest rated CARB-tier technology, and
electric powered tools and equipment),
and facility operators to enroll in US EPA
SmartWay Program. (See Chapter 5)
• Establishes avoidance of environmental
and neighborhood impacts as a guiding
principle. (See Sections 3.3 and 8.3)
• Prioritizes Air Quality, Vehicle/Equipment
and Operation Standards, Light and
Glare, Green Barriers/Tree Coverage/
Beautification, Energy and Green
Building, Water, and Solid Waste and
Illegal Dumping as implementing policy
strategies supported by policies AQ-1
through AQ-11, N-1 through N-5, GB-1
though GB-8, EGB-1 through EGB-3, W-1
through W-6, and SW-1. (See Sections 3.4
and 8.3)
Improve Quality of Life
This Plan seeks to improve the quality of life
for sensitive uses in the Plan Area. Sensitive
uses in the Plan Area currently consist of
approximately 400 households with an
estimated population of 1,130 residents,
three education centers including one K-8
school, and five religious institutions. As new
development continues in the Plan Area,
this Plan strives to balance the needs of new
development with those of sensitive uses. This
Plan concurs with the Attorney General of
California, Rob Bonta, statement, “Economic
investment and economic prosperity can live
side-by-side with justice.”

This Plan improves quality of life for sensitive
uses in the Plan Area in the following ways:
• Aligns with City Council Resolution 2019-
235 to 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. (See Sections 2.1, 2.2, and 2.5, and
Appendix B)
• Decreases land use intensity of
undeveloped parcels surrounding
sensitive uses. (See Sections 2.5 and 4.4)
• Establishes development standards that
prohibit certain new industrial uses in
the Plan Area and prohibits some and
conditions other new industrial uses
within 1,000 feet of a sensitive use. (See
Chapter 5)
• Applies building setback, buffering, and
screening standards to new industrial
uses adjoining sensitive uses and setback
standards for new industrial uses facing
major public streets with employee and
visitor parking in the Plan Area. Some of
the standards include a 100-foot building
setback from the property line of an
adjacent sensitive use, 150-foot building
South Central Specific Plan
40 |
setback from major public street curb
line, 50-foot tree dense landscape buffer,
10-foot high screen wall at property line,
no loading docks, service yards, and truck
parking within setbacks. (See Chapter 5)
• Requires facility operators to submit
a Truck Routing Plan to and from the
State Highway System based on the
City’s latest Truck Route Map. Requires
an approved Property Management
Program for regular maintenance of
buildings, landscaping, and paved
surfaces in good condition. (See Chapter
5)
• Plans for future job creation, circulation,
infrastructure, broadband, fire protection,
and law enforcement, to improve
employment opportunities, safety, public
health and civic and educational access
elevates the quality of life for residents in
the Plan Area.
• Establishes being a good neighbor,
locating high intensity land uses
away from sensitive uses, providing a
diversity of employment opportunities,
buffering adjacent residences with
landscaping, avoiding environmental and
neighborhood impacts, and transforming
Highways 41 and 99 into aesthetically
pleasing gateways into the Plan Area as
guiding principles. (See Sections 3.3 and

8.3)
• Prioritizes Public Transit, Roadway
Improvements, Air Quality, Vehicle/
Equipment and Operation Standards,
Noise Standards, Light and Glare
measures, Green Barriers/Tree Coverage/
Beautification, Energy and Green
Building, Water, Solid Waste and Illegal
Dumping, Economic Development,
Job Training and Employment, Internet
Access and computer Literacy,
Community Benefit District, and Public
Noticing as implementing policy
strategies supported by all policies in
Sections 3.4. (See Sections 3.4 and 8.3)

3.3 Guiding Principles
Throughout the community engagement
process, stakeholders provided input
regarding their issues and concerns, as well
as potential solutions. The following guiding
principles are recommendations that were
drafted by the South Central Specific Plan
Advisory Committee and City staff to achieve
the shared vision:

1. Being a Good Neighbor
Neighboring uses should develop
and participate in a “Good Neighbor”
policy to provide neighbors with clear
and transparent access to information
regarding community development and
assist in addressing disputes or concerns.

2. High Intensity Land Uses in the Core
New development should be located
so that heavy industrial and other high
intensity uses are located away from
existing residential uses and other sensitive
uses.

3. Diverse Employment
Development creates a diverse
aggregation of employment opportunities,
including an accessible and resilient
employment zone.

4. Buffers for Existing Residential
Water efficient landscape buffers should
be established adjacent to existing
residential uses to reduce impacts on the
community.

5. Avoid Environmental and Neighborhood
Impacts
Existing development trends and
Chapter 3: Vision, Guiding Principles & Policies |
41 circulation patterns should be considered
to avoid potential environmental and
neighborhood impacts.

6. Highways 99 and 41 as Gateways
Highways 99 and 41 should be transformed
as gateways into the city. Landscaping and
architectural design can improve the visual
quality when entering the Plan Area.

3.4 Policies
Community workshops and Advisory
Committee meetings allowed for stakeholders
to share their issues and concerns, and work
toward potential solutions through policy. By
actively engaging stakeholders in the policy-
making process, the Advisory Committee
was able to gather valuable insights and
perspectives that informed the development
of its recommendations. The policies are
recommendations of the Advisory Committee
and serve as a guide for implementing the
Plan’s Vision and Guiding Principles. The
policies are grouped into the following
categories:

A. Transportation
B. Air Quality and Environmental Impacts
C. Employment/Community Development.

The commentary in italics following certain
policies is not part of the policy itself, but is
instead advisory and informational narrative
intended to clarify the policy.

A. Transportation Policies
Trucks
T-1: Establish and enforce truck routes to
avoid neighborhoods and consider
existing roadway capacities and
conditions.

T-2: Ensure truck routes are safe for
pedestrians and bicyclists.

T-3: Limit truck idling times.

Public Transit
T-4: Expand bus area service and frequency.

T-5: Provide van shuttles, transit and carpool
incentives, and bicycle parking for
employees.

Roadway Improvements
T-6: Help school districts implement a “safe
routes to school” program.

T-7: Build, repair, and maintain roads in good
condition.

T-8: Consider traffic calming studies.

T-9: Install traffic control or traffic safety
measures to include bike lanes.

T-10: Install street lighting for public safety
and visibility.

T-11: Install crosswalks and traffic calming
measures near schools.

T-12: Consider a funding mechanism to pre-
fund infrastructure improvements prior
to allowing development to occur.

T-13: Improve and maintain sidewalks.

B. Air Quality and Environmental
Impacts Policies
Air Quality
AQ-1: Require the installation of air filtration
systems in businesses to protect
homes and schools.

AQ-2: Request additional 24-hour air
monitors from the San Joaquin Valley
Air Pollution Control District around
distribution centers, major roads near
distribution centers, and at receptive
school districts.

AQ-3: Require the implementation of dust
reduction measures near sensitive
South Central Specific Plan
42 |
uses, including the installation of wind
barriers and regular street sweeping.

Vehicle/Equipment and Operation
Standards
AQ-4: Increase electric vehicle charging
stations and alternative fuel stations.

AQ-5: Seek out funding sources to assist
warehouses and industrial uses to
transition to near-zero emissions
technology.

AQ-6: Consider construction of near zero
fueling stations (i.e. CNG/Hydrogen).

AQ-7: Encourage commercial landscapers to
use electric gardening equipment such
as lawn mowers and leaf blowers.

AQ-8: Ensure loading docks and emission-
generating equipment are located
away from homes and schools.

AQ-9: Incentivize all construction equipment
to follow the “Construction Clean
Fleet” standards as identified by the
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control
District under Rule 9510 Indirect
Source Review (ISR).

AQ-10: Open a dialogue with businesses to
encourage changing warehouse shift
times so they do not overlap with
commute and school traffic times.

AQ-11: Conduct a traffic study during high
peak times (ex. Tuesday and Saturdays
due to Cherry Auction) to include
potential road widening plans.

Noise
N-1: Establish noise standards that are
protective of residential and other
noise-sensitive uses.

N-2: Identify noise-impacted areas in the
Plan Area.

Commentary: A noise impacted area
is an area that exceeds the City’s noise
standards.

N-3: Require the protection of noise-
impacted areas through effective noise
mitigation measures such as barriers,
berms, design and placement of
buildings, sound absorbing materials,
and vegetation.

N-4: Require new sources of noise to use the
best available technology to minimize
noise.

Commentary: New development
projects that generate noise in excess
of the noise thresholds will be subject to
this policy.

N-5: When designing and improving streets
and highways, consider measures to
reduce traffic noise.

Light and Glare
L-1: Require the incorporation of measures
such as shielding or dimming to reduce
outdoor lighting impacts.

Green Barriers/Tree Coverage/
Beautification
GB-1: Require buffers between new
industrial development and existing
neighborhoods.

GB-2: Require the installation of solid
barriers or vegetative buffers between
emissions sources and schools,
daycares, medical offices, and homes.

GB-3: Require the increased coverage of
parking lots to avoid the “heat island
effect”.

GB-4: Create a Green Street Tree Planting
Program, prioritizing areas with few
trees.

GB-5: Coordinate with Tree Fresno on a
Community Landscapes Plan.

GB-6: Support dual use of drainage facilities
such as ponding basins and canals.

GB-7: Establish landscaping and site design
Chapter 3: Vision, Guiding Principles & Policies |
43 standards for new businesses and
industry, especially next to existing
neighborhoods.

GB-8: Transform Highways 99 and 41 into
gateways into the Plan Area through
landscaping and architectural design.

Energy and Green Building
EGB-1: Require the reduction of energy
consumption and promote energy
efficiency through education,
conservation programs, building
design/operation standards, and
incentive programs.

EGB-2: Incentivize private solar installations by
providing information about financing
and by expediting the permit process.

EGB-3:Encourage installation of solar panels,
battery storage, and zero-emission
backup electricity generators at
distribution centers.

Water
W-1: Protect groundwater and surface
water by regulating sewage disposal
facilities and preventing contaminating
uses.

W-2: Implement a periodic water quality
testing program in areas where
contamination has been an issue.

W-3: Provide supplemental water
resources to areas already impacted
by groundwater quality and quantity
degradation.

W-4: Identify funding tools to expand water
system access in and near the Plan
Area.

W-5: Require new development to
implement water conservation
measures and to contribute towards
expanded and upgraded facilities.

W-5: Reduce water consumption through
education, conservation standards,
landscaping standards, retrofit
programs, and incentive programs.

W-6: Seek funding to expand water facilities
to neighbors within the Plan Area.

Solid Waste and Illegal Dumping
SW-1: Establish community sanitation
programs to address litter clean-up
and illegal dumping.

C. Employment/Community
Development Policies
Economic Development
E-1: Coordinate a regional economic
development strategy and monitor
trends, emerging markets, new
technologies, and the region’s
workforce preparedness programs.

E-2: Implement programs to attract diverse
new businesses and industries.

E-3: Consider establishing a funding/grant
program for small businesses.

E-4: Develop incentives to attract lower
emission and greener industries.

E-5: Promote the development of renewable
energy-powered eco-industrial/
circular manufacturing industry parks
with advanced and value-added
manufacturing, fabrication, assembly,
technology, and logistics.

E-6: Pursue opportunities to attract new
manufacturing sectors into the Plan
Area, particularly renewable energy and
zero and near-zero emission vehicle
components.

Job Training and Employment
E-7: Promote job training programs such
as Career Technical Education, adult
education, internships, mentoring, and
South Central Specific Plan
44 |
apprenticeships including local, state,
and federally approved apprenticeship
programs.

E-8: Connect businesses with training,
education, and local community
partners.

E-9: Connect residents to existing
training programs and to jobs in their
neighborhoods.

E-10: Locate a new job training center
accessible to job seekers.

E-11: Collaborate with Fresno City College
and local education institutions to
establish a job training program that
can serve as a source of readily-
employable persons for surrounding
businesses.

E-12: Prioritize hiring local residents.

E-13: Encourage the use of local workforce
and business development sourcing
in the Plan Area to generate quality
construction and service jobs, provide
career pathways and job-training
opportunities for the local workforce,
and pay area standard wages for
construction so that expenditures
used in the construction of these
developments are reinvested into the
local economy.

E-14: Maximize the City’s public
financing tools and opportunities
for enhancement to fund various
economic development initiatives.

Internet Access and Computer Literacy
E-15: Increase public access to quality
internet service.

E-16: Prioritize fiber connectivity in the Plan
Area.

E-17: Develop computer literacy programs
and assist with online job applications.

Community Benefit District
CBD-1: Consider a Community Benefit
Fund to pay for measures such as
air filtration systems, dual-paned
windows, parks, job training programs,
and job fairs near the Plan Area.

CBD-2: Encourage business and residential
partnerships to assist in increasing
communication and transparency
and to provide a mechanism to raise
concerns.

CBD-3: Investigate opportunities to develop
resilient green buffers between
existing industrial and residential uses.

CBD-4: Seek out funding to pay for dual-use
ponding basins and green areas.

CBD-5: Research community benefit
agreements around the country to
determine how they could work and
be funded in this Plan Area.

Public Noticing
PN-1: Establish new noticing requirements
for all project types.

Chapter 3: Vision, Guiding Principles & Policies |
45 4
Chapter 4: Land Use |
47 Land
Use

4.1 Introduction 48

4.2 Land Use Planning in the Plan Area 48

4.3 Current Geography 49

4.4 Planned Land Use 57
South Central Specific Plan
48 |
CHAPTER 4:

LAND USE

4.1 Introduction
This chapter describes the basis for planning
in the Plan Area, existing land use conditions,
and proposed planned land uses that
seek to achieve the Plan’s vision, guiding
principles, and policies. Upon adoption, this
Plan will amend the General Plan to provide
consistency and any land within the city limits
will be rezoned to match the new planned
land use designation.

This Land Use chapter, along with the
Development Standards in Chapter 5, provide
a regulating framework that governs the land
uses and types of development within the
Plan Area, as well as the interface conditions
between the private and public realm. The
land use plan is supplemented by a regulating
plan overlay zone. The South Central
Overlay Zone imposes additional regulatory
requirements to continue with development
in the Plan Area in a way that is thoughtful to
sensitive uses. Within 60 days of the effective
date of the Plan, a rezone to apply the SCSP
Overlay Zone District to all parcels within the
Plan Area and a text amendment reflecting
the Plan as adopted will be brought for City
Council consideration.

4.2 Land U se Planning in the
P lan Area
As the population in Fresno grows, the need to
create more job opportunities increases, and
land must be identified and available to meet
these demands.

Planning Area
The City’s General Plan Planning Area is the
overall geographic area for which the General
Plan and all subsequent plans, including this
Plan, establishes policies about future urban
growth, and natural resource conservation.

Policies for future growth include adopted
planned land uses for every property in the
city and are displayed in a planned land use
map.

As stated in the General Plan, the boundary
of the Planning Area was determined by City
staff, and initiated by City Council, in response
to State law requiring each City to include
in its General Plan all territory within the
boundaries of the incorporated area as well as
“any land outside its boundaries which in the
planning agency’s judgment bears relation
to its planning” (California Government Code
Section 65300).

Chapter 4: Land Use |
49 Sphere of Influence
The Planning Area, as it pertains to this Plan, is
contiguous with Fresno’s sphere of influence
(SOI). Fresno’s SOI is a geographic boundary
that encompasses land within Fresno’s city
limits and land outside the city limits in the
county of Fresno. The land outside the city
limits is anticipated to be annexed into the city
limits over time, although until annexed it falls
under the jurisdiction of the County of Fresno.

Fresno’s SOI is determined by the Fresno
Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo),
which is an entity empowered to review and
approve proposed boundary changes and
annexations by incorporated municipalities.

In the Plan Area the SOI encompasses 8.7
square miles in total, of which 5 square miles
are within city limits, and 3.7 square miles are
within the county of Fresno. See Figure 1-2.

4.3 Current Geography
Existing Land Use
Before planning land uses, it is important to
understand how the land has been developed
thus far in this Plan Area. Existing land uses
in the Plan Area include a mix of industrial
and commercial developments, dispersed
residential, public facilities, open space, and
vacant land (see Figure 4-1). Heavy industrial
(42%), open space (27%), vacant land (11%),
and light industrial (9%) are the predominant
existing land uses in the Plan Area (see Table
4-1). Agriculture makes up 85% of the open
space with the rest consisting of ponding
basins for surface water runoff and recharge
to the aquifer and canals. The remaining 11%
of the Plan Area is comprised of residential,
commercial, and public facility land uses.

For a better understanding of the developable
land potential in the Plan Area see Figures 4-2
and 4-3 and Table 4.2. These figures provide
information as of September 2022. Figure 4.2
is an aerial image of the Plan Area showing
land that has been developed on and land that
is vacant or agricultural. Figure 4-3 represents
land that has been developed and land that
is undeveloped in the Fresno city limits and
in the county of Fresno. Undeveloped land
is comprised of vacant and agricultural
open space parcels. Table 4.2 clarifies the
development potential for this undeveloped
land based on planned land use designations
and offers a comparison between the Specific
Plan and the adopted General Plan. There are
609 acres of land within Fresno’s city limits,
1,065 acres within the county of Fresno, and
a total of 1,674 acres within the Plan Area.

The Specific Plan offers a balance between
Business and Regional Business Park and Light
and Heavy Industrial as well as provides for
necessary commercial growth.

Image of commercial buildings along North Ave. in
the Plan Area.
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v
oa
pge
oa
oa
oa
obp
oaobp
oa
oa
v
oaps
pc
v
v
obp
v
v
oa
oa
oa
v
pf v
obp
psv oa
oa
oa
es
v voa
oa
ch
oa obp
v
ch
obp
oa
hsr
osc
v
obp v
v
obp
v
oa
obp oa
pf
v
v v
osc
oa
oa
v
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hsr
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osc
v oa
oa
oa
v
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v
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oa
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obp
v
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ps
obp
v
v
pge v
os
v
pge
ps
v
ps
v
po
obp
v
v
pf
ps
vv
v
v
v
obp
osc
ps
osc
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pf
v
v
obp
fs
obp pf
v
v
ch v
v
oscv
hsr
pge
v
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FIGURE 4-1: EXISTING LAND USE
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Residential
Rural Residential
Low Density
Medium Low Density
Medium Density
Medium High Density
High Density
Commercial
Community
General Heavy
Neighborhood
Employment
Office
Light Industrial
Heavy Industrial
Open Space
Open Space (os)
Open Space/ag (oa)
Open Space/Canal (osc)
Ponding Basin (obp)
Public Facilities
Post Office (po)
College (pc)
Church (ch)
Elementary School (es)
Fire Station (fs)
PG&E Substation (pge)
Public Facility (pf)
Pump Station (ps)
Undesignated
Rail Road (r)
High Speed Rail (hsr)
Parking (cp)
Vacant Parcel (v)
Legend
Fresno Sphere of Influence
Fresno City Limits
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
South Central Specific Plan
50 |
Figure 4-1 : Existing Land Use
Chapter 4: Land Use |
51 Table 4-1: Existing Land Use Acreages in the Plan Area as of September 2022 Existing Land
Use
Residential
Fresno City
Acreage %
25 1
< 1 < 1
29 1
201 7
1588 57
31 1
4 < 1
309 11
396 14
207 7
2790 100
Fresno County
Acreage %
57 3
160 7
0 0
226 10
468 22
35 2
< 1 0
999 46
170 8
35 2
2150 100
Total Plan Area
Acreage %
82 2
160 3
29 < 1
427 9
2056 42
66 1
4 < 1
1308 27
566 11
242 5
4940 100
Rural Residential
Commercial
Light Industrial
Heavy Industrial
Public Facilities
Streets
Open Space*
Vacant
Other
T otal
Source: City of Fresno Planning and Development Department GIS Note: the Total 4,940 acres is for land use properties only and does not include street right-of-ways. The entire Plan Area with street right-of-ways is 5,567 acres (8.7 square miles)

* includes agriculture
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CHURCH
NORTH
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VAN NESS
FIG
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MALAGA
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FIGURE 4-2: AERIAL
[
South Central Specific Plan
Sources: Copyright nearmap 2023; City of Fresno GIS Data Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Fresno City Limits
Fresno Sphere of Influence
South Central Specific Plan
52 |
Figure 4-2: Aerial
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CHESTNUT
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99 41
41 99
FIGURE 4-3: DEVELOPED AND UNDEVELOPED SITES
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Fresno City Limits
Fresno Sphere of Influence
Fresno County Undeveloped
Fresno County Developed
Fresno City Undeveloped
Fresno City Developed
Chapter 4: Land Use |
53 Figure 4-3: Developed and Undeveloped Land
South Central Specific Plan
54 |
Table 4-2: Full Development Acreage Capacity for the Plan Area in September 2022
Adopted General Plan
Planned Land Use
Designation
Vacant and Agricultural Land
Fresno City Fresno County T otal Plan Are
Acres % Acres % Acres %
a
Residential 1 <1 0 0 1 <1
0 5
15 14
65 1
1 100
Commercial 0 0 0 0 0
Business Park <1 <1 80 8 80
Regional Business Park 0 0 252 24 252
Light Industrial 33 5 194 18 227
Heavy Industrial 570 94 515 48 1085
Public Facility 5 1 11 1 16
Open Space
Total
<1 <1 13 1 13
609 100 1065 100 1674
Planned Land Use
Specific Plan
Vacant and Agricultural Land
Fresno City Fresno County T otal Plan Area
Acres % Acres % Acres %
Designation
Residential 5
4 64
0 220
310
5 <1
609
1 1
11 0
36 51
1 <1
100
31 21
502
250
78 121
49 13
1065
3 2
47 24
7 11
5 1
100
36 25
566
250
298
431
54 13
1674
2 2
34 15
18 26
3 1
100
Commercial
Business Park
Regional Business Park
Light Industrial
Heavy Industrial
Public Facility
Open Space
Total
Source: City of Fresno Planning and Development Department GIS Chapter 4: Land Use |
55 Farmland
Data from the California Department of
Conservation (2020), as shown in Figure 4-4,
reveals approximately 60% of the land within
the Plan Area is developed while the other
40% is Farmland. There are approximately
1,520 acres of land designated as farmland
in the Plan Area, though not all of it is being
farmed currently. Approximately 975 acres is
designated Prime Farmland, 7 acres Farmland
of State Importance, and no acres of Unique
Farmland.

Williamson Act
There are six properties, approximately 153
acres, within the Plan Area that are currently
participating in the Williamson Act program.

These are lands with a 10-year contract
between the owner of land and the County of
Fresno, whereby the land is
taxed based on its agricultural use rather than
the market value. The land becomes subject
to certain enforceable restrictions, and certain
conditions need to be met prior to approval
of an agreement. The program, as laid out
in the California Land Conservation Act of
1965, is designed as an incentive to retain
prime agricultural land and open space in
agricultural use, thereby slowing its conversion
to urban and suburban development.

Image of farmland located on the corner of Cedar Ave. and American Ave. ·|}þ
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FIGURE 4-4: FARMLAND
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data and California Department of Conservation 2020 Important Farmland Data Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend
Important Farmland
Nonagricultural and Natural Vegetation
Semi-Agricultural and Rural Commercial Land
Vacant or Disturbed Land
Rural Residential Land
Urban and Built-Up Land
Prime Farmland
Farmland of Statewide Importance
Unique Farmland
Farmland of Local Importance
Williamson Act
Fresno Sphere of Influence Fresno
City Limits
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
South Central Specific Plan
56 |
Figure 4-4: Farmland
Chapter 4: Land Use |
57 4.4 Planned Land Use
Land Use Designations
Table 4-3 defines the land use designations
within the Plan Area as provided in the Fresno
General Plan. Each designation includes
the densities allowed and a description. The
densities are either given in dwelling units
per acre (DU/Acre) for residential or floor area
ratio (FAR) for non-residential. FAR is defined
as the permitted ratio of gross floor area to
site area.

Table 4-3: General Plan Land Use Designations
General Plan
Designation
Residential -
Low Density
Residential –
Medium Low
Density
Residential –
Medium Density
Residential –
Medium High
Density
Density/
Intensity
1 – 3.5 DU/Acre

3.5 - 6 DU/Acre
5 – 12 DU/Acre
12 – 16 DU/Acre
Description
The Low Density Residential designation is intended
to provide for large-lot residential development. Low
Density Residential allows one to 3.5 housing units
per acre. The resulting land use pattern is large-lot
residential in nature, such as rural residential.

The Medium Low Density designation is intended
to provide for single family detached housing with
densities of 3.5 to 6 units per acre.

Medium Density residential covers developments of
5 to 12 units per acre and is intended for areas with
predominantly single-family residential development,
but can also accommodate a mix of housing types,
including small-lot starter homes, zero-lot line
developments, duplexes, and townhouses. Much of
the City’s established neighborhoods fall within this
designation.

Medium High Density residential is intended for
neighborhoods with a mix of single-family residences,
townhomes, garden apartments, and multi-family
units intended to support a fine-grain, pedestrian
scale.

The Neighborhood Mixed-Use designation
provides for mixed-use residential uses that include
local-serving, pedestrian-oriented commercial
development, such as convenience shopping and
12 DU/Acre professional offices in two- to three-story buildings.

Neighborhood minimum Development is expected to include ground-floor Mixed-Use neighborhood retail uses and upper-level housing or FAR 1.5 offices, with a mix of small -lot single-family houses, townhomes, and multi-family dwelling units on
side streets, in a horizontal or vertical mixed-use
orientation. Residential are a minimum of 12 dwelling
units per acre and the maximum FAR is 1.5.

The Commercial - General designation allows
for a wide range of commercial uses that are not
appropriate in other areas because of higher volumes
of vehicle traffic and potential adverse impacts on
Commercial - General FAR 2.0 other uses. Examples of allowable uses include:
building materials, storage facilities with active
storefronts, equipment rental, wholesale businesses,
and specialized retail not normally found in shopping
centers.

The Business Park designation provides for office/
business parks in campus-like settings that are well
suited for large offices or multi-tenant buildings.

This designation is intended to accommodate
and allow for the expansion of small businesses.

Given its proximity to residential uses, only limited
Employment –
Business Park FAR 1.0
outdoor storage will be permitted, while adequate
landscaping is imperative to minimize the visual
impacts. Typical land uses include research and
development, laboratories, administrative and general
offices, medical offices and clinics, professional
offices, prototype manufacturing, testing, repairing,
packaging, and printing. No free-standing retail is
permitted, except for small uses serving businesses
and employees.

Chapter 4: Land Use |
59 Employment –
Regional
Business Park
Employment –
Light Industrial
FAR 1.0
FAR 1.5
The Regional Business Park designation is intended
for large or campus-like office and technology
development that includes office, research and
development, manufacturing, and other large-scale,
professional uses, with limited and properly screened
outdoor storage. Permitted uses include incubator-
research facilities, prototype manufacturing, testing,
repairing, packaging, and printing, as well as offices
and research facilities. Small-scale retail and service uses serving local employees and visitors are
permitted as secondary uses.

The Light Industrial designation accommodates
a diverse range of light industrial uses, including
limited manufacturing and processing, research
and development, fabrication, utility equipment
and service yards, wholesaling, warehousing, and
distribution activities. Small-scale retail and ancillary office uses are also permitted. Light Industrial areas
Employment –
Heavy Industrial
Public Facilities
Open Space
FAR 1.5
NA
NA
may serve as buffers between Heavy Industrial and
other land uses and otherwise are generally located in
areas with good transportation access, such as along
railroads and State Routes.

The Heavy Industrial designation accommodates
the broadest range of industrial uses including
manufacturing, assembly, wholesaling, distribution,
and storage activities that are essential to the
development of a balanced economic base. Small-
scale commercial services and ancillary office uses are also permitted.

The Public Facilities designation applies to public
facilities, such as fire and police stations, City-
operated recycling centers, and sewage treatment
plants. An example of a public facility located in the
Plan Area is City of Fresno Fire Station #7.

The Open Space designations (Parks and Recreational
Facilities; Other Public Open Space) apply to open
space areas that are not parks or trails, such as
ponding basins.

South Central Specific Plan
60 |
Planned Land Uses
The proposed planned land uses for the Plan
Area are depicted in Figure 4-5. Figure 4-6 is
the adopted General Plan planned land use
map for comparison. Figure 4-7 shows the
parcels with planned land use designations
under this Plan that are proposed to change
the adopted General Plan. Table 4-4 provides
a comparison between the planned land
designation acres for the adopted General
Plan with this Plan.

See Sections 2.5 and 3.2 for descriptions of
the positive effects of the proposed Plan land
use changes.

Dual Planned Land Uses
Consistent with the Fresno General Plan,
planned parks, open space, and public
facilities on vacant land carry dual land
use designations. The dual land use allows
for an alternative land use to develop if it
is determined that parks, open space, and
public facilities are not needed. Development
consistent with zoning and development
standards may be approved.

The dual land use designations for the Plan
Area are shown in Figure 4-8. There are no
changes proposed to the dual planned land
use designations mapped in the General Plan.

Table 4-4: Planned Land Use Acreages in September 2022
Planned Land Use
Designation
Adopted
General Plan Specific Plan
Acres % Acres %
Heavy Industrial 3,486 71 2,650 54
General Commercial 10 <1 47 <1
Light Industrial 685 14 715 14
Business Park 144 3 653 13
Single Family Residential 30 <1 270 5
Regional Business Park 350 7 333 7
Public 42 <1 78 2
Open Space – Ponding Basin 158 3 158 3
Rail 32 <1 32 <1
Open Space – Neighborhood Park 3 <1 3 <1
Neighborhood Mixed-Use 0.25 <1 0.25 <1
T otal 4,940 100 4,940 100
Note: the Total 4,940 acres is for land use properties only and does not include street right-of-ways. The entire Plan Area with street right-of-ways is 5,567 acres (8.7 square miles) Source: City of Fresno Planning and Development Department GIS

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PG&E
PG&E
PG&E
c
ch
ps
po
ps
obp
obp
obp
fs
fs
obp
obp
obp
obp
obp
obp
obp
obp
orpn
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FIGURE 4-5: SPECIFIC PLAN PLANNED LAND USE
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend

RESIDENTIAL
Low Density
Medium Low Density
Medium Density

COMMERCIAL
General

EMPLOYMENT
Regional Business Park
Light Industrial
Heavy Industrial

MIXED USE

OPEN SPACE

PUBLIC FACILITIES UNDESIGNATED
Rail
Ponding Basin (obp)
Neighborhood Park (orpn)
*Note: The only Neighborhood Mixed Use is
located southwest of the Jensen and Ceder
Avenues intersection at 3990 E. Calwa Avenue
e
Fresno Sphere of Influence
Fresno City Limits
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Church (ch)
Post Office (po)
PG&E Substation (PG&E)
Pump Station (ps)
Fire Station (fs)
Elementary School (e)
College (c)
Business Park Neighborhood Mixed Use*
Chapter 4: Land Use |
61 Figure 4-5: Specific Plan Planned Land Use
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fs
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orpn
obp
orpn
obp
obp
obp
obp
obp
obp
obp
obp
obp
obp
obp
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PG&E
PG&E
PG&E
e
po
FIGURE 4-6: ADOPTED GENERAL PLAN PLANNED LAND USE
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles

RESIDENTIAL
Medium Density

COMMERCIAL
General

EMPLOYMENT
Business Park
Regional Business Park
Light Industrial
Heavy Industrial

MIXED USE
Neighborhood Mixed Use*

OPEN SPACE
Ponding Basin (obp)
Neighborhood Park (orpn)

PUBLIC FACILITIES
Public Facility (pf)
Elementary School (e)
PG&E Substation (PG&E)
Fire Station (fs)

UNDESIGNATED
Rail
Legend
Fresno Sphere of Influence
Fresno City Limits
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Post Office (po)
*Note: The only Neighborhood Mixed Use is located
southwest of the Jensen and Ceder Avenues
intersection at 3990 E. Calwa Avenue
South Central Specific Plan
62 |
Figure 4-6: Adopted General Plan Planned Land Use
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FIGURE 4-7: ADOPTED GENERAL PLAN PARCELS CHANGING BY THE SPECIFIC PLAN LAND USE [
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend

RESIDENTIAL
Low Density
Medium Low Density
Medium Density

COMMERCIAL
General

EMPLOYMENT
Business Park
Light Industrial

PUBLIC FACILITIES
Public Facility
Fresno Sphere of Influence
Fresno City Limits
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Chapter 4: Land Use |
63 Figure 4-7: Adopted General Plan Land Use Changing
by the Specific Plan Planned Land Use
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AMERICAN
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FIGURE 4-8: DUAL PLANNED LAND USE DESIGNATION
[
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Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
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EMPLOYMENT
Business Park
Regional Business Park
Fresno Sphere of Influence
Fresno City Limits
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
South Central Specific Plan
64 |
Figure 4-8: Dual Planned Land Use
Chapter 4: Land Use |
65 Page left intentionally blank.

5 Development
Standards

5.1 Development Regulations 68
Chapter 5: Development Standards |
67 CHAPTER 5:

DEVELOPMENT

STANDARDS

5.1 Development Regulations
This chapter describes the use regulations,
permit requirements, and development
standards proposed by this Plan. Upon
adoption of this Plan, an amendment to the
Development Code will be presented for
consideration to provide consistency with this
Plan. The amendment to the Development
Code will include the overlay zone and the
development standards and regulations as
outlined in this chapter. These regulations,
requirements, and standards will govern all
future private development actions in the Plan
Area, including new construction, additions,
and renovations to existing structures and/
or new land uses proposed for existing
facilities as described in Fresno Municipal
Code Section 15-104. These regulations do
not supersede regulations for legal non-
conforming uses, structures, site features or
lots, as described in Chapter 15, Article 4 of the
Fresno Municipal Code.

South Central Overlay Zone
One overlay zone will be used to ensure
development compatibility with the sensitive
uses in the Plan Area. The proposed South
Central Overlay Zone is to be applied over
each zoning district in the Plan Area, adding
a layer of development standards and use
regulations within the defined overlay
boundary (see Figure 5-1).

The SCSP Overlay Zone utilizes a buffer as
represented in Figure 5-2, to separate certain
industrial uses from sensitive uses by a 1,000
foot distance to reduce conflicts. For the
purpose of this Plan, sensitive uses are defined
as residences, schools, religious institutions,
playgrounds, child-care centers, hospitals,
retirement homes, and convalescent homes.

Figure 5-2 represents sensitive uses as of
October 25, 2024. For new development,
buffers will be applied to sensitive uses
existing at the time the application is deemed
complete.

South Central Specific Plan
68 |

Image of North Pointe Business Park industrial
landscaping setback in Plan Area.
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Copyright nearmap 2015
FIGURE 5-1: SOUTH CENTRAL OVERLAY ZONE
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
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Legend
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Fresno City Limits
Fresno Sphere of Influence
South Central Overlay Zone
Chapter 5: Development Standards |
69 Figure 5-1: South Central Overlay Zone
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fs
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obp
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obp
obp
orpn
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FIGURE 5-2: SPECIFIC PLAN PLANNED LAND USE AND BUFFER
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
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Legend

RESIDENTIAL
Low Density
Medium Low Density
Medium Density

COMMERCIAL
General

EMPLOYMENT
Regional Business Park
Light Industrial
Heavy Industrial

MIXED USE

OPEN SPACE

PUBLIC FACILITIES

UNDESIGNATED
Rail
Ponding Basin (obp)
Neighborhood Park (orpn)
*Note: The only Neighborhood Mixed Use is
located southwest of the Jensen and Ceder
Avenues intersection at 3990 E. Calwa Avenue
e
Church (ch)
1,000 Foot Buffer of Sensitive Uses
Fresno Sphere of Influence Fresno
City Limits
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Business Park
Elementary School (e)
College (c)
Fire Station (fs)
Pump Station (ps)
PG&E Substation (PG&E)
Post Office (po)
Neighborhood Mixed Use*
South Central Specific Plan
70 |
Figure 5-2: Specific Plan Planned Land Use and Buffer
Chapter 5: Development Standards |
71 Development Regulations
This Plan proposes the following for parcels
within the SCSP Overlay Zone District (see
Figure 5-1):

1. Prohibit the following use classifications:
• Rendering
• Sales Lot, Feed Lot, Stockyard
• Slaughterhouse

2. Prohibit the following use classifications
within 1,000 feet of a sensitive use (see
Figure 5-2):
• Shooting/Archery Range
• Service Station
• Intensive Industrial
• Salvage and Wrecking
• Warehousing, Storage, and Distribution:

Chemical and Mineral Storage
• Freight/Truck Terminals and
Warehouses
• Waste Transfer Facility
• Agricultural Processing
• Mining and Quarrying
If any portion of a parcel is within the 1,000
foot buffer of a sensitive use, the entire
parcel will be subject to this requirement.

3. Require a Conditional Use Permit (CUP)
for the following use classifications that
fall within 1,000 feet of a sensitive use (see
Figure 5-2):
• Motorcycle/Riding Club
• Construction and Material Yards
• Limited Industrial
○ Dry cleaning plants would not be
permitted
• General Industrial
• Warehousing, Storage, and Distribution:

Indoor Warehousing and Storage*
• Warehousing, Storage, and Distribution:

Outdoor Storage*
• Warehousing, Storage, and Distribution:

Wholesaling and Distribution*
* Must meet CARB criteria for zero or near
zero emission vehicles6 as defined in CA
Sustainable Freight Action Plan (July 2016)
and zero- or near zero-emission facilities as
defined in the SCSP Glossary.

If any portion of a parcel is within the 1,000
foot buffer of a sensitive use, the entire
parcel will be subject to this requirement.

4. Building setback standards shall apply
to all of the following uses that adjoin a
sensitive use (see Figure 5-3): all uses
within the 1) Industrial Use Classifications;
2) Transportation, Communication, and
Utilities Use Classifications; 3) Agricultural
and Extraction Use Classifications
excluding Agricultural Labor Housing, Crop
Cultivation (without buildings), Produce
Stand, and Urban Farm (without buildings);
and 4) Motorcycle/ Riding Club. The
building setback standards will only apply
to that portion of the adjoining parcel that
is within the 1,000-foot buffer of a sensitive
use (see Figure 5-2). The following are the
building setback standards:
a. The buildings should be setback a
minimum of 100 feet when sharing the
same property line.
b. A wall or screen should be placed on
the property line that is a minimum of
10 feet tall and be opaque for visual
obscurity. Blank concrete or CMU
walls without piers, caps and finishes
are not allowed.
c. The minimum 50-foot landscape
buffer should include a tree canopy
6 California Code , Health and Safety Code - HSC Section 44258 South Central Specific Plan
72 |
Figure 5-3: Shared Property Line Setback
Figure 5-4: Fronting a Major Arterial or Collector Street Condition

Chapter 5: Development Standards |
73 density that covers 100 percent of
the buffer area within 10 years of
planting. Native trees, shrubs, and
groundcovers should be selected over
ornamental species. The property
owner and any successors in interest
shall maintain these trees for the
duration of ownership, ensuring any
unhealthy or dead trees are replaced
timely as needed.
d. All landscaping shall be drought
tolerant, and to the extent feasible,
species with low biogenic emissions.

Palm trees shall not be utilized.

e. All landscaping areas shall be properly
irrigated for the life of the facility to
allow for plants and trees to maintain
growth.
f. Uses within the 100-foot setback
and outside of the landscape buffer
area can include a fire lane and if
necessary, limited employee parking,
but no visitor parking or public entries,
loading docks, service yards, trash
areas/disposal, or truck parking and
idling.

5. Buildings that face collector and arterial
streets and require employee and visitor
parking and entries, shall be setback a
minimum of 150 feet from the curb line
of the adjoining street (see Figure 5-4). In
this circumstance, the following standards
should apply:
a. A 45-foot minimum landscape buffer
shall be provided from the back of the
public sidewalk to a low wall or fence
screen that hides the car parking lot.

The height of the wall or fence should
be no less than 3 feet. Company
signage can be incorporated into the
wall as it faces the public right of way.
b. The landscaped buffer area should
include 100 percent tree canopy
coverage within 10 years of planting.

Native trees, shrubs and groundcovers
should be selected over ornamental
species.
c. No loading docks, service yards,
trash areas, truck parking or idling is
permitted.

6. Additional development standards apply
to all Warehouse, Storage, and Distribution
use classifications:

Buffering & Screening
a. A solid decorative wall(s) of at least 10’
in height between warehouses & all
sensitive uses.
b. Unless physically impossible, loading
docks and truck entries shall be
oriented away from abutting sensitive
uses.
c. To the greatest extent feasible, loading
docks, truck entries, and truck drive
aisles shall be located away from nearby
sensitive uses. In making feasibility
decisions, the City must comply with
existing laws and regulations and
balance public safety and the site
development’s potential impacts
to nearby sensitive uses. Therefore,
loading docks, truck entries, and drive
aisles may be located near sensitive
uses at the discretion of the Planning
Director, but any such site design shall
include measures designed to minimize
overall impacts to nearby sensitive uses.
d. For any Warehouse building larger
than 400,000 square feet in size, the
South Central Specific Plan
74 |
building’s loading docks shall be located
a minimum of 300 feet away, measured
from the property line of the sensitive
uses to the nearest dock door (which
does not exclusively serve electric
trucks) using a direct straight-line
method.

Signage & Traffic Patterns
e. Entry gates into the loading dock/truck
court area shall be positioned after a
minimum of 140 feet of total available
stacking depth inside the property line.

The stacking distance shall be increased
by 70 feet for every 20 loading docks
beyond 50 docks. Queuing, or circling of
vehicles, on public streets immediately
pre- or post-entry to an industrial
commerce facility is strictly prohibited
unless queuing occurs in a deceleration
lane or right turn lane exclusively
serving the facility.
f. Applicants shall obtain approval of
all turning templates to verify truck
turning movements at entrance and
exit driveways and street intersection
adjacent to industrial buildings prior to
entitlement approval.
g. Anti-idling signs indicating a 3-minute
diesel truck engine idling restriction
shall be posted at industrial commerce
facilities along entrances to the site and
in the dock areas and shall be strictly
enforced by the facility operator.
h. Prior to issuance of certificate of
occupancy, facility operators shall
establish and submit for approval of
a Truck Routing Plan to and from the
State Highway System based on the
City’s latest Truck Route Map.
• The plan shall describe the
operational characteristics of
the use of the facility operator,
including, but not limited to, hours
of operations, types of items to
be stored within the building, and
proposed truck routing to and from
the facility to designated truck
routes that avoids passing sensitive
uses, to the greatest extent possible.
• The plan shall include measures,
such as signage and pavement
markings, queuing analysis and
enforcement, for preventing truck
queuing, circling, stopping, and
parking on public streets.
• Facility operator shall be responsible
for enforcement of the plan.
• A revised plan shall be submitted
prior to a business license being
issued by the City for any new tenant
of the property.
• The Planning Director shall have
discretion to determine if changes
to the plan are necessary, including
any additional measures to alleviate
truck routing and parking issues
that may arise during the life of the
facility.
i. Signs and drive aisle pavement
markings shall clearly identify the
onsite circulation pattern to minimize
unnecessary on-site vehicular travel.
j. Facility operators shall post signs in
prominent locations inside and outside
of the building indicating that off-site
parking for any employee, truck, or
other operation related vehicle is strictly
Chapter 5: Development Standards |
75 prohibited. The City may require facility
operators to post signs on residential
streets indicating that off-site truck
parking is prohibited.
k. S igns shall be installed at all truck exit
driveways directing truck drivers to
the truck route as indicated in the
Truck Routing Plan and State Highway
System.
l. S igns shall be installed in public view
with contact information for a local
designated representative who works
for the facility operator and who is
designated to receive complaints about
excessive dust, fumes, or odors, and
truck and parking complaints for the
site, as well as contact information for
the SJVAPCD’s complaint call-line:
1-800-870-1037. Any complaints made
to the facility operator’s designee shall
be answered within 72 hours of receipt.
m. P rior to issuance of a business license,
the City shall ensure for any facility
with a building or buildings larger than
400,000 total square feet, that the
facility shall include a truck operator
lounge equipped with clean and
accessible amenities such as restrooms,
vending machines, television, and air
conditioning.

Alternative Energy
n. O n-site motorized operational
equipment shall be ZE (zero emission).
o. A ll building roofs shall be solar-
ready, which includes designing and
constructing buildings in a manner that
facilitates and optimizes the installation
of a rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV)
system at some point after the building
has been constructed.
p. The office portion of a building’s rooftop
that is not covered with solar panels
or other utilities shall be constructed
with light colored roofing material with
a solar reflective index (“SRI”) of not
less than 78. This material shall be the
minimum solar reflective rating of the
roof material for the life of the building.
q. On buildings over 400,000 square feet,
prior to issuance of a business license,
the City shall ensure rooftop, above
parking structure, or ground level solar
panels are installed and operated in
such a manner that they will supply
100% of the power needed to operate
all non-refrigerated portions of the
facility including the parking areas.
r. At least 10% of all passenger vehicle
parking spaces shall be electric vehicle
(EV) ready, with all necessary conduit
and related appurtenances installed. At
least 5% of all passenger vehicle parking
spaces shall be equipped with working
Level 2 Quick charge EV charging
stations installed and operational,
prior to building occupancy. Signage
shall be installed indicating EV
charging stations and specifying that
spaces are reserved for clean air/EV
vehicles. Unless superior technology
is developed that would replace the
EV charging units, the facility operator
and any successors-in-interest shall
be responsible for maintaining the EV
charging stations in working order for
the life of the facility.
s. Unless the owner of the facility records
a covenant on the title of the underlying
property ensuring that the property
cannot be used to provide chilled,
South Central Specific Plan
76 |
cooled, or freezer warehouse space,
a conduit shall be installed during
construction of the building shell from
the electrical room to 100% of the
loading dock doors that have potential
to serve the refrigerated space.

When tenant improvement building
permits are issued for any refrigerated
warehouse space, electric plug-in
units shall be installed at every dock
door servicing the refrigerated space
to allow transport refrigeration units
(TRUs) to plug in. Truck operators with
TRUs shall be required to utilize electric
plug-in units when at loading docks.
t. Bicycle racks are required per Section
15-2429 of the Fresno Municipal Code.

The racks shall include locks and
electric plugs to charge electric bikes
and shall be located as close as possible
to employee entrance(s). Nothing
in this section shall preclude the
warehouse operator from satisfying this
requirement by utilizing bicycle parking
amenities considered to be superior
such as locating bicycle parking
facilities indoors or providing bicycle
lockers.

Operation & Construction
u. Cool surface treatments shall be added
to all drive aisles and parking areas, or
such areas shall be constructed with a
solar-reflective cool pavement such as
concrete.
v. To ensure that warehouse electrical
rooms are sufficiently sized to
accommodate the potential need for
additional electrical panels, either a
secondary electrical room shall be
provided in the building, or the primary
electrical room shall be sized 25% larger
than is required to satisfy the service
requirements of the building or the
electrical gear shall be installed with
the initial construction with 25% excess
demand capacity.
w. Use of super-compliant VOC
architectural and industrial
maintenance coatings (e.g., paints) shall
be required.
x. The facility operator shall incorporate a
recycling program.
y. The following environmentally
responsible practices shall be required
during construction:
• The applicant shall use reasonable
best efforts to deploy the highest
rated CARB Tier technology that is
available at the time of construction.

Prior to permit issuance, the
construction contractor shall
submit an equipment list confirming
equipment used is compliant with
the highest CARB Tier at the time of
construction. Equipment proposed
for use that does not meet the
highest CARB Tier in effect at the
time of construction, shall only be
approved for use at the discretion
of the Planning Director and shall
require proof from the construction
contractor that, despite reasonable
best efforts to obtain the highest
CARB Tier equipment, such
equipment was unavailable.
• Use of electric-powered hand tools,
forklifts, and pressure washers.
• Designation of an area in any
construction site where electric
powered construction vehicles and
equipment can charge.
• Identification in site plans of a
Chapter 5: Development Standards |
77 location for future electric truck
charging stations and installation of
a conduit to that location.
• Diesel-powered generators shall
be prohibited except in case of
emergency or to establish temporary
power during construction.
z. A Property Maintenance Program shall
be submitted for review and approval
prior to the issuance of building
permits. The program shall provide for
the regular maintenance of building
structures, landscaping, and paved
surfaces in good physical condition,
and appearance. The methods and
maximum intervals for maintenance of
each component shall be specified in
the program.
aa. Property owner shall require all facility
operators to enroll in the United States
Environmental Protection Agency’s
SmartWay Program.

Any differences between subsections 5.1.4
and 5.1.5 with subsection 5.1.6 will be resolved
in the Text Amendment for the SCSP Overlay
Zone development code standards . Within 60
days of the effective date of the Plan, a rezone
to apply the SCSP Overlay Zone District to
all parcels within the Plan Area and a text
amendment reflecting the Plan as adopted will
be brought for City Council consideration.

6 Circulation

6.1 Introduction 80

6.2 Transportation Improvements 80
Chapter 6: Circulation |
79 6.1 Introduction
This chapter describes the existing
transportation network within the Plan Area
as well as the planned and recommended
improvements. Significant planning efforts
have already been completed by the City and
the Fresno Council of Governments (FCOG)
to address multiple infrastructure needs for
the circulation of people and goods into,
around, and out of the Plan Area. This chapter
acknowledges that work by including relevant
portions that apply to the Plan Area from
completed plans. These include the Fresno
General Plan, Fresno Active Transportation
Plan (ATP), and FCOG’s Reverse Triangle
Transportation Area Plan (RTTAP) and Regional
Transportation Plan (RTP). The South Central
Fresno AB617 Community Truck Reroute Study
has been completed. When the official list of
designated truck routes under the provisions
of Section 14-1303 of the Fresno Municipal
Code are amended then Figure 6-8 will be
updated to reflect those changes.
7 City of Fresno. Department of Public Works. (2019). Complete Streets Policy. https://www.fresno. gov/ public works/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2019/10/Complete-Streets-091119.pdf Exceptions to this polic y must meet certain criteria and be approved by either the Public Works Director or City Council.

6.2 Transportation
Improvements
Complete Streets
The Fresno City Council adopted the
Complete Streets Policy on October 10, 2019,
codifying the City’s commitment to designing
safe and convenient transportation projects
that are accessible to all users.
7 A complete
street is a transportation facility that is
planned, designed, operated, and maintained
to provide safe mobility for all users including
bicyclists, pedestrians, transit vehicles, trucks,
and motorists as appropriate to the function
and context of the facility while connecting
to a larger transportation network. Every
complete street looks different, according to
its context, community preferences, the types
of road users, and their needs. All complete
streets are designed to balance safety, access,
and mobility for everyone using the street and
are necessary to create connected networks
citywide. The City recognizes the need for
CHAPTER 6:

CIRCULATION
South Central Specific Plan
80 |
complete streets and will accommodate
elements that create a complete street
wherever it is feasible.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities
The Plan Area has an incomplete bicycle and
pedestrian network. There are many locations
that lack bikeways and sidewalks or that
have sidewalk gaps between developments.

Inconsistent bicycle and pedestrian networks
contribute to an unsafe and uninviting
environment for pedestrians and cyclists. The
ATP, adopted in 2017, proposes a long-term,
comprehensive network of citywide bikeways,
trails, and sidewalks that connect all parts of
Fresno. The existing and planned bikeways,
trails, and sidewalks within the Plan Area are
identified in Figures 6-1 and 6-3. Descriptions
of the different classes of bikeways can be
found in Figure 6-2. An update to the ATP is
underway and, once updated, will supersede
the networks shown in Figures 6-1 and 6-3.

Safe Routes to School
Safe Routes to School programs aim to make
it safer for students to use active modes of
transportation to school such as walking
and biking. In January 2020, the Fresno
City Council approved a Safer Sidewalks
to School Resolution, which was one of the
recommendations of the ATP . The resolution
acknowledged that many parts of the City
lack complete sidewalks, creating hazards to
pedestrians, particularly to children around
neighborhood schools and that a more
complete system of sidewalks would improve
safety, walkability, bikeability, and community
health.

Orange Center Elementary School, the only
K-12 public school in the Plan Area, is located
on Cherry Avenue, between North and Central
Avenues, and is outside of City of Fresno limits
(see Figure 7-7). As discussed in the RTTAP,
potential safety improvements for students
could include Class IV protected bikeways
and sidewalks along Cherry Avenue, when
annexed into the city.

Image of bus stop located in the Calwa neighborhood with industrial nearby.

Chapter 6: Circulation |
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FIGURE 6-1: EXISTING AND PLANNED BICYCLE & TRAIL NETWORK [
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
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Legend
Class III Class III
Class IIClass II

BIKEWAYS

EXISTING
Class Type
Class I

PLANNED
Class Type
Class I Fresno Sphere of Influence
SCSP Boundary
Fresno City Limits
Figure 6-1: Existing and Planned Bicycle & Trail Network South Central Specific Plan
82 |
Figure 6-2: Bikeway Classifications
Class I- off-street, separate path
Chapter 6: Circulation |
83 Class II- on-street, designated lanes
Class III- on-street, shared roadway
Class IV- on-street, protected lanes

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FIGURE 6-3: EXISTING AND PLANNED SIDEWALK NETWORK
[
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MUSCAT
Legend

SIDEWALKS
Existing
Planned
Fresno Sphere of Influence
Fresno City Limits
SCSP Boundary
Figure 6-3: Existing and Planned Sidewalk Network
South Central Specific Plan
84 |
Transit
Transit service within the Plan Area (see Figure
6-4) is provided by Fresno Area Express (FAX).

Four of the 18 fixed routes provided by FAX
are located immediately adjacent to and
within the Plan Area. These include Routes 32
(North Avenue), 34 (Cherry, North, Orange, and
Central), 38 (Jensen Avenue), and 41 (Maple
and North Avenues). In addition, FAX Handy
Ride provides door-to-door transit services for
eligible persons with disabilities who cannot
functionally use the FAX buses.

As described in the FCOG 2020/2021 Unmet
Transit Needs Assessment, FAX identified a
lack of service to the North Pointe Business
Park as an unmet transit need that is
reasonable to meet. In 2023, funding was
secured for the purchase and operation of
four electric buses for a three-year period.

FAX extended Route 34 into the Plan Area in
August 2023, establishing it as the 4th high
frequency route with 15-minute headways to
serve the major employment centers in the
Plan Area.

Sponsored by California Vanpool Authority, a public
transit agency, CalVans supplies qualified drivers
with late model vans to drive themselves and
others to work or school.

In addition to services offered by FAX, Fresno
County voters passed the Measure C ½-cent
transportation sales tax in November 2006,
providing the resources needed to create
the Measure C Commuter Vanpool Subsidy
Program, Farm Worker Vanpool Program, and
Carpool Incentive Program. These programs
were created to encourage commuters in
Fresno County to share a ride with other
commuters for a cost-effective way of getting
to and from work with the added benefit of
reducing exhaust emissions that come from
vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and improving air
quality.

Employers are able to partner with these
programs to comply with the eTRIP Rule
that was adopted by the San Joaquin Valley
Air Pollution Control District to reduce VMT
from private vehicles used by employees
commuting to and from work. The trip
reduction and administrative requirements
of this rule apply to each employer in the
San Joaquin Valley Air Basin with at least 100
eligible employees.

Clean Shared Mobility Network
The Clean Shared Mobility Network (CSMN) is
a Transformative Climate Communities (TCC)
Program project. The project includes the
following low- or no-cost services throughout
the TCC project area which adjoins the Plan
Area (see Figure 1-7):

1. Electric Vehicle (EV) carsharing
program for checking out cars hourly;

2. Volunteer driver program providing
electric vehicle rides to underserved
residents;

3. Electric vanpools for accessing
employment centers;

4. Electric bikeshare program for checking
Chapter 6: Circulation |
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FIGURE 6-4: EXISTING AND PLANNED TRANSIT ROUTES
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
ROUTE 38
ROUTE 32
ROUTE 34
ROUTE 41
Legend
SCSP Boundary
City Limits
Fresno Sphere of Influence

EXISTING ROUTES
32 34
38 41

PROPOSED ROUTE
Figure 6-4: Existing and Planned Transit Routes
South Central Specific Plan
86 |
out bikes; and

5. Mobility hub customer services center
will provide a physical location for
engaging with the program.

In 2016, Fresno (specifically Southwest Fresno
and much of Downtown) was selected by the
Strategic Growth Council to receive $66.5
million in state funding from the TCC Program.

TCC was created to fund coordinated
neighborhood-level programs designed to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide
economic, environmental, and health benefi
ts.

After Fresno was awarded the $66.5 million,
25 projects were selected by a local steering
committee following months of community
engagement. The CSMN was one of those
projects and it was created to address low-
cost reliable transportation options that
complement public transit.

In 2018, the Fresno Metro Black Chamber
of Commerce (FBMCC) signed on as lead
agency for the CSMN and has since partnered
with six other firms to operate and manage
the services. As of 2023, the CSMN operates
40 Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles and 200
e-bicycles, providing car sharing, vanpooling,
and bike-sharing in Downtown, Chinatown,
and Southwest Fresno neighborhoods, along
with a rural vanpool service with three ride-
share vans for underserved residents in rural
areas. In addition, an electric vehicle charging
infrastructure with six Mobility Hub Customer
Service Centers provides a physical location
for people to engage in-person with the
program. Five of the six hubs are located at
Fresno Housing Authority developments in
Southwest Fresno.

Roadway Capacity and Planned
Projects
The public roadway network and State
highway routes comprise the predominant
transportation infrastructure in and around
Fresno. Although this network primarily serves
travel by privately operated vehicles, it also
accommodates the distribution of goods and
services. The existing roadway network in
South Central Fresno follows a traditional grid
network with major streets spaced at half-
mile intervals.

The General Plan established a refined street
classification system to categorize roadways
and other transportation facilities. This
classification system is used for engineering
design and traffic operation standards. The
existing and planned classifications in the Plan
Area are as follows:
• Freeway: Multiple-lane divided (median
island separation) roadways on adopted
State route alignments servicing through
and crosstown traffic, with no access
to abutting property and no at-grade
intersections. Freeways are under the
jurisdiction of the State, outside the control
of the City.
• Superarterial: Four- to six-lane divided
(median island separation) roadways with a
primary purpose of moving multiple modes
of travel traffic to and from major traffic
generators and among subregions. A select
number of motor vehicle access points
to adjacent properties or local streets
between the major street intersections
may be approved by the City. Access points
are limited to right-turn entrance and exit
vehicular movements, as well as select left-
turn partial openings in medians from the
Superarterials to surrounding properties or
neighborhoods, limited to one location per
half-mile. No left turns are allowed out of
Chapter 6: Circulation |
87 local streets or properties.
• Arterial: Four- to six-lane divided
(median island separation) roadways,
with somewhat limited motor vehicle
access to abutting properties, and with
the primary purpose of moving traffic
within and between neighborhoods and
to and from freeways and expressways.

In addition to major street intersections,
appropriately designed and spaced local
street intersections may allow left-turn
movements to and from the arterial streets.
• Collector: Two- to four-lane undivided
(opposing travel lanes generally
not separated by a median island)
roadways, with the primary function of
connecting local streets and arterials
and neighborhood traffic generators and
providing access to abutting properties.

Local street intersections and motor
vehicle access points from abutting
properties are allowed consistent with the
City’s engineering standards and accepted
traffic engineering practices. Collectors
typically have a center two-way left-turn
lane.
• Local: Two- to three-lane roadways
designed to provide direct access to
properties, while discouraging excessive
speeds and volumes of motor vehicle
travel incompatible with neighborhoods
being served through the implementation
of multiple, well-connected routes and
traffic calming measures. The alignments
of future local streets are typically not
specified by the General Plan Circulation
Diagram, but existing local streets may be
depicted for informational purposes. In
specific circumstances local streets are
designated where necessary to assure
adequate access and implementation
of Complete Neighborhoods with well-
connected routes for motor vehicle,
bicycle, and pedestrian travel.

Figure 6-5 shows the planned circulation
network by road classification within the Plan
Area. Roadways will be improved concurrent
with new development.

Table 6-1 provides the number of lanes for
major East/West and North/South streets in
the Plan Area. Highlighted in dark gray are
three major east/west roadways and one
major north/south roadway that are planned
to be widened with additional roadway lanes.

For a visual depiction of the planned changes
see Figure 6-6.

South Central Specific Plan
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FIGURE 6-5: MAJOR STREET CIRCULATION DIAGRAM
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
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MUSCAT
Legend
Road Class
Arterial
Collector
Superarterial
Freeway
Freeway Ramp
Fresno Sphere of Influence
SCSP Boundary
City Limits
!
! !
!
!!
Figure 6-5: Major Street Circulation
Chapter 6: Circulation |
89 Table 6-1: Number of Lanes in the Plan Area
Major East/
West Streets Segment
Existing
Roadway
Lanes
Planned
Roadway
Lanes
Church Between SR 41 & Golden State 2 4
Church Between Golden State Blvd &
East 4 4
North Between Clara and SR 41 2
2 lanes with
center turn
lane
North Between SR 41 & Peach 4 4
Jensen Between SR 41 & Orange 4 4
Jensen Between Orange & Peach 4 6
Central Between Fig & Orange 2 2
American Between Orange & Maple 2 2
California Between Bisceglia & Cedar 2 2
Major North/
South
Streets
Segment
Existing
Roadway
Lanes
Planned
Roadway
Lanes
Fig South of Almy, North of Central 2 2
Elm Between North & Central 2 2
Cherry Between Church & Central 2 2
East Between Lorena & Central 2 2
Orange Between Florence & Church 2 2
Orange Between Church & Laurite 4 4
Orange Between Laurite & American 2 2
Cedar Between California & Church 4 4
Cedar Between Golden State &
American 2 2
Maple Between Jensen & Edgar 4 4
Maple Between Edgar & North 2 4
Chestnut Between Jensen & North 4 4
Willow Between Jensen & North 2 2
Peach Between Jensen & North 2 2
Source: Fresno General Plan - Program Environmental Impact Report.

South Central Specific Plan
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FIGURE 6-6: PLANNED ROADWAY NUMBER OF LANE CHANGES
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
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Legend

NUMBER OF LANE CHANGES
Existing 2 Lane Roadway Planned for 4 Lanes
Existing 4 Lane Roadway Planned for 6 Lanes
Existing 2 Lane Roadway Planned for 2 Lanes
with a Center Turning Lane
Fresno Sphere of Influence
Fresno City Limits
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Figure 6-6: Planned Number of Roadway Lane Changes
Chapter 6: Circulation |
91 Traffic Calming
According to the Federal Highway
Administration Traffic Calming ePrimer:
“The primary purpose of traffic calming is to
support the livability and vitality of residential
and commercial areas through improvements
in non-motorist safety, mobility, and comfort.

These objectives are typically achieved by
reducing vehicle speeds or volumes on a
single street or a street network.” Traffic
calming measures consist of horizontal and
vertical deflection, street width narrowing,
roadside improvements, and other features
that use self-enforcing physical or psycho-
perception means to produce desired effects.

The best way to determine the traffic calming
strategies needed for the Plan Area is to do a
traffic calming study. Traffic calming studies
consist of data collection efforts to gather
traffic volume and classification information,
accident statistics, and vehicle speeds.

Following data collection, the collected
information is summarized and analyzed to
draw out the relevant data and to establish
any patterns. Once the analysis is completed,
recommendations for the Plan Area can be
established. The City could pursue grant
funding to do a traffic calming study.

In September 2020, the City completed the
citywide Systematic Local Roadway Safety
Plan. In it, an analysis of transportation safety
data was conducted, roadway improvements
to reduce collision risk were identified, and
a vision and goals for transportation safety
were established. Based on an annualized
collision severity score, the top 20 high risk
corridors and intersections in Fresno were
determined, and none were in the Plan Area.

However, there were half mile segments and
intersections in the Plan Area that scored high
for vehicle crash severity. The Safety Plan also
provides a summary of prioritized systematic
treatments/proposed countermeasures that
could be useful for improvements in the Plan
Area. Of the measures provided, the following
pertain to traffic calming and pedestrian
safety:
• Road diet (reduce travel lanes from 4 to
3 and add a two-way left-turn and bike
lanes)
• Install high-visibility crosswalk markings
• Install raised medians (refuge islands)
• Install pedestrian crossings at
uncontrolled locations (signs and
markings only)
• Install advanced yield signs
• Install intersection lighting
Street Sweeping
The City provides residential and non-
residential street sweeping within Fresno’s
city limits of the Plan Area. Residential areas
are swept once every month and non-
residential areas are swept once a week. As
land in the SOI is annexed into the city limits
service will be extended to those areas. Some
areas looking to annex into the city, such as
existing neighborhoods that were developed
in the county, may require the installation of
curb and gutter where they do not exist and
repaving or resurfacing of existing streets to
receive street sweeping service.

Highways
The Plan Area encompasses two major
highways, State Routes (SR) 41 and 99, that
provide regional access via Jensen, North,
Central, and American Avenues. Caltrans
proposes to reconstruct two of the existing
access points to create full interchanges at
American and North Avenues to bring them
up to current Caltrans design standards (See
Figure 6-7). All Caltrans alternatives would
South Central Specific Plan
92 |
reconstruct the existing overcrossings and
construct on- and off-ramps to form complete
full interchanges with sidewalks, curb and
gutter, lighting and signalization, and a
stormwater system. The existing interchange
ramps at Cedar Avenue would be closed,
moving the existing on- and off-ramps to
North Avenue.

Construction for the American Avenue
interchange is anticipated to be completed in
May 2027 and the North Avenue interchange
by December 2028. This project will
improve traffic operations and safety at the
interchanges and on intersecting and nearby
local streets resulting in lower air emissions on
the local road system and improved access for
businesses in the Plan Area.

SR-99 and SR-41 also serve as gateways into
the city for those traveling into Fresno from
the south. The Highway 99 Beautification
Master Plan (Master Plan) was completed
by the Association for the Beautification
of Highway 99 to address visual resource
management, landscape development,
highway maintenance, and intergovernmental
relations inherent in the effort to beautify
Highway 99 through Fresno County. The
Master Plan recommends that entries be well-
stated through signage, that positive views be
maintained or enhanced, that negative views
be screened, and landscape treatments be
incorporated. Specifically, the Master Plan
recommends the following improvements be
made along SR-99 exits within the Plan Area:
• Jensen/SR-99
○ Wildflower and native grass seeding
(non-irrigated groundcover)
○ P lanting of trees and shrubs in
traditional urban-type landscapes
• Cedar/SR-99
○ Add major accent landscape treatment
to draw attention to significant
features in the surrounding area
○ Scr een negative views through
landscape treatments and/or,
where site conditions allow, through
architectural elements such as fences
and walls
○ Main tain or enhance positive views
through landscape treatments and/or,
where site conditions allow, through
architectural elements such as fences
and walls
○ Wildflo wer and native grass seeding
(non-irrigated groundcover)
○ P lanting of trees and shrubs in
traditional urban-type landscapes
• Central/SR-99
○ Screen negative views through
landscape treatments and/or,
where site conditions allow, through
architectural elements such as fences
and walls
○ Main tain or enhance positive views
through landscape treatments and/or,
where site conditions allow, through
architectural elements such as fences
and walls
○ Wildflo wer and native grass seeding
(non-irrigated groundcover)
○ P lanting of trees and shrubs in both
traditional urban-type landscapes and
rural landscapes
• American/SR-99
○ Screen negative views through
landscape treatments and/or,
where site conditions allow, through
architectural elements such as fences
and walls
○ Main tain or enhance positive views
through landscape treatments and/or,
where site conditions allow, through
Chapter 6: Circulation |
93 Figure 6-7: Caltrans Interchange Projects
South Central Specific Plan
94 |
architectural elements such as fences
and walls
○ Wildflo wer and native grass seeding
(non-irrigated groundcover)
○ P lanting of trees and shrubs in both
traditional urban-type landscapes and
rural landscapes
Trucking
Routes
Trucking is the dominant mode of freight
transportation in the San Joaquin Valley and
plays an integral role in the distribution of
goods and services for a myriad of commercial
and industrial businesses. Having designated
truck routes allows truck drivers to determine
the most fuel-efficient routes to predict gas
consumption, reduce wasteful idling, and
ensure safe and timely arrival.

Residents living in homes located along
truck routes in the Plan Area have expressed
concern about the diesel exhaust and health
impacts experienced from having trucks drive
in front of their homes and Orange Center
Elementary School, as well as alongside their
neighborhoods.

On September 25, 2005, the City adopted
the City of Fresno Designated Truck Routes
Map showing the location of existing and
planned truck routes throughout Fresno. See
Figure 6-8. Some of the these planned truck
routes are now existing. Truck routes are
identified along freeways and major streets in
the Plan Area. Caltrans also designates SR-99
as a National Network Route and SR-41 as a
Terminal Access Route in the California Truck
Network Maps.

In 2022, the City and SJVAPCD joined forces
to undertake the South Central Fresno
AB 617 Community Truck Reroute Study
(Truck Reroute Study) and the University of
California, Merced, conducted a concurrent
Health Impact Assessment (HIA) for the same
area. The Truck Reroute Study identified,
analyzed, and evaluated potential strategies to
address truck impacts including air pollution,
noise, traffic crashes and congestion, active
transportation conflicts, impacts to sensitive
uses, and excess wear for local pavements.

The Truck Reroute Study focused on analyzing
existing and future planned truck routes as
defined on the City of Fresno Designated
Truck Route Map adopted September 2005.

The Truck Reroute Study provides a
comprehensive toolkit and list of infrastructure
and non-infrastructure strategies to address
negative impacts of freight truck travel
within South Central Fresno, as well as a new
proposed truck route map. Additionally, the
Study provides a draft prioritization framework
for implementation of the recommended
strategies within the study area based on
project goals, funding availability, performance
metrics, and criteria scoring. The Truck
Reroute Study also established truck
regulated areas around sensitive uses and
proposes numerous transportation network
improvements related to truck movement.

Improvements include new crosswalks,
traffic calming measures, traffic signalization
improvements, roadway reconfiguration, and
new truck regulated areas.

Recommended non-infrastructure strategies
include education and outreach programming,
truck fuel-type, emissions, and idling
standards, zero-emission trucks, truck specific
GPS administration, time-of-day restrictions,
and enforcement. The HIA (1) assessed the
extent to which air pollution impacts the risk of
common health outcomes across the lifespan,
(2) calculated the excess number of cases
attributed to air pollution in the region, and (3)
Chapter 6: Circulation |
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FIGURE 6-8: TRUCK ROUTES
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
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Legend

EXISTING TRUCK ROUTE

PLANNED TRUCK ROUTE
Fresno Sphere of Influence
SCSP Boundary
Fresno City Limits
Figure 6-8: Designated Truck Routes (2005)
South Central Specific Plan
96 |
conducted a community-based health survey
to explore residents’ concerns, behaviors,
health outcomes, and health needs relevant to
air pollution in the region.

The HIA has a city-wide assessment
containing SJVAPCD data, birth data,
emergency department visits, and all Fresno
patient discharge data. It also has the South
Fresno Community Survey, which is a
representative, community-based survey of
South Fresno residents’ health, wellbeing, and
concerns with local environmental issues. The
results of the HIA informed the Truck Reroute
Study.

The Draft Truck Reroute Study and HIA were
published for public review on May 10, 2024.

Parking
In addition to truck routes, truck parking
was also a topic of discussion throughout
the community engagement process. As the
movement of goods by trucks has increased
so has the associated need for truck parking.

The California Statewide Truck Parking
Study (2022), commissioned by Caltrans,
identifies statewide unmet demand for truck
parking, existing truck parking challenges,
and optimum size, layout, and amenities for
publicly owned truck parking facilities. The
Study also considers the feasibility for possible
zero emissions fueling at truck parking lots
and includes an action and implementation
plan. As new development is proposed in
the Plan Area, the City will utilize this study
for guidance to mitigate the impact of truck
parking and illegal truck parking in residential
areas in addition to adopted regulations.

Idling
The California Air Resources Board (CARB)
states: “Emissions from on-road medium and
heavy-duty vehicles are major contributors
to poor air quality in California. In particular,
these vehicles produce emissions in amounts
highly disproportionate to the total population
of these vehicles. The problem is complicated
by the large number of heavy-duty vehicles,
like line haul trucks, registered in other states
that travel on California’s highways and roads,
while bringing goods and commerce into and
out of our state.”
8 California law prohibits commercial diesel
trucks from idling more than five minutes
within the State, with few exceptions (13
CCR § 2485). In 2023, the SVJAPCD staff
performed quarterly anti-idling surveillance
of heavy-duty trucks and spoke directly with
businesses who rely on heavy-duty trucking
to provide compliance assistance and
education regarding the state’s anti-idling
requirements. Although only one violation
has been discovered during the surveillance
performed, the SJVAPCD believes that the
outreach efforts provided to businesses will
contribute to increased compliance with state
requirements.
9 The City is also making efforts to reduce truck
and vehicle idling especially near sensitive
uses with children. In Chapter 15, Part III,
Article 24, Section 15-2403.J.3 of the Fresno
Municipal Code, loading bays shall have
signage requiring drivers to limit idling to five
minutes or less. In the summer of 2023, the
City installed 30 bilingual, English and Spanish,
“no idling” signs at many school sites in the
AB617 boundary area. The signs were installed
to help the SJVAPCD reach their goal to
Chapter 6: Circulation |
97 8 April 23, 2021, Revised Draft 2020 Mobile Source Strategy by the California Air Resources Board, p. 124.
9 San J oaquin Air Pollution Control District Community Emissions Reduction Program South Central Fresno 2023 Annual Report, December 14, 2023. p. 16.
reduce vehicle emission exposure to sensitive
populations at vehicle drop-off and pick-up
locations.

Caltrans NO IDLING All Buses and Commercial
Vehicles Sign
Chapter 5 of this Plan provides many
development regulations to lessen the impact
of trucking from new development in the Plan
Area.

Rail
Two freight rail lines, the Burlington Northern
and Santa Fe (BNSF) and the Union Pacific
(UP), pass through the Plan Area and have
spur lines within it extending to industrial
properties. One freight rail line, San Joaquin
Valley Railroad (SJVR) passes along the
northern boundary of the Plan Area and has
small spur lines into the Plan Area at Calwa.

For passenger accommodations, Amtrak
shares the BNSF rail line and operates intercity
passenger rail services. California has more
than 70 Amtrak Stations, one of which is in
Downtown Fresno, just north of the Plan Area.

There are no planned improvements to the
existing railway network within the Plan Area,
except as new development may need to
extend an existing spur line or add a new one.

The California High-Speed Rail (HSR)
Authority, however, has been making
significant improvements to the planned
HSR line through the Plan Area. Much of
the HSR right of way has been cleared and
construction is underway. In fall of 2018,
work began on the Cedar Viaduct and was
completed in 2023. The structures’ signature
span of double arches can be seen as drivers
travel south along SR-99. The Cedar Viaduct
spans nearly 3,700 feet and will carry high-
speed trains over SR-99 and North and Cedar
Avenues. The Muscat Avenue and Golden
State Boulevard Viaducts are also completed.

The 119-mile HSR section from Merced to
Bakersfield is anticipated to commence
passenger service in 2030. There is a planned
HSR stop in Downtown Fresno, just north of
the Plan Area. Design of the HSR station has
started and construction is anticipated to
begin in 2026.

See Figure 6-9 for all rail lines in the Plan Area.

South Central Specific Plan
98 |
The Cedar Avenue viaduct of the California High-Speed Rail project crosses Highway 99 south of Fresno while still under construction on Friday, February 17, 2023. Craig Kohlruss Fresno Bee file
Chapter 6: Circulation |
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FIGURE 6-9: RAILWAYS
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Fresno Sphere of Influence
City Limits
SCSP Boundary

REGIONAL RAILROADS
San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SJVR)
Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)
Union Pacific (UP)
Amtrak
Legend

PROPOSED RAILWAY
High Speed Rail (unofficial)

EXISTING RAILWAYS
Figure 6-9: Railways
South Central Specific Plan
100 |
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Chapter 6: Circulation |
101

7 Public Facilities
& Infrastructure

7.1 Introduction 104

7.2 Infrastructure - Wet Utilities 104

7.3 Infrastructure - Dry Utilities 116

7.4 Solid Waste 118

7.5 Public Facilities 119

7.6 Communication 124
Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
103
CHAPTER 7:

PUBLIC FACILITIES &

INFRASTRUCTURE

7.1 Introduction
This chapter describes the existing and
planned public facilities and infrastructure in
the Plan Area, including wet and dry utilities,
solid waste, parks and open space, schools,
religious institutions, police and fire, and
communication. Planned improvements
are referenced from the Fresno General
Plan, Fresno Parks Master Plan, Urban Water
Management Plan, South Central Specific
Plan Water and Sewer Hydraulic Analysis
(see Appendix E), Fresno Metropolitan Flood
Control District (FMFCD) District Services
Plan, and Fiber Master Plan. Utility providers
currently serving existing needs have plans
in place to serve future needs in accordance
with the General Plan for the Plan Area.

Water and sewer services are provided
by the City, with the exception of private
groundwater users located in the county of
Fresno surrounding the Fresno city limits,
county of Fresno islands, and the Malaga
Water District. Storm water drainage systems
are constructed and maintained by FMFCD;
irrigation water is supplied by the Fresno
Irrigation District (FID); electricity and gas
utilities are provided by Pacific Gas and
Electric (PG&E); and telephone, fiber, and
cable service are provided by AT&T/Comcast/
Xfinity.

7.2 Infrastructure -
Wet Utilities
Water Supply
The original Fresno water system began
operations in 1876 as a non-profit organization
established by a group of public-minded
citizens and improved to a water distribution
system by the late 1880’s. In 1926, the plant
and distribution system were purchased by
the California Water Service Company and
in 1931, that company sold the water system
to the City of Fresno, which operated as a
municipal utility. It was first managed under
an appointed water board and is currently a
division of the Public Utilities Department.

Today, the City’s water system consists
of about 1,860 miles of distribution and
transmission mains, 202 active municipal
groundwater wells, three surface water
treatment facilities (SWTFs), five water storage
facilities with pump stations, and three booster
pump facilities. The City conveys water to
it’s customer base consisting of single-family
residential, commercial, public, and industrial
development within its city limits and will
eventually provide services out to the SOI
boundary including all land to be voluntarily
annexed over time in the future.

South Central Specific Plan
104 |
The City relies on groundwater from the
North Kings Subbasin; surface water from
the Friant-Kern Canal, a Central Valley Project
(CVP), through a contract with the United
States Bureau of Reclamation; surface water
from the Kings River, through a contract
with the FID; and recycled water from the
City’s wastewater treatment facilities. Water
production in the City has consisted of 100%
groundwater prior to the commissioning of the
City’s first SWTF in 2004. Since 2004, the City
has invested in expanding its surface water
treatment capabilities and now has three
SWTFs. In 2020, the City for the first time in its
history provided more treated surface water
than groundwater to its customers.

The City was a founding member of the
North Kings Groundwater Sustainability
Agency (North Kings GSA), which was
formed following passage of the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) of
2014. This legislation created a statutory
framework for groundwater management
in California that requires the management
and use of groundwater in a manner that
can be maintained during the planning
and implementation horizon without
causing undesirable results. SGMA requires
governments and water agencies of “critically
overdrafted” basins to reach sustainability by
2040. The Kings Subbasin was designated a
critically overdrafted basin by the California
Department of Water Resources and the
North Kings GSA is working within the
SGMA framework to reach groundwater
sustainability.

Due to the City’s investments in other
supplies – surface water, recycled water, and
conservation – groundwater levels beneath
the City have already begun to recover from
low levels experienced during the recent
drought. The City plans to continue to use
groundwater within a larger conjunctive use
program that maximizes its existing surface
water rights. The City plans to continue to
supply the water needs for existing and new
development in the Plan Area.

Wastewater (Sewer)
The City of Fresno is the Regional Sewer
Agency for the Fresno-Clovis Metropolitan
Area (FCMA). The City owns and maintains
the wastewater collection system that serves
the city and the other participating agencies:
the County of Fresno, the majority of the City
of Clovis, the Pinedale Public Utility District,
and the Pinedale County Water District. The
City of Fresno, Public Utilities Department,
Wastewater Management Division (WMD) is
responsible for the collection, conveyance,
treatment, and reclamation of wastewater
generated by the residential, commercial,
and industrial sewer customers in the Fresno-
Clovis Metropolitan Area.

Wastewater from homes and businesses in
the Metropolitan Area travel through sanitary
sewer pipes to the Fresno-Clovis Regional
Wastewater Reclamation Facility (RWRF)
located southwest of Fresno. The City also
owns and operates the smaller North Fresno
Wastewater Reclamation Facility (NFWRF)
scalping plant. The collection system is
comprised of approximately 1,600 miles of
pipes ranging from 6” to 84” in diameter that
convey over 60 million gallons of sanitary
sewer per day to the RWRF, 23,000 manholes,
15 active lift stations, and associated force
mains. Future growth in the Plan Area will
need to tap into this efficient system to move
wastewater from new development in the
Plan Area to the RWRF.

Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
105
Hydraulic Analysis for the Plan Area
To best understand how to plan for the future
water and wastewater needs of the Plan Area,
the City hired the Akel Engineering Group to
prepare a hydraulic analysis. See Appendix
E for the South Central Specific Plan Water
and Sewer Hydraulic Analysis. This study
assessed the impacts to the Plan Area water
distribution and sewer collection systems
due to the proposed land use amendments.

Capacity deficiencies in the existing and
future water and wastewater systems were
identified utilizing the City’s existing hydraulic
model and information from the City’s 2020
Urban Water Management Plan, 2010 Water
System Master Plan, and 2015 Sewer System
Master Plan. Changes in sewer and water
demand were derived from acreages by land
use classifications for the Specific Plan in Table
4-4.

The analysis concluded that water and sewer
services in the Plan Area must be enhanced
to support the buildout of the Plan Area
and maintain the target level of service. It is
important to note that the analysis is based
on full build out of the Plan Area which could
occur beyond the planning horizon of 2040.

Since it’s impossible to know what part of
the Plan Area will build when, total build out
was analyzed to determine the size and type
of infrastructure needed incrementally as
development occurs. See Figures 7-1 through

7.4. Water Supply
The City proposes balancing anticipated
groundwater use with sufficient recharge
of imported surface water. The SSWTF
currently treats approximately 54 mgd of
surface water but has a maximum treatment
capacity of 80 mgd. This maximum treatment
capacity of 80 mgd was assumed for the
SCSP Hydraulic Analysis. The increase in
surface water treatment will partially supply
the Plan Area due to a solid backbone of
Regional/Grid Transmission mains, however
a combination of existing and new supply
wells may be required to service the Plan Area
demands. Existing wells will first be utilized to
make up the water supply balance, however
new wells may be needed to maintain
acceptable pressures to service the proposed
development intensifications within the Plan
Area boundaries.

The projected water demands for the Plan
Area are estimated at 15.4 millions of gallons
per day (mgd) for average day demands, 29.3
mgd for peak day demands, and 44.7 mgd for
peak hour demands. These demands are less
than what was assumed in the General Plan.

Wastewater Flows
The projected wastewater flows for the Plan
Area are estimated at 11.6 mgd for average
annual flows, 13.4 mgd for peak day dry
weather flows, and 15.1 mgd for peak month
wet weather flows. These demands are less
than what was assumed in the General Plan.

Water and Wastewater System
Infrastructure Needs
This section documents the hydraulic analysis
results and infrastructure improvements
needed to meet water and wastewater
demands in the Plan Area. The recommended
improvements are less than what is assumed
in the General Plan. See Table 7-1.

Storm Water
The FMFCD is a special-act district, created
by local voters in 1956, for the purpose of
acquiring and constructing facilities for flood
South Central Specific Plan
106 |
Table 7-1: Specific Plan and General Plan Water and Wastewater System Improv ement Needs Comparison
Specific Plan Water General Plan Water Specific Plan General Plan System System Wastewater System Wastewater System
See Figure 7-4

7.3 miles of new
gravity mains
See Figure 7-1 See Figure 7-2 See Figure 7-3

14.7 miles of new
16-inch transmission
grid mains
8 new wells, each

14.7 miles of new
16-inch transmission
grid mains

7.3 miles of new
gravity mains
8 new wells, each
with a firm capacity with a firm capacity 0.9 miles of upsized 1.4 miles of upsized of 2,125 gallons per of 2,125 gallons per gravity mains gravity mains minute (gpm) minute (gpm)

7.2 mgd lift station 1.9 miles of capacity 5.4 mgd lift station improvements capacity upgrade capacity upgrade

1.1 miles of fire flow
improvements
Source: South Central Specific Plan Water and Sewer Hydraulic Analysis, July 2022.

Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
107
!A
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EAST
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CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

PEACH A
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·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE
MA

PLE AVE
W
ILLOW
A
VE
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE

GOLDEN STATE
BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

KEARNEY BLVD BUTLER AVE
14 14
14 14
16 16
16 16 16
16 16
14 14
16 16
16 16
16 16
1616
16 14
MALAGA AVE 16 16
16 16
16 1616
16 16
16 16 16
16 16 16
16 16
14 14
14 14
14 14
14141414
14 14
14 14
14 14
14 14
14 14
14 14
14 14
14 14 14
14 14
14 14
14 12
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 12121212
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 12 12
12 12 12 12
12 12 12
121212 12
12 12
1212
12 12 1212
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 12/121212
12 12
12 12
12 12
1212
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 1212
12 12
12 12
10 10
1010
10 10
10 10
10 1010
10 10
10 10
10 10
10 10
10 10
10 1010
10 10
10 10
10 10 10
1010
10 10
10 10
24 /30
24 14
14 T4
14 12
14 14
9A
3A
20 36A
354
26B
61A
341
26A
16A
170 40A
33A
201
197
162
205
206 183
88-2
203A
82-2
82-1
338-1
164-2164-1
100-1100-2
Legend
Future Water System
") Wells
New Pipeline
Existing Water System
UT Tank
") Wells
È6"
##
"
õ Booster Pumps
!APRVs
Pipes by Diameter
8" or Smaller
10" - 12"
14" and Larger
Other
South Central Specific Plan
Streets
Figure 9
Alternative 1: Blended
Proposed Improvements
Water Distribution System
South Central Specific Plan
Alternatives Analysis
5Updated: July 11, 2022
GIS
0 0.5 10.25
Mile
File Path: P:\xGIS\GIS_Projects\Fresno\Water\220331-SouthCentralSP-Alts\FR_Fig9_Alt2-PropoImp_071122.mxd

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

1. Evaluation assumed SESWTF at maximum
capacity of 80 mgd.

2. Evaluation assumed proposed wells operate
with design flow of 2,125 gpm.
8 10
14 16
Figure 7-1: Specific Plan Water Distribution System Improvements !A
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EST AVE
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M
AVE
W
AL
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AVE
EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

PEACH A
VE
·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE
MA

PLE AVE
W
ILLOW
A
VE
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

1. Evaluation assumed SESWTF at maximum
capacity of 80 mgd.

2. Evaluation assumed proposed wells operate
with design flow of 2,125 gpm.
8 10
14 16
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EST AVE
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M
AVE
W
AL
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AVE
EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

PEACH A
VE
·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE
MA

PLE AVE
W
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A
VE
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.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE

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E BLVD

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CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

1. Evaluation assumed SESWTF at maximum
capacity of 80 mgd.

EST AVE
EL
M
AVE
W
AL
NUT
AVE
EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

PEACH A
VE
·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE
MA

PLE AVE
W
ILLOW
A
VE
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

1. Evaluation assumed SESWTF at maximum
capacity of 80 mgd.

EST AVE
EL
M
AVE
W
AL
NUT
AVE
EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

PEACH A
VE
·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE
MA

PLE AVE
W
ILLOW
A
VE
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

KEARNEY BLVD BUTLER AVE
14 14
14 14
16 16
16 16 16
16 16
14 14
16 16
16 16
16 16
1616
16 14
MALAGA AVE 16 16
16 16
16 1616
16 16
16 16 16
16 16 16
16 16
14 14
14 14
14 14
14141414
16 14
14 14
14 14
14 14
14 14
14 14
14 14
14 14 14
14 14
14 14
14 12
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 12121212
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 12 12
12 12 12 12
12 12 12
121212 12
12 12
1212
12 12 1212
12 12
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12 12
12 12
12 12/121212
12 12
12 12
12 12
1212
12 12
12 12
12 12
12 1212
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12 12
10 1010
10 10
10 10
10 1010
10 10
10 10
10 10
10 10
10 10
10 1010
10 10
10 10
10 10 10
1010
10 10
10 10
24 /30
24 14
14 T4
16 12
14 14
14 12
12 12
12 12
12 9A
3A
20 36A
354
26B
61A
341
26A
16A
170 40A
33A
201
197
162
205
206 183
88-2
203A
82-2
82-1
338-1
164-2164-1
100-1100-2
Legend
Future Water System
") Wells
New Pipeline
Capacity Improvement
Fire Flow Improvement
Existing Water System
UT Tank
") Wells
È6"
##
"
õ Booster Pumps
!APRVs
Pipes by Diameter
8" or Smaller
10" - 12"
14" and Larger
Other
South Central Specific Plan
Streets
Figure 6
Alternative 0: Adopted
Proposed Improvements
Water Distribution System
South Central Specific Plan
Alternatives Analysis
5Updated: July 11, 2022
GIS
0 0.5 10.25
Mile
File Path: P:\xGIS\GIS_Projects\Fresno\Water\220331-SouthCentralSP-Alts\FR_Fig6_Alt1-PropoImp_071122.mxd

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

1. Evaluation assumed SESWTF at maximum
capacity of 80 mgd.

2. Evaluation assumed proposed wells operate
with design flow of 2,125 gpm.
8 10
14 16
South Central Specific Plan
108 |
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.L.K. JR B
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ANNADALE AVE

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CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

1. Evaluation assumed SESWTF at maximum
capacity of 80 mgd.

2. Evaluation assumed proposed wells operate
with design flow of 2,125 gpm.
8 10
14 16
Figure 7-2: Adopted General Plan Water Distribution System I mprovements
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CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST

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·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

1. Evaluation assumed SESWTF at maximum
capacity of 80 mgd.

EST AVE
EL
M
AVE
W
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AVE
EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

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VE
·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE
MA

PLE AVE
W
ILLOW
A
VE
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

1. Evaluation assumed SESWTF at maximum
capacity of 80 mgd.

EST AVE
EL
M
AVE
W
AL
NUT
AVE
EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

PEACH A
VE
·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE
MA

PLE AVE
W
ILLOW
A
VE
M
.L.K. JR B
LVD

ANNADALE AVE

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

1. Evaluation assumed SESWTF at maximum
capacity of 80 mgd.

EST AVE
EL
M
AVE
W
AL
NUT
AVE
EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

PEACH A
VE
·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE
MA

PLE AVE
W
ILLOW
A
VE
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

1. Evaluation assumed SESWTF at maximum
capacity of 80 mgd.

2. Evaluation assumed proposed wells operate
with design flow of 2,125 gpm.
8 10
14 16
Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
109
È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
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õ
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EST AVE
EL
M
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W
AL
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EAST
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CHESTNUT AVE

PEACH A
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·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE

FIG AVE

CHERRY AVE
W
ILLOW
A
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LS20
, ,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, ,
,
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
, ,,
12 51
12 15
36 36
,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST
LS01
66 66 66 66
66 66 665466
,
5757
60 ,
60 60
54 51
48 51
48 48
48 48
48 48
48 48 48484848
12/45
36 3636
36 36
24 36
36 36
36 36
36 36 30 30
36 30
30 30
12/3020/30
18/30
30 2430
66 27
24 24
24 24
21 21
21 21
20 20
20 20
18 18 18
18 18
18 18 18
18 18
18 18
12 18
14 12
12 12
12 15
15 15
15 15
15 15
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48 ,
,
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54 48
48 ,
24 2418/40
12 45
36 36
30 30
30 27
2424
22 21
21 21BUTLER AVE
18 18
18 1816
,
15 14 12
12 12
12 1212
12 12
60 ,
, ,
,
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, 18
,
,
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18 P-2
15 P-3
15 P-4

CEDAR AVE

ORANGE AVE M

APLE AVE
10 10 15
12 10
10 15 8
12 15 10
10 10
8 12
12 12
,
,
,
, ,, ,
,8
8 ,
, ,
,
,
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Legend
Proposed Sewer Improvements
Pipes for Sewer Routing
Existing Sewer Improvements
È6"
##
"
õ Lift Station
Pipes
Existing Sewer System
È6"
##
"
õ Lift Stations
Pipes
Other
South Central Specific Plan
Streets
Figure 20
Alternative 1: Blended
System Improvements
Sewer Collection System
South Central Specific Plan
Alternatives Analysis
5Updated: July 12, 2022
GIS
0 0.5 10.25
Mile
File Path: P:\xGIS\GIS_Projects\Fresno\Sewer\220321-SouthCentralSP-Alts\FR_Fig20_Alt2_Improvements_071222.mxd

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 5.4 mgd
12 12
24 Figure 7-3: Specific Plan Sewer Collection System Improvements È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
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õ
W

EST AVE
EL
M
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W
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EAST
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CEDAR AVE

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PEACH A
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·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

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PLE AVE
W
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, ,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, ,
,
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
, ,,
12 51
12 15
36 36
,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

CALIFORNIA AVE MONO ST
LS01
66 66 66 66
66 66 665466
,
5757
60 ,
60 60
54 51
48 51
48 48
48 48
48 48
48 48 48484848
12/45
36 3636
36 36
30 36
36 36
36 36
36 36 30 30
36 30
30 30
12/3020/30
18/30
30 2430
66 27
24 24
24 24
21 21
21 21
20 20
20 20
24 18 18
18 18
18 18 18
18 18
18 18
12 18
14 12
12 12
12 15
15 15
15 15
15 15
15 15
12 12 12
12 12
12 12
12 12
1212
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12 12
12 12
18 ,
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FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

KEARNEY BLVD
66 51
48 ,
,
,
48 18
54 48
48 ,
24 2418/40
12 45
36 36
30 30
30 27
2424
22 21
21 21BUTLER AVE
18 18
18 1816
,
15 14 12
12 12
12 1212
12 12
60 ,
, ,
,
,,
, 18
,
,
P-1
P-2
18 P-3
15 P-4
15 10
8 8
10 10
8 12
12 12
10 10 15
12 15
10 10
8 12
8 8
,
,
,
, ,, ,
,
,
, ,
,
,
Legend
Proposed Sewer Improvements
Pipes for Sewer Routing
Existing Sewer Improvements
È6"
##
"
õ Lift Station
Pipes
Existing Sewer System
È6"
##
"
õ Lift Stations
Pipes
Other
South Central Specific Plan
Streets
Figure 18
Alternative 0: Adopted
System Improvements
Sewer Collection System
South Central Specific Plan
Alternatives Analysis
5Updated: July 12, 2022
GIS
0 0.5 10.25
Mile
File Path: P:\xGIS\GIS_Projects\Fresno\Sewer\220321-SouthCentralSP-Alts\FR_Fig18_Alt1_Improvements_071222.mxd

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 7.2 mgd
12 12
24 È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
"
õ
W

EST AVE
EL
M
AVE
W
AL
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EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

PEACH A
VE
·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE MA

PLE AVE
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ILLOW
A
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,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
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,
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.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
, ,,
12 51
12 15
36 36
,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 7.2 mgd
12 12
24 È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
"
õ
W

EST AVE
EL
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AVE
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EAST
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CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

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VE
·|}þ99
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ORANGE AVE MA

PLE AVE
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ILLOW
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,
,
,
,
,
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,
,
,
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,
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.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
, ,,
12 51
12 15
36 36
,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 7.2 mgd
12 12
24 È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
"
õ
W

EST AVE
EL
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AVE
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CEDAR AVE

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VE
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.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
, ,,
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,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 7.2 mgd
12 12
24 È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
"
õ
W

EST AVE
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VE
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FIG AVE

CHERRY AVE
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
, ,,
12 51
12 15
36 36
,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

KEARNEY BLVD
66 51
48 ,
,
,
48 18
54 48
48 ,
24 2418/40
12 45
36 36
30 30
30 27
2424
22 21
21 21BUTLER AVE
18 18
18 1816
,
15 14 12
12 12
12 1212
12 12
60 ,
, ,
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,,
, 18
,
,
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18 P-2
15 P-3
15 P-4

CEDAR AVE

ORANGE AVE M

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 5.4 mgd
12 12
24 South Central Specific Plan
110 |
È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
"
õ
W

EST AVE
EL
M
AVE
W
AL
NUT
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EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

PEACH A
VE
·|}þ99
·|}þ41

AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE MA

PLE AVE
W
ILLOW
A
VE
LS20
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,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
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,
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
, ,,
12 51
12 15
36 36
,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 7.2 mgd
12 12
24 Figure 7-4: Adopted General Plan Sewer Collection System I mprovements
È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
"
õ
W

EST AVE
EL
M
AVE
W
AL
NUT
AVE
EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

PEACH A
VE
·|}þ99
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AMERICAN AVE
FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE MA

PLE AVE
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ILLOW
A
VE
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,
,
,
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,
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.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
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12 51
12 15
36 36
,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

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E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 7.2 mgd
12 12
24 È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
"
õ
W

EST AVE
EL
M
AVE
W
AL
NUT
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EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

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VE
·|}þ99
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G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE MA

PLE AVE
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VE
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,
,
,
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.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
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12 51
12 15
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,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

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E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 7.2 mgd
12 12
24 È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
"
õ
W

EST AVE
EL
M
AVE
W
AL
NUT
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EAST
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CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

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VE
·|}þ99
·|}þ41

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FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE MA

PLE AVE
W
ILLOW
A
VE
LS20
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,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
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,
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
, ,,
12 51
12 15
36 36
,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 7.2 mgd
12 12
24 È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
"
õ
W

EST AVE
EL
M
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W
AL
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EAST
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CEDAR AVE

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CHERRY AVE

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,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
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,
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
, ,,
12 51
12 15
36 36
,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

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E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
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PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 7.2 mgd
12 12
24 È6"
##
"
õ
È6"
##
"
õÈ6"
##
"
õ
W

EST AVE
EL
M
AVE
W
AL
NUT
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EAST
AVE

CEDAR AVE

CHESTNUT AVE

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VE
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FI
G AVE

CHERRY AVE

ORANGE AVE MA

PLE AVE
W
ILLOW
A
VE
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,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, ,
,
M
.L.K. JR BLVD

ANNADALE AVE
,,
, ,,
12 51
12 15
36 36
,
4227/3030/3030/3030/30

GOLDEN STAT
E BLVD

CENTRAL AVE

NORTH AVE

JENSEN AVE

CHURCH AVE

FLORENCE AVE

FRUIT AVE
·|}þ41
·|}þ99

PRELIMINARY
Notes:

Recommended LS-20 capacity = 7.2 mgd
12 12
24 Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
111
control and the drainage of flood and storm
waters, and for the conservation of those
waters. The FMFCD is a member of the North
Kings GSA and provides flood control within a
399-square mile watershed in Fresno County.

The FMFCD provides urban storm drainage,
groundwater recharge, recreation space in
dual use ponding basins, and Clean Water Act
pollution prevention compliance assistance to
businesses and industries. The flood control
and urban drainage systems work in concert
to protect lives and property from floodwater
originating in the foothill streams and creeks,
and from rain that falls onto the urban area.

After the FMFCD was established, a new
system was designed to capture and store
stormwater, and standards for future
development were created to ensure the
construction of a comprehensive system over
time. As the urban area grows, more storm
runoff is generated by structures that cover
once-open-land, including streets, highways,
buildings, and parking lots. Stormwater flows
from street gutters to drainage inlets, and
through underground pipelines to a network
of stormwater detention ponding basins. Each
ponding basin collects and stores stormwater
for an upstream area of about 1-4 square miles.

The stormwater basins allow large amounts of
water to be stored and percolated through the
soil to replenish the groundwater aquifer.

The Plan Area has eleven existing FMFCD
ponding basins. See Figure 7-5. These storm
drainage facilities are documented in the
Storm Drainage and Flood Control Master Plan
(SDFCMP), which is developed and updated by
FMFCD. The size and location of the ponding
basins are determined by using the acreages
of planned land use designations from the
Fresno General Plan, adopted in December
2014.

In areas that already have existing storm
drainage facilities, any increased densities
may require mitigation. Because the
storm drainage system has already been
constructed, a study would be required for
increased densities or changed zoning on
existing land. Increased density creates
additional runoff that would potentially
produce flooding in locations where the
FMFCD Master Plan storm drainage system is
complete. Therefore, such proposals must be
reviewed and approved by the FMFCD on a
case-by-case basis to determine the ability to
accommodate the proposal. Mitigation could
be in the form of constructing an additional
off-site pipeline or storing the difference
between the 2-year and 10-year storm event
on-site. The 372 acres in the SOI at the
southernmost edge of the Plan Area boundary
is not within a planned drainage boundary and
will need to be accommodated with future
Master Planning.

Recycled Water
Water recycling is the reuse of treated
wastewater for beneficial non-potable
purposes such as agricultural and landscape
irrigation, industrial processing, and
replenishing a groundwater basin. A common
type of recycled water is water that has been
reclaimed from municipal wastewater. Using
recycled water reduces the need to use
drinking water for non-potable uses.

In 2009, the State of California adopted a
Recycled Water Policy establishing a mandate
to increase the use of recycled water by
200,000 acre-feet per year by 2020 and by
an additional 300,000 acre-feet per year
by 2030. In support of these goals, the City
prepared a Recycled Water Master Plan (2010)
that identifies potential recycled water use
opportunities within the city limits and SOI.

The expansion of the recycled water system
South Central Specific Plan
112 |
·|}þ
·|}þ
·|}þ
·|}þ

CHESTNUT
MUSCAT
Mosqueda
Almy
Mary Ella
Brown
Mosqueda
Bigby Villa
Maxie
L. Parks
Hinton
Frank
H. Ball
South Peach
Church & MLK
Church &
Orangewood
99 41
41 99
FIGURE 7-5: EXISTING AND PLANNED OPEN SPACE
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend
Existing FID ponding basin
Fresno Sphere of Influence
Fresno City Limits
Existing FMFCD ponding basin
Planned Park
Existing Park
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Figure 7-5: Existing and Planned Open Space
Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
113
enables the City to offset potable water use,
enhance the sustainability of the water supply,
and lessen the burden on the wastewater
treatment plant percolation ponds that are
currently used for effluent discharge.

The City of Fresno has constructed
recycled water mains using purple pipes
to deliver recycled water to certain areas
of our community for specific purposes.

Implementing the use of purple pipe is
intended to prevent cross connection
between potable drinking water and
recycled water. The use of recycled water
for non-potable applications allows the
City to effectively supply water for parks,
schools, car washes, golf courses, and other
landscape irrigation uses, while reserving
potable drinking water for uses like cooking,
showering, laundry, and of course, drinking.

Figure 3 in the Citywide Recycling Water
Demand and Southwest Recycling Water
System Analysis (2019) shows the extension of
recycled water into the Plan Area, as needed.

The extension is identified as the Southwest
(SW) Industrial Segments. Since this is as
needed, there are no projected start and
completion dates set to expand recycled
water to the Plan Area.

Irrigation
The FID was formed in 1920 as the successor
to the privately owned Fresno Canal and
Land Company. The District FID purchased
all the rights and property of the company
which included over 800 miles of canals and
distribution works constructed between
1850 and 1880 and the extensive water rights
on the Kings River. Their purpose since the
beginning has been to focus on the delivery of
surface water to customers in the agricultural,
municipal, industrial, and environmental
sectors of the Central Valley. The main
headquarters for the FID is in the Plan Area
(see the Regional and State Agencies section
discussed earlier in Section 7.2 for more
information).

The FID serves over 200,000 acres of prime
agricultural farmland and the metropolitan
area of Fresno and Clovis. They deliver
surface water to the cities’ respective water
treatment plants and divert storm water
flood flows. These operations occur in FID
canals and pipelines throughout its District.

They also import Kings River water and some
San Joaquin River water into the region for
groundwater recharge and banking in ponding
basins. Over the years, the FID has built about
870 acres of groundwater recharge facilities
which have recharged over 500,000 acre-
feet of water into the aquifer since 2005. In
the Plan Area, the FID has one recharge basin,
North Central No. 180, located on the east side
of Elm Avenue midway between North and
Central Avenues.

The FID also has many canals within the Plan
Area as shown in Figure 7-6. The facilities
include: Braly No. 14, Washington Colony No.
15, Oleander N. Br. No. 17, Washington Colony
N. Br. No. 20, Washington Colony S. Br. No. 22,
Central No. 23, Fresno Colony No. 24, Viau No.
25, North Central No. 26, American Colony No.
27, Wilson No. 230, Storey No. 237, Benefield
No. 239, and Wilder No. 289. Most, if not all,
of these facilities precede City development
and/or roads. The FID canals range from
smaller diameter pipelines to large open
canals. In most cases, the existing facilities
will need to be upgraded to meet current
urban standards or relocated by developers
to accommodate new urban developments
and provide for public safety which will require
new pipelines and new exclusive easements.

The FID will impose the same conditions on
South Central Specific Plan
114 |
·|}þ
·|}þ
·|}þ
·|}þ

CHESTNUT
VEN
TURA
G
CHEST
NUT

CENTRAL

AMERICAN
W
ILLOW
JENSEN
GOLDEN
ST
ATE

ANNADALE
EL
M
CED
AR
B
CHER
RY
M
APL
E
M

ARTIN LUTHER

KING JR
ORANGE

CALIFORNIA
CHURCH
NORTH
EA
ST
PEA
CH

VAN NESS
FIG
M
APL
E
MALAGA
Basin
LL
BasinGG
Basin II2
Goodrich
No. 9
Basin A
Benefield No. 239
Central No. 23
Braly
No. 14
Thompson
Borrecco
No. 208
Basin CS
No. 15
Basin HH
Otto No. 206
Basin BE
American
Colony
Cherry Ave.
- N. Br.

No. 313
Basin AW
1 No. 26
Viau No. 25
Bettencourt
Steyer No. 316
Toffs No. 315
North
Central
No. 26
Ventura
Elm
Ave. No. 210
Basin II1
Storey No. 237
MCWD No. 930
QuirozNo. 25
Freitas
Wilder No. 289
Rainey
Rainey
Lindsey No. 237
Com
ba
No. 306
Cabot
South Central No. 28
Wilder
Rainey
Rainey
Washington
Colony - N.

Br. No. 20
Paladini
No. 280
Tologian
No. 228
Viau
Basin AW
2 Rainey
No. 559
North
Central
FresnoColonyNo. 24
Rodgers
Ditch
No. 207
La RueNo. 238
FresnoColony
Peterson Br.

Poulsen
No. 304
Savory No. 543
Oleander No. 16
W
ashington
Colony
No. 15
Viau S. Br. No. 232 Peterson
Br. No. 524
American
Colony
No. 27
Cherry Ave. - N. Br.

Ward
Cherry Ave. - S. Br.

Holland
North
Central
No. 180
Chestnut
Avenue No. 188
Central Basin
Malaga &
East No. 586
99 41
41 99
FIGURE 7-17: FRESNO IRRIGATION DISTRICT CANAL SYSTEM
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend
MUSCAT
Ponds
Canal
Pipeline
Fresno Sphere of Influence
SCSP Boundary
Fresno City Limits
Figure 7-6: Fresno Irrigation District Canal Network
Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
115
future projects in the Plan Area as it would
with any other project located within the
common boundary of the city of Fresno
and the FID including, but not limited
to, requirements from the FID specified
exclusive easements, access points, and drive
approaches at all road crossings. Additionally,
the FID will require all impacted open channel
drive banks, to be built out to the FID specified
widths, heights, and overlaid with all-weather
road. The FID will require that it review and
approve all maps and plans adjacent to FID
canals and easements.

The majority of the proposed Plan Area will
impact existing pipelines and small open
channel canals. The FID will require all small
open channels and existing pipelines impacted
by the project area development be upgraded
to meet the FID’s standards for urban, rural,
and industrial areas. The majority of the FID’s
facilities within the Plan Area do not meet
the FID’s urban specifications, including
road or highway crossings. The majority of
the existing pipelines are monolithic cast-in-
place concrete pipe, low head/thin wall PVC,
and non-reinforced mortar jointed concrete
pipeline. These pipelines were designed for
a rural environment and must be replaced
as development occurs. The large canals,
Washington Colony No. 15 and Central Canal
No. 23, will be too large to be contained
within a pipeline. Development impacts to
these canals will require designs that protect
the canal’s integrity for an urban setting
including the need for access and full right-
of-way widths for the FID’s operations and
maintenance needs.

7.3 Infrastructure -
Dry Utilities
Gas and Electrical Systems
The Plan Area is currently serviced by Pacific
Gas and Electric (PG&E). PG&E incorporated
in California in 1905 and is one of the largest
combined natural gas and electric energy
companies in the United States. Based in
Oakland, there are approximately 23,000
employees who carry out PG&E’s primary
business of transmission and delivery of
energy. The company provides natural gas and
electric services to approximately 16 million
people throughout a 70,000 square mile
service area in northern and central California.

In anticipation of development in the Plan
Area, PG&E purchased a 5-acre vacant
site on the east side of East Avenue just
south of North Avenue for a future electric
transmission/distribution substation facility
(see Figure 7-7). Substations are critical
junctions and switching points in the electric
system, connecting the transmission system
to the distribution system. Substations
transform high voltage electricity to low
voltage electricity allowing it to be distributed
to customers – industrial, commercial,
agricultural, and residential.

In the interim, upgrades at existing Malaga
and California Substations (see Figure 7-8) can
provide additional capacity to support new
development and the transition of existing
uses to near-zero emissions technology
through electrification of trucks, on-site
vehicles, and emission-generating equipment.

In the Plan Area, major gas lines run
underground along East, Maple, and North
Avenues with short segments along Annadale,
Cherry, Jensen, and Central Avenues. As new
development comes in, new gas distribution
South Central Specific Plan
116 |
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CHESTNUT
MUSCAT
Fuerza Del Calvario
Pentecostal Church
La Casa de Oracion of Fresno
Asamblea of Dios
Gurdwara Nanaksar
Sahib Sikh temple
Wat Ratanak Modol
Department of Motor Vehicles
Commercial Test Center
Kings River Conservation District (KRCD)
Fresno Irrigation District (FID) Headquarters
PG&E Substation
- Malaga
Planned PG&E Substation
PG&E Substation - California Ave
Deliverance Temple
99 41
41 99
FIGURE 7-8: RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS and OTHER PUBLIC FACILITIES [
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend
Existing Religious Institutions
Existing Public Facilities
Planned PG&E Substations
Fresno Sphere of Influence Fresno
City Limits
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Figure 7-7: Religious Institutions and Other Public Facilities Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
117
lines will need to be added underground.

It is important to note that PG&E is
committed to achieving a net-zero energy
system by 2040. To deliver on this goal it
will need to evolve the natural gas system to
integrate cleaner fuels and increase future
development reliability on electric energy
wherever possible. Also, PG&E is committed
to reducing methane emissions from the gas
system by 45% by 2030 which will require
highly effective leak detection and repair
technologies. In April 2023, two years ahead
of schedule, PG&E has already achieved
their 2025 goal of 20% emission reduction
from natural gas operations. PG&E’s net-zero
energy system goal by 2040 aligns with the
2040-year life of this Plan. PG&E envisions
that in the years to come new building
development and operations will utilize
electricity wherever possible, necessary gas
lines (existing and new) will deliver cleaner
fuels rather than fossil fuel, and gas pipelines
(existing and new) will have reduced or no
methane emission leaks.

7.4 Solid Waste
Commercial and Industrial
In 2011, the City of Fresno granted franchises
for non-exclusive roll off services to 16
companies for bin capacities of 10 cubic yards
or greater. The City also granted exclusive
franchise agreements for the collection of
commercial solid waste, recyclables, and
green waste to two franchises. Allied Waste
Services (formally Republic) is responsible
for all commercial services north of Ashlan
Avenue. Mid Valley has all commercial
locations south of Ashlan. Both haulers are
responsible for Commercial, and Industrial
capacities of 8 cubic yards, or less.

Garbage disposed of is taken to Cedar Avenue
Recycling and Transfer Station (CARTS). Once
trash has been off-loaded at the transfer
station, it is sorted and non-recyclable solid
waste is loaded onto large trucks and taken
to the American Avenue Landfill. Commercial
green waste and organics are delivered to Elm
Avenue Recycling, transferred to the Kerman
facility, and then composted with organic
compost, which is then used by organic farms
in the region. Recycling is delivered to Elm
Avenue Recycling.

Within the Plan Area, if existing commercial
and industrial land in Fresno’s SOI is annexed
into the city limits or new commercial and
industrial sites are built, the franchises will
expand their service area to cover the solid
waste disposal needs of these new customers.

Residential
The City of Fresno Department of Public
Utilities (DPU) - Solid Waste Management
Division is responsible for the collection
of municipal solid waste, recyclables,
green waste, and Operation Clean Up for
approximately 121,000 residential customers.

The Division also has oversight of litter
collection and solid waste-related FresGO
customer service responses within the Fresno
city limits. These collection activities produce
approximately 5,300 tons of material each
week. Once a year, residents are allowed
to place items too large for regular trash
collection at the curb for pickup through
Operation Clean Up.

The City provides residents with three
96-gallon bins as a basic level of service: one
bin for trash (gray), one for recyclables (blue),
and one for green waste (green). All bins are
emptied on the same day by collection trucks.

The Plan Area is divided into two service
South Central Specific Plan
118 |
zones. The majority is served on Fridays and
the portion north of Golden State Blvd and
east of Orange Ave is served on Thursdays.

For residential customers with disabilities or
medical conditions that prevent them from
handling their bins, drivers will roll out bins and
return them to their original location.

Garbage disposed is taken to CARTS located
in the Plan Area. Once trash has been off-
loaded at the transfer station, it is sorted, and
then non-recyclable solid waste is loaded onto
large trucks and taken to the American Avenue
Landfill which is located approximately 19
miles west of the Fresno city limits in Fresno
County. Green waste is delivered to either
Earthwise/Green Valley Recycling or West
Coast Waste located near the Plan Area.

Recycling is delivered to both CARTS and
Elm Avenue Recycling located in and near the
Plan Area respectively. The American Avenue
Landfill expected closure date is November 15,
2044, four years beyond the life of this Plan.

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW), which is
any product that is labeled as harmful, toxic,
poisonous, combustible, corrosive, flammable,
or irritant, is not collected by the City. Many
household products are made of harmful
chemicals and these products must be used
carefully and disposed of properly. Fresno
County provides HHW disposal services at the
Fresno HHW Facility and at approved drop-
off locations. The City of Fresno and Fresno
County hold two (HHW) drop-off events each
year, one in the spring and one in the fall.

The City created the Beautify Fresno program
in 2021 to improve the City of Fresno’s “curb
appeal” through the coordinated delivery
of existing City resources to eliminate
trash, graffiti, and blight, and by creating
community-based cleanup and beautification
projects. In FY 2023, the Beautify Fresno
program hosted 118 cleanup and beautification
events, with over 8,500 volunteers and 210
groups picking up more than 100,000 pounds
of trash, removing graffiti, and planting
hundreds of trees. Some of these events
occurred in the Plan Area.

Within the Plan Area, if existing residential
land in Fresno’s SOI is annexed into the city
limits or new residential homes are built, the
City’s Solid Waste Management Division
will expand it service area to cover the solid
waste disposal needs of these new residential
customers.

7.5 Public Facilities
Parks and Open Space
The City is dedicated to improving access to
parks and open spaces to enhance the health
and quality of life of the community. See Figure
7-5 for all existing and planned parks and
open space in and adjacent to the Plan Area.

Currently, there are no parks within the Plan
Area. Outside the Plan Area there are three
parks that are within 0.5 mile of the Plan Area
and they are Almy Park, Mary Ella Brown Park,
and Mosqueda Park.

In December 2014, the adopted General
Plan set minimum level of service goals at
three acres per 1,000 residents for pocket,
neighborhood, and community parks, and two
acres per 1,000 residents for regional, open
space/natural areas, and special use parks.

In December 2017, the adopted Parks Master
Plan articulated a vision for improving Fresno’s
parks and open space system and identified
park needs through gap analysis mapping and
population estimates. Table 6.3 of the Parks
Master Plan represents the Plan Area as having
an existing need for three acres of pocket,
neighborhood, and/or community parks,
Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
119
and two acres of regional, open space, and/
or special parks. Three acres of planned park
space is identified southwest of the Elm and
North Avenues intersection. Future planning
for the park will follow the guidance of the
Parks Master Plan.

Schools
Fresno City College (FCC) has a Career and
Technology Center on the south side of
Annadale between East and Cherry Avenues.

This center provides hands-on education for
a career in auto collision repair, maintenance
mechanic, and warehouse technician. See
Figure 7-8.

In January 2024, the State Center Community
College District (SCCCD) opened the new
First Responders Campus, bringing together
all FCC first responder certificate programs
into one location. These include the Fire and
Police Academies, Advanced Officer Training,
State Fire Training courses, the Probation
Academy, the Juvenile Corrections Academy,
and the Emergency Medical Technician
program (EMT). There are three Associate
Degree programs currently offered in the Fire
Technology Department. The 40-acre site is at
3300 East North Avenue (northwest corner of
North and Willow). The facility features state-
of-the-art training tools including training
structures, a scenario village, simulation
technology for scenario-based training, a
fitness room, a running track, a mat room,
clinical skills training suites, and a driving pad.

Figure 7-8 also shows the K-12 school district
boundaries that intersect with the Plan Area.

There is one elementary/middle school in the
Plan Area. Orange Center Elementary School
is located on the east side of Cherry Avenue,
between Central and North Avenues. The
school is comprised of kindergarten through
eighth grade. For grades ninth through twelfth
the students attend Washington Union High
School. The population in the Plan Area
is projected to increase very little, if at all,
between 2022 and 2040, therefore there is no
plan at this time for a new K-12 school in the
Plan Area.

The Orange Center School District, which
is comprised of this one school, is planning
renovation to and modernization of its existing
campus to address new programs, such as
universal Kindergarten, which require new
facilities and updated technology. Additionally,
as mentioned in Chapter 6, there is a lack of
complete sidewalks, which results in hazards
to pedestrians, particularly to children around
neighborhood schools. Safety improvements
in the public right-of-way such as the addition
of sidewalks and bike lanes will help ensure
students in the Plan Area have a safe route to
school.

Religious Institution
The Plan Area has five religious institutions
(See Figure 7-7). There is the Fuerza Del
Calvario Pentecostal Church on Central
Avenue in the Daleville Neighborhood. La
Casa de Oracion of Fresno Asamblea of Dios
at the southeast corner of Calwa Avenue
and 10th Street in the Calwa neighborhood.

Deliverance Temple is located on North
Avenue, just west of Cherry Avenue..

Gurdwara Nanaksar Sahib Sikh temple, a
temple, multi-purpose center, and dormitory,
is located at the southeast corner of North and
Cherry Avenues. Wat Ratanak Modol, a budhist
temple, is located at the northeast corner of
North and Chestnut Avenues. Though there
are no new religious institutions planned, they
are permitted in all of the zone districts in the
Plan Area except Heavy Industrial.

South Central Specific Plan
120 |
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CHESTNUT
MUSCAT
Ezekiel
Balderas
Elementary
West Fresno
Elementary
Juan Felipe
Herrera
Elementary
Fresno
Pacific
University
Fresno USD -
Calwa (EOC)
Edison High
Kirk
Elementary
Vang Pao
ElementaryLincoln
Elementary
Malaga
Elementary
Sequoia Middle
King
Elementary
W.E.B. DuBois Public
Charter
Elizabeth
Terronez
Middle
West Fresno Middle
Aynesworth
Elementary
Rutherford
B. Gaston
Sr. Middle
Orange
Center
Elementary
Edith B.

Storey
Elementary
99 41
41 99
FIGURE 7-7: EXISTING SCHOOLS AND

SCHOOL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department 0 0.5 1 Miles
Fresno Sphere of Influence
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Fresno City Limits
Legend

UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOUNDARIESSCHOOLS
Existing K-12 Schools
FCC Career & Technology Center
SCCCD First Responder
Fowler
Fresno
Sanger
Washington Union
Orange Center School District
Figure 7-8: Existing Schools and School District Boundaries Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
121
Regional and State Agencies
There are three regional and State agency
facilities in the Plan Area (See Figure 7-7).

The State of California, Department of Motor
Vehicles, Commercial Test Center is located
on the south side of North Avenue between
Cherry and East Avenues. Built in 2012, this
facility provides commercial vehicle driver
testing, records retention, and license
issuance.

The Fresno Irrigation District (FID)
Headquarters is located on the east side of
Maple Avenue between North and Annandale
Avenues. This facility was originally built
in 1954 and in 2011 some buildings were
demolished, some were built, and landscaping
was improved. The FID protects and manages
surface and groundwater resources within
their District boundary which includes the Plan
Area.

The Kings River Conservation District (KRCD)
Office is located on the south side of Jensen
Avenue, just east of Chestnut Avenue.

Established in 1951, the KRCD is a regional
water resource management agency for the
Kings River servicing agriculture, business, and
residents. Their service area includes the Plan
Area.

No new land is allocated for future
government facilities and offices, but they are
allowed within Light and Heavy Industrial as
well as Business Park and Regional Business
Park zoning within the Plan Area.

Law Enforcement
Within the Plan Area, three agencies provide
police protection services: the City of Fresno
Police Department, the Fresno County
Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway
Patrol (CHP). See Figure 7-9 for service
boundaries and office locations.

The Fresno Police Department provides a
full range of services and consists of four
divisions: Support, Investigations, Patrol, and
Administration. The Patrol Division is divided
into five policing districts, two of which serve
the Plan Area: Southwest Policing District
and Southeast Policing District. The Fresno
Police Department has one headquarters in
Downtown Fresno and operates five district
substations, none of which are in the Plan Area.

The nearest district substation to the Plan Area
is in Southwest Fresno, located at 1211 Fresno
Street and the other is in the southeast located
at 224 S. Argyle.

The Fresno Police Department has a target
staffing ratio of 1.5 unrestricted officers per
1,000 residents. Infrastructure such as cars,
equipment, and office space are also needed
to support new services. As Fresno’s city limits
expand, so will the need for law enforcement
and crime prevention services. More calls
for service will lead to increased staffing and
infrastructure needs.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office provides
law enforcement and crime prevention
services to the unincorporated portions of
Fresno County and is divided into four Patrol
Areas. The Plan Area is located within Patrol
Area 2. The Patrol Area 2 Sheriff’s Office is
located at 1129 N Armstrong Avenue, just off
SR-180 and Belmont Avenue in southeast
Fresno. As county of Fresno land is annexed
into the city of Fresno, more responsibility for
law enforcement in the Plan Area will shift to
the Fresno Police Department and away from
the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. As this
happens, staffing and infrastructure needs for
the Sheriff’s Office within the Plan Area will
decrease.

South Central Specific Plan
122 |

MINNEWAWA
CLOVIS

SUNNYSIDE
FOWLER

ARMSTRONG

TEMPERANCE
LOCAN
DEWOLF

BELMONT
TULARE
OLIVE

MCKINLEY

SHIELDS

CLINTON
DAKOTA
KINGS
CANYON

VENTURA
G
CHEST
NUT

CENTRAL

AMERICAN
W
ILLOW
JENSEN
GOLDEN
ST
ATE

ANNADALE
EL
M
CED
AR
B
CHER
RY
M
APL
E
M

ARTIN LUTHER

KING JR
ORANGE

CALIFORNIA
CHURCH
NORTH
EA
ST
PEA
CH
FIG
M
APL
E
MALAGA
FIGURE 7-4: LAW ENFORCEMENT
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend
MUSCATCHP Office
Southwest Police Substation
Fresno Police Headquarters (PDHQ)
Police Substations
Sheriffs Office
California Highway Patrol (CHP)

POLICING DISTRICT
Southeast
Southwest
Sheriff's Office
Southeast Policing District
Central Policing District
·|}þ41
·|}þ41
·|}þ99
·|}þ99
·|}þ180
Fresno City Limits
Fresno Sphere of Influence
SCSP Boundary
BUTLER
Figure 7-9: Law Enforcement
Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
123
The CHP is responsible for providing uniform
traffic law enforcement throughout the State
highway system. The CHP assists the City of
Fresno by providing law enforcement within
the city under Special Programs. There is
a CHP Patrol Office in the Plan Area and it
is located at 1380 E Fortune Avenue on the
northwest corner of East Fortune and South
Orange Avenues.

Fire Protection
Within the Plan Area, two agencies provide
fire protection services: the Fresno City Fire
Department and the Fresno County Fire
Protection District. See Figure 7-10 for service
boundaries and office locations.

There are two fire stations located in the Plan
Area. The Fresno City Fire Department Station
7 is located at 2571 S. Cherry Avenue just north
of Jensen Avenue and the Fresno County
Fire Protection District Station 87 is located
at 4706 E Drummond Avenue just southeast
of the intersection of Jensen and Maple
Avenues. The Plan Area is serviced by both Fire
Stations 7 and 87. The City and County have a
cooperative agreement to ensure fire service
to the entire Plan Area.

The Fresno City Fire Department provides
fire suppression and prevention, hazardous
materials mitigation, and emergency medical
services. The Fresno City Department aims
to provide response to the scene of an
emergency within 4 minutes of the time the
station receives notification. In 2022, the
Fresno City Fire Department was able to
respond to structure fires within 4 minutes
76% of the time, and to calls for medical aid
within 4 minutes 61% of the time. Station 7 had
2,840 responses to calls for services making
them the 9th busiest fire station out of the 21
in the city.

The Fresno City Fire Department relies on
several factors to determine the need for new
fire facilities. In the Plan Area, the Fresno City
Fire Department has planned to construct
a new fire facility in the vicinity of North and
Orange Avenues. As new development is
constructed, fees will be collected to ensure
the fire facility is built to serve the Plan Area.

As land in the county of Fresno is annexed
into the city of Fresno, more responsibility for
providing fire protection in the Plan Area will
shift to the Fresno City Fire Department and
away from the Fresno County Fire Protection
District. As this happens staffing and
infrastructure needs for the Fresno County
Fire Protection District within the Plan Area
will decrease.

7.6 Communications
T elecommunications
AT&T, Comcast, and Xfinity (all AT&T
companies) provide telephone, fiber, and
cable services to the Plan Area. AT&T is the
largest provider of cellular and fixed telephone
services. Telephone lines are located
throughout the Plan Area.

Intelligent Transportation System
Fresno’s Intelligent Transportation System
(ITS) is a state-of-the-art technology that
monitors, models, and coordinates traffic. It
connects the City’s Traffic Operations Center
to a fiber optic network for efficient citywide
traffic coordination. In Fresno, ITS has helped
to reduce commute times up to 18% and
reduce the resulting emissions of Volatile
Organic Compounds (VOC), Nitrogen Oxide
(NOX), and Greenhouse Gasses (CO2). See
Figure 7-11 for the existing and planned ITS
fiber optic network in the Plan Area.

South Central Specific Plan
124 |
¬«
¬«¬«
¬«
¬«
¬«

VENTURA
G
CHEST
NUT

CENTRAL

AMERICAN
W
ILLOW
JENSEN
GOLDEN
ST
ATE

ANNADALE
EL
M
CED
AR
B
CHER
RY
M
APL
E
M

ARTIN LUTHER

KING JR
ORANGE

CALIFORNIA
CHURCH
NORTH
EA
ST
PEA
CH

VAN NESS
FIG
M
APL
E
MALAGA
87 03
07 08
FIGURE 7-10: FIRE PROTECTION
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend
MUSCAT
¬« Fire Stations

FIRE DISTRICT
City of Fresno
Fresno County Contract Area
Fresno County Fire District
·|}þ41
·|}þ41
·|}þ99
·|}þ99
Fresno City Limits
Fresno Sphere of Influence
SCSP Boundary
Figure 7-10: Fire Protection
Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
125
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CHESTNUT
VEN
TURA
G
CHEST
NUT

CENTRAL

AMERICAN
W
ILLOW
JENSEN
GOLDEN
ST
ATE

ANNADALE
EL
M
CED
AR
B
CHER
RY
M
APL
E
M

ARTIN LUTHER

KING JR
ORANGE

CALIFORNIA
CHURCH
NORTH
EA
ST
PEA
CH

VAN NESS
FIG
M
APL
E
MALAGA
99 41
41 99
FIGURE 7-18: EXISTING AND PLANNED INTELLIGENT

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
[
South Central Specific Plan
Source: City of Fresno GIS Data
Prepared by the Planning and Development Department
0 0.5 1
Miles
Legend
MUSCAT

EXISTING ITS

PLANNED ITS
Fresno Sphere of Influence
South Central Specific Plan (SCSP)
Fresno City Limits
Figure 7-11: Existing and Planned Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) South Central Specific Plan
126 |
The fiber optic network in Fresno includes
miles of fiber optic cable that connect to the
busiest intersections and are buried under the
ground. The Traffic Operation Center provides
a single location to manage the fiber optic
cable traffic routes. Computerized traffic
controllers control traffic signal timing to
optimize traffic flow at intersections and traffic
timing down major streets. Internet Protocol
Cameras are set up at major intersections to
receive “real” time traffic levels to help signal
coordination. Vehicle sensors are embedded
in the pavement or mounted above to provide
vehicle volume, speed, traffic counts, and
accurate time of traffic signals.

Fiber Optic Broadband
The term broadband commonly refers
to high-speed internet access that is always
on and faster than the traditional dial-up
access. Broadband provides internet access
via multiple types of technologies including
fiber optics, wireless, cable, and satellite. The
difference between traditional broadband and
fiber optic broadband is mainly that fiber optic
broadband is much more efficient, reliable,
and faster.

Fiber optics, or optical fiber, refers to the
technology that transmits information as light
pulses along a glass or plastic fiber. The fiber
optic broadband connection uses optical fiber
for transmission of data. Essentially WiFi is a
wireless connection in a home or business,
that connects a phone or computer to a
modem/router, while broadband is the actual
internet connection that a modem/router
uses to send and receive data from a home or
business to the wider world.

The fiber optic cables are deployed aerially
or underground, The preferred method is
in conduits underground where fiber optic
cable is protected from the above ground
elements. The City owns or has the right to use
a relatively large amount of infrastructure that
can be leveraged for advancing broadband. As
represented in Figure 7-12, taken from the City
of Fresno Broadband Strategic Plan (2023),
Fresno owns or has access to approximately

93.2 miles of existing ITS fiber optic cables
in underground conduits (shown in black)
and about 19.8 miles of existing underground
conduit placed as part of other projects
(shown in purple) that fiber optic cabling could
be used to expand the broadband network in
Fresno.

Fresno’s Broadband Gaps
As part of the Broadband Strategic Plan, an
analysis was done on Fresno’s broadband
market and the results identified the following
four broadband-related gaps:

1. Lack of Competitive Broadband
Providers.

2. Lack of Data Centers and Interconnect
Facilities.

3. Lack of Digital Infrastructure in the South
Central Focus Area.

4. Lack of Internet Access Among a Portion
of Fresno Households.

GAP 3 – Lack of Digital Infrastructure in
South Central Focus Area
The Broadband Strategic Plan analysis shows
that the Plan Area is in need of requisite digital
infrastructure to facilitate the Plan’s goals of
improving quality of life, maximizing economic
benefit, and reducing environmental impact.

Economic viability can be supported with
high-speed broadband through a robust fiber
optic network that attracts and retains living-
Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
127
Figure 7-12: City of Fresno Existing Fiber Optic Cable and Conduit Source: City of Fresno Broadband Strategic Plan (2023)
South Central Specific Plan
128 |
wage employers in advanced manufacturing,
technology, logistics and other industries
and should be a top priority equal to other
utilities (e.g., water, electricity and sanitation).

Businesses and residents will be less likely
to relocate to an area that lacks high speed
internet access, and many businesses also
prefer redundant connections from two
separate service providers. Fiber optic
broadband should form the foundation for the
Plan Area’s digital infrastructure.

In the Plan Area, the Broadband Strategic Plan
recommends that the City use two methods
to deploy broadband (see Figure 7-13): existing
underground ITS fiber optic cables conduit
structure (shown in blue) , and proposed new
underground fiber optic broadband cables
(shown in orange). The 2022 estimated
cost for adding fiber cabling to the existing
conduit structure is $469,150 and to add
new underground conduit structure with
fiber optic cabling is $4,541,400 for a total of
$5,010,550.

Internet Availability, Low Speeds, and Lack
of Fiber Optic Broadband Internet Access
in the Plan Area
The Broadband Strategic Plan notes that
Fresno residents lacking broadband access
are not constrained by service availability,
as the entirety of the city has access from
either Comcast or AT&T or through a wireless
provider. However, only 20% of the city has
access to direct fiber optic broadband and
multi-gigabit providers, and Federal and
State resources reveal internet speed deficits
in parts of Fresno and especially within the
Plan Area. The National Technology and
Information Administration mapping of areas
in Fresno reveal large portions of the Plan Area
that are below the Federal Communication
10 https:/ /www.broadbandmap.ca.gov/
Commission’s minimum 25 Mbps download
and 3 Mbps upload speeds. More critically,
the California Broadband Map10 shows the
majority of the Plan Area does not meet the
California minimum standard of 100 Mbps
download and 100 Mbps upload speeds.

Middle-Mile Broadband
On the horizon, Fresno may also experience
broadband expansion efforts by the state
of California. The Middle-Mile Broadband
Initiative (MMBI), formerly called the Golden
State Middle Mile Network, is a planned
state-owned network that is still in the design
stages. The MMBI will connect the State of
California allowing for municipalities to more
efficiently access points of presence and
data centers across the state, and ultimately
anywhere in the world. These connections
will give all areas of California the tools for
economic development to attract companies
and employers who can remain connected to
any network in the world through the internet.

Fresno is well-positioned to leverage its
existing public assets, secure state and
federal broadband grants to expand its
network, and utilize the future MMBI in order
to meet its municipal and community needs
in the 21st Century. Expanding the City-
owned fiber optic broadband network is the
linchpin to connecting the city and county of
Fresno to the state middle mile network. By
focusing efforts on implementing fiber-optic
broadband networks in the Plan Area the City
can take the lead in addressing the digital
divide experienced within the Plan Area and
close the gap on the last mile of connectivity
that is still lacking in Fresno.

Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
129
Figure 7-13: Proposed Fiber Optic Broadband
Legend
Source: City of Fresno
South Central Specific Plan
130 |
Digital Divide
The term Digital Divide describes how a
population’s lack of internet access often
results in a widening disparity gap of
opportunity and income within underserved
communities when compared to a population
with access. When addressing reaching
equitable opportunities for Fresno residents,
closing the gap between households requires
more complexity than a simple one solution
fits all approach. The Digital Divide often
reflects a multitude of potential factors that
cause multifaceted challenges. Up to this
point, this section on fiber optic broadband
has focused on the physical foundation of the
network, the infrastructure, that can support
a connective system which is just one of the
many different barriers of digital accessibility.

Even in scenarios where public infrastructure
facilitated an adequate network for digital
access, the lack of Digital Literacy stands as an
obstacle within members of the community.

Digital Literacy is the knowledge and ability
to use devices to access the Internet. The lack
of Digital Literacy can deter households from
engaging in the digital world – particularly
senior and immigrant populations with fewer
opportunities to use, learn, and develop
digital skills. Digital Literacy is a skill set in
need of constant development by users to
not only know how to operate devices but
also navigate through content, use digital
tools, engage in effective communication,
and protect oneself from threats online. The
best means to improve this gap is to start with
educating and developing the proper skillset
within the communities most affected.

The Broadband Strategic Plan identified
Fresno households reporting no internet
access, including substantial socio-economic
segments of the population (low income,
seniors and people with disabilities), who lack
digital literacy and financial ability. The cost
of digital devices such as laptops, PCs, or
tablets, as well as the monthly recurring fees,
can be cost prohibitive for some households
and result in a lack of internet access. Also,
internet provider services are not equitable
in price and quality. In a large-scale area,
service providers may present a connection
at a certain rate for the region and that rate
may seem appropriate for the speed of service
within the serviceable area. However, given
the aforementioned obstacles to equitable
infrastructural support in Fresno and the Plan
Area, underserved communities who are
paying for internet, may be paying the same
rate for a slower speed of service.

Chapter 7: Public Facilities and Infrastructure |
131

8 Implementation

8.1 Introduction 134

8.2 California Environmental Quality Act 134

8.3 Implementing Policies 135

8.4 Funding 141
CHAPTER 8:

IMPLEMENTATION
Section 15-104. These regulations do not
supersede regulations for legal non-
conforming uses, structures, site features or
lots, as described in Chapter 15, Article 4 of
the Fresno Municipal Code.

The North Ave Industrial Triangle Specific Plan
(NAITSP), adopted in 1973, has a plan area
located within this Plan Area. Therefore, the
NAITSP, will be repealed with the adoption of
this Plan to avoid overlap and confusion. The
Roosevelt Community Plan (RCP), adopted
in 1992, overlaps with this Plan Area. Upon
adoption, this Plan will replace the overlapping
portion of the RCP.

8.2 California Environmental
Q
uality Act
The environmental analysis for the Plan is
contained in a separate document entitled,
“Final Environmental Impact Report for
the South Central Specific Plan.” This
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) includes
an assessment of the potentially significant
environmental impacts, measures for
mitigating the impacts, and analysis of project
alternatives. Upon certification of the Final

8.1 Introduction
This Plan is intended to serve as the primary
regulatory guide for preserving and enhancing
the 5,567-acre South Central Fresno Plan
Area. It establishes the basic policies, land
use pattern, standards for development,
circulation network, infrastructure system,
environmental measures, and implementation
requirements for the future. Upon adoption
by resolution, this Plan will amend the
General Plan
to provide consistency and any
land within the city limits will be rezoned by
ordinance to match the new planned land use
designation. Within 60 days of the effective
date of the Plan, a rezone
to apply the SCSP
Overlay Zone District to all parcels within the
Plan Area and a text amendment reflecting
the Plan as adopted will be brought for City
Council consideration. The text amendment
will include a new South Central Overlay
Zone with development regulations. These
regulations will govern all future private
development actions in the Plan Area,
including new construction, additions, and
renovations to existing structures and/or new
land uses proposed for existing facilities as
described in Fresno Municipal Code
134 | South Central Specifi
c Plan
EIR by resolution, the mitigation measures
identified in the Final EIR are adopted and
incorporated into this Plan.

The Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting
Program (MMRP) includes all mitigation
measures adopted with respect to this Plan
and explains how and by whom they will be
implemented and enforced. The MMRP is
included in the Final EIR and is incorporated by
reference.

8.3 Implementing Policies
All new development projects in the Plan Area
will be reviewed through the lens of the Plan’s
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.

To achieve this Vision, the following Guiding
Principles have been established to guide new
development in the Plan Area:

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.

The Plan Policies serve as tools for
implementing the Plan’s Vision and Guiding
Principles. This section outlines four
approaches to policy implementation:

1. Policy Implementation through
Development Code Amendment

2. Policy Implementation that is Existing
or Underway

3. Policy Implementation to Pursue after
Adoption of the Plan

4. Policy Implementation through EIR
Mitigation Measures
All of the policies can be found in Chapter 3 of
this Plan. Not all of the policies are identified
under the four approaches.

This chapter provides a framework for
implementation. Even though parts of
it provide specific details, it is still just a
framework. It is fully expected that as
conditions and market forces change over
time, the City may adjust the details as needed
to keep working towards the vision for South
Central Fresno. Implementation of policies are
subject to available resources, staff capacity
and availability, funding, and priorities of
decision makers among other things.

1. Policy Implementation through
Development Code Amendment
The new South Central Overlay Zone and
development regulations for this Plan will
fully implement the following policies once
adopted.

Trucks
T-1: Establish and enforce truck routes to
avoid neighborhoods and consider
existing roadway capacities and
conditions.

T-2: Ensure truck routes are safe for
pedestrians and bicyclists.

T-3: Limit truck idling times.

Chapter 8: Implementation |
135
Air Quality
AQ-3: Require the implementation of dust
reduction measures near sensitive
uses, including the installation of wind
barriers and regular street sweeping.

Vehicle/Equipment and Operation
Standards
AQ-4: Increase electric vehicle charging
stations and alternative fuel stations.

AQ-5: Seek out funding sources to assist
warehouses and industrial uses to
transition to near-zero emissions
technology.

AQ-8: Ensure loading docks and emission-
generating equipment are located
away from homes and schools.

AQ-9: Incentivize all construction equipment
to follow the “Construction Clean
Fleet” standards as identified by
the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution
Control District under Rule 9510
Indirect Source Review (ISR).

Noise
N-3: Require the protection of noise-
impacted areas through effective
noise mitigation measures such as
barriers, berms, design and placement
of buildings, sound absorbing
materials, and vegetation.

Green Barriers/Tree Coverage/
Beautification
GB-1: Require buffers between new
industrial development and existing
neighborhoods.

GB-2: Require the installation of solid
barriers or vegetative buffers between
emissions sources and schools,
daycares, medical offices, and homes.

GB-3: Require increased coverage of parking
lots to avoid the “heat island effect”.

GB-7: Establish landscaping and site design
standards for new businesses and
industry, especially next to existing
neighborhoods.

Energy and Green Building
EGB-1: Require the reduction of energy
consumption and promote energy
efficiency through building design/
operation standards, and incentive
programs.

EGB-3: Encourage installation of solar panels,
battery storage, and zero-emission
backup electricity generators at
distribution centers.

2. Policy Implementation that is
Existing or Underway
Trucks
T-1: Establish and enforce truck routes to
avoid neighborhoods and consider
existing roadway capacities and
conditions.

The South Central Fresno AB617 Community
Truck Reroute Study has been completed and
the City plans to submit for consideration a
resolution to the City Council for acceptance
in late 2024. At the same time the City plans to
submit for consideration an ordinance to the
City Council for approval of the addition and
removal of truck routes from the official list of
designated truck routes under provisions of
Section 14-1303 of the Fresno Municipal Code.

Approximately 39 net truck route miles are
recommended for removal. Within the Plan
Area, planned truck routes along Elm, Cherry,
East, and Central Avenues are proposed to be
removed as well as existing truck routes on
Golden State Boulevard and Chestnut Avenue.
136 |
Public Transit
T-4: Expand bus area service and
frequency.

T-5: Provide van shuttles, transit and
carpool incentives, and bicycle
parking for employees.

The FAX Department and Fresno COG have
already taken steps to implement policies T-4
and T-5 by extending Route 34 into the Plan
Area in August 2023, and establishing it as
the 4th high frequency route with 15-minute
headways through the city. Provisions for
bicycle parking are required in all new
developments per the Development Code,
California Building Code, and Cal-Green Code.

Fresno COG, through Measure-C funding,
provides commuter and farm worker van
pool subsidies as well as carpool incentives.

The City will continue to support Measure
C, enforce California Code of Regulations,
and work with Fresno COG, employers,
employees, and residents in the Plan Area to
improve public transit as the area expands
with new development.

Roadway Improvements
T-6: Help school districts implement a “safe
routes to school” program.

T-7: Build, repair and maintain roads in
good condition.

T-8: Consider traffic calming studies.

T-9: Install traffic control or traffic safety
measures to include bike lanes.

T-10: Install street lighting for public safety
and visibility.

T-11: Install crosswalks and traffic calming
measures near schools.

T-13: Improve and maintain sidewalks.

The Public Works Department along with
developers and schools will implement
roadway improvement policies T-6 through
T-13. These policies will be addressed as new
land is annexed into the city, new development
is proposed within the Plan Area, funding is
sought/granted, and ATP and Complete Street
improvements are implemented. Repair and
maintenance of roads will occur on a life-cycle
basis and as funding is available.

The City’s Safer Routes to School Resolution
(2020) will lead to prioritizing funding for
sidewalks where there are gaps between
neighborhoods and schools. In the Plan
Area, there is a land gap between Orange
Center Elementary School and the Daleville
neighborhood. When the land in this gap is
voluntarily annexed into the city, it can be
assessed for improvements such as Class IV
protected bikeways and sidewalks.

The Draft South Central Fresno AB 617
Community Truck Reroute Study developed
a toolkit of strategies to address roadway
improvements in the Plan Area which include
new sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes, roadway
repaving, and traffic calming. It identifies
specific locations for these improvements,
provides a prioritization framework, and
includes funding strategies.

The City’s Systematic Local Roadway Safety
Plan (2020) analyzed transportation safety,
roadway improvements were identified to
reduce collisions, and a vision and goals for
transportation safety were established. Based
on an annualized collision severity score, the
top 20 high risk corridors and intersections
in Fresno were determined, and none were in
the Plan Area. There were half mile segments
and intersections in the Plan Area that scored
high for vehicle crash severity. The Safety
Plan also provides a summary of prioritized
Chapter 8: Implementation |
137
systematic treatments and proposed
countermeasures that could be useful to refer
to for improvements in the Plan Area. Of the
measures provided, the following pertain to
traffic calming and pedestrian and bike safety:
• Road diet (reduce travel lanes from 4 to
3 and add a two-way left-turn and bike
lanes).
• Install high-visibility crosswalk markings.
• Install raised medians (refuge islands).
• Install pedestrian crossings at uncontrolled
locations (signs and markings only).
• Install advanced yield signs.
• Install intersection lighting.

Vehicle/Equipment and Operation
Standards
AQ-6: Consider construction of near zero
fueling stations (i.e. CNG/Hydrogen).

The City has three CNG Public Fueling
Stations open for public use in the city of
Fresno and one is located adjacent to the Plan
Area at the PG&E Fresno Service Center at
3754 E California Ave.

Light and Glare
L-1: Require the incorporation of measures
such as shielding or dimming to reduce
outdoor lighting impacts.

All new development in the Plan Area must
be consistent with Sections 15-2508, Lighting
and Glare and 15-2015, Outdoor Lighting and
Illumination of the Fresno Municipal Code.

Additional requirements can be found in the
EIR mitigation measures.

Green Barriers/Tree Coverage/
Beautification
GB-4: Create a Green Street Tree Planting
Program, prioritizing areas with few
trees.

GB-5: Coordinate with Tree Fresno on a
Community Landscapes Plan.

The City of Fresno Urban Forest Management
Plan (UFMP) was adopted in May 2024. The
UFMP provides a framework to track and
effectively manage the urban forest in Fresno
over the long term. It includes existing tree
inventory analysis, canopy cover assessment,
guiding principles, strategies and actions.

Planting 3,447 new trees per year over 20
years to achieve 20% canopy cover goals is
one key action identified.

In Spring 2023, the SJVAPCD awarded Tree
Fresno with $2 million in grant funding to
implement urban greening and vegetative
barrier projects throughout the South Central
Fresno AB 617 boundary area which includes
the Plan Area (see Figure 1-7). The greening
project is part of the California Climate
Investments, a statewide initiative that puts
Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing
greenhouse gas, strengthening the economy,
and improving public health – particularly in
disadvantaged communities. The project will
fund 1,200 trees for private residents, 500
trees for public areas, and additional trees for
vegetative barriers.

Founded in 1985, Tree Fresno is a 501 (c)
(3) non-profit organization that has planted
over 53,000 trees throughout the central
San Joaquin Valley. Trees have been planted
by a variety of community partnerships
including grants from Cal Fire, the California
High-Speed Rail Authority, the California Air
Resources Board, the San Joaquin Valley Air
Pollution Control District, and many individual
138 |
donors and volunteers. The majority of Tree
Fresno’s planting work currently is targeted in
South Central Fresno.

Energy and Green Building
EGB-2: Incentivize private solar installations
by providing information about
financing and by expediting the
permit process.

The Planning and Development Department
has expedited plan review and approval
process for solar panels. For residential
there is a three business day approval or
instantaneous approval through the third party
SolarAPP+ application. For multi-family and
non-residential solar panel projects the City
provides a fourteen business day approval.

Water
W-1: Protect groundwater and surface
water by regulating sewage disposal
facilities and preventing contaminating
uses.

W-4: Identify funding tools to expand water
system access in and near the plan
area.

W-5: Require new development to
implement water conservation
measures and to contribute towards
expanded and upgraded facilities.

The Public Utilities Department regulates the
City’s sewer disposal facilities, water mains
have been expanded into neighborhoods in
the Plan Area including those located in the
County, and developers’ fees pay for water
facility expansion.

Solid Waste and Illegal Dumping
SW-1: Establish community sanitation
programs to address litter clean-up
and illegal dumping.

The Code Enforcement Division enforces
illegal dumping and the limits the Department
of Public Utilities has regularly scheduled litter
clean-up within the city limits. As land outside
of the city limits and within the Plan Area is
annexed into the city these programs will
expand to those areas.

Economic Development
E-1: Coordinate a regional economic
development strategy and monitor
trends, emerging markets, new
technologies, and the region’s
workforce preparedness programs.

The City currently works regionally on
economic development at the county, Central
Valley, and state levels on these items.

E-3: Consider establishing a funding/
grant program for small businesses.

The City is constantly in the process of
examining funding streams to assist small
business.

Internet Access and Computer Literacy
E-15: Increase public access to quality
internet service.

E-16: Prioritize fiber connectivity in the
Plan Area.

In September 2023, the Information Services
Department applied for funding to the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
Broadband Federal Funding Account Grants to
Support Closing the Digital Divide, a $2 billion
grant focused on building last-mile broadband
internet infrastructure for communities
without access to internet service at sufficient
and reliable speeds. The funding is intended
to serve unserved and underserved areas in
every county across California. The program
is an essential component of delivering fast,
reliable, and affordable broadband to every
Californian.

Chapter 8: Implementation |
139

3. Policy Implementation to Pursue
After Adoption of the Plan
Noise
N-1: Establish noise standards that are
protective of residential and other
noise-sensitive uses.

N-2: Identify noise-impacted areas in the
plan area.

The City has noise standards in the Fresno
Municipal Code Section 15-2506, Noise that
all new development must comply with. The
Planning and Development Department will
review these standards for improvements as
part of the General Plan update as well as hire
a consultant to identify noise-impacted areas
of the city.

Water
W-2: Implement a periodic water quality
testing program in areas where
contamination has been an issue.

W-6: Seek funding to expand water facilities
to neighbors within the Plan Area.

The Department of Public Utilities will take
responsibility for implementing these policies.

Water mains have been extended to all
neighborhoods in the Plan Area including
those outside the city limits though not all
property owners have chosen to hook up to
them.

Job Training and Employment
E-7: Promote job training programs such
as Career Technical Education, adult
education, internships, mentoring, and
apprenticeships including local, state,
and federally approved apprenticeship
programs.

The Economic Development Department is
already doing these activities in conjunction
with education and workforce training.

However, new utilizations in the area may need
new programming to prepare the workforce.

E-8: Connect businesses with training,
education, and local community
partners.

E-9: Connect residents to existing
training programs and to jobs in their
neighborhoods.

The Economic Development Department
will assist all incoming businesses, including
connections to services and will partner with
the Fresno Regional Workforce Development
Board who has a federally funded team that
works in this space as well.

E-10: Locate a new job training center
accessible to job seekers.

E-11: Collaborate with Fresno City College
local education institutions to establish
a job training program that can serve
as a source of readily-employable
persons for surrounding businesses.

The Economic Development Department will
take responsibility for implementing these
policies.

Public Noticing
PN-1: Establish new noticing requirements
for all project types.

The City will evaluate advanced noticing
strategies.

4. Policy Implementation through EIR
Mitigation Measures
Mitigation Measures in the EIR will implement
the following policies once certified:
140 |
Trucks
T-3: Limit truck idling times.

Air Quality
AQ-3: Require the implementation of dust
reduction measures near sensitive
uses, including the installation of wind
barriers and regular street sweeping.

Vehicle/Equipment and Operation
Standards
AQ-4: Increase electric vehicle charging
stations and alternative fuel stations.

AQ-7: Encourage commercial landscapers
to use electric gardening equipment
such as lawn mowers and leaf
blowers.

AQ-8: Ensure loading docks and emission-
generating equipment are located
away from homes and schools.

AQ-9: Incentivize all construction equipment
to follow the “Construction Clean
Fleet” standards as identified by
the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution
Control District under Rule 9510
Indirect Source Review (ISR).

Noise
N-3: Protect noise-impacted areas through
effective noise mitigation measures
such as barriers, berms, design
and placement of buildings, sound
absorbing materials, and vegetation.

Light and Glare
L-1: Require the incorporation of measures
such as shielding or dimming to
reduce outdoor lighting impacts.

Green Barriers/Tree Coverage/
Beautification
GB-2: Install solid barriers or vegetative
buffers between emissions sources
and schools, daycares, medical offices,
and homes.

GB-3: Increase coverage of parking lots to
avoid the “heat island effect”.

GB-4: Create a Green Street Tree Planting
Program, prioritizing areas with few
trees.

Energy and Green Building
EGB-1: Reduce energy consumption and
promote energy efficiency through
education, conservation programs,
building design/operation standards,
and incentive programs.

EGB-3: Encourage installation of solar panels,
battery storage, and zero-emission
backup electricity generators at
distribution centers.

8.4 Funding
Chapter’s 6 and 7, layout the infrastructure
needs for the Plan Area. The costs for these
improvements have not been estimated.

This could be done as part of the ongoing
implementation of the Plan. This section
identifies the funding and financing tools that
are anticipated to be used for implementing
the Plan. This list is not exhaustive, and new
tools may be made available by the legislature.

If a new or different funding or financing tool
is available at the time of implementation, the
most effective tool should be used.

Developer-Constructed/Funded
Improvements
For public facilities and infrastructure on or
adjacent to a site proposed for development
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141
or new construction, the preferred method to
pay for the improvements is for the developer
to construct or pay for the improvement as a
condition of approval.

In some cases, the development of one or
more parcels in the Plan Area may require
the construction of off-site infrastructure
improvements, the size of which may be
larger than what is needed to serve just the
proposed development. In such cases, if the
City does not have the funds available to
pay, through one of the existing impact fee
programs, for the additional infrastructure
capacity, the property owner or developer
may agree, through a development
agreement, to pay for the full cost of the off-
site infrastructure improvement and to be
repaid as additional development occurs.

The development agreement would stipulate
the terms of such repayment. If the cost of
infrastructure improvements is to be repaid
to a property owner, developer, or other
entity that paid the upfront cost, the City
may prohibit other development under the
Plan until the project applicant has paid
the required infrastructure cost repayment
fee in accordance with the terms of the
development agreement.

Development Impact Fees
Development projects will take on the
financial responsibility of paying their fair
share for public facilities and services through
development impact fees (DIFs). DIFs are
a one-time charge to new development
imposed under the Mitigation Fee Act
(California Government Code, Section 66000,
et seq.). These fees are charged to new
development to mitigate impacts resulting
from the development activity and cannot be
used to fund existing deficiencies. This means
that new development can only pay for that
part of the improvement cost for projects
that benefit existing uses as well as new
development and the City must find another
funding source to cover the costs for the
improvements that benefit the existing uses.

Impact fees must be adopted based on
findings of reasonable relationships between
the development paying the fee, the need for
the fee, and the use of fee revenues. The City
currently has DIFs for police, fire, parks, traffic
signage, and streets impacts.

The City can allow for credits and
reimbursements for capital projects funded by
an impact fee that are constructed privately
by developers and dedicated to the City.

Depending on the specific implementation
guidelines of the fee program, a development
project could choose to dedicate land or make
certain improvements and receive a credit
against the impact fee due. A “credit” is the
amount counted against the developer’s fee
obligation. A “reimbursement” is the amount
that exceeds the developer’s fee obligation.

Because each development pays only for its
fair share of a public facility or infrastructure
improvement, the City may not have the
necessary funding to pay for improvements
until other developments are approved and
constructed. If the City has funds available,
it can construct the improvements and get
repaid over time. If the City does not have
funds available, it might be the case that a
community facilities district, which can bond
against future revenue, would be a better
funding mechanism than a DIF.

Community Benefits Fund
The City’s DIFs do not extend to impacts
on sensitive uses. In the interim, awaiting
the adoption and implementation of this
Plan, the City of Fresno entered into an
agreement outlining the immediate creation
and implementation of a Community Benefits
Fund (Policy CBD-1). In partnership with
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several community stakeholders, the City
prepared a Program Manual for the South
Central Community Benefits Fund to identify
the process to mitigate air quality, light spill,
noise, and traffic impacts associated with
new development. Within the manual, a pilot
development site is identified and will be
utilized as a case study for the City to evaluate
the proposed implementation strategy. After
final implementation, the City—in partnership
with the community—will reevaluate the
program and incorporate feedback received
from participants.

Community facilities districts (CFDs) can fund
the planning, design, purchase, construction,
expansion, improvement, or rehabilitation of
capital facilities, defined as having a useful life
of five or more years. CFDs can also fund the
provision of a variety of public services, such
as public safety, parks and recreation, schools,
library and cultural facilities, landscape
maintenance and lighting, flood control, and
site remediation.

Community Facility District
Community facilities districts (CFDs) can fund
the planning, design, purchase, construction,
expansion, improvement, or rehabilitation of
capital facilities, defined as having a useful life
of five or more years. CFDs can also fund the
provision of a variety of public services, such
as public safety, parks and recreation, schools,
library and cultural facilities, landscape
maintenance and lighting, flood control, and
site remediation.

The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of
1982 (Government Code Section 53311 et seq.)
authorizes the establishment of CFDs. CFDs
levy a special tax. This tax may be applied
to the value of each property, rather than
assessed based on the level of special benefit
received. However, because it is a special tax, a
two-thirds majority vote is required to approve
the levy of the special tax. If the district has
twelve or more registered voters, the election
polls voters, with each having an equal vote. If
there are less than twelve registered voters,
the election polls property owners, with each
vote weighted by acreage owned within the
district boundary. Properties within the district
need not necessarily be contiguous. Finally,
establishing a CFD requires only a general
description of the facilities, services, and costs
associated with the district, not the detailed
engineer’s report required for assessment
districts.

CFDs may fund the construction of the
following types of facilities:
• Local park, recreation, parkway, and
open space facilities
• Elementary and secondary school sites
and structures
• Libraries
• Childcare facilities
• Transmission/distribution facilities for
water, natural gas, telephone, electrical
energy, and cable television
• Flood, storm protection, and storm
drainage facilities
• Other governmental facilities the
legislative body creating the district
is authorized by law to contribute
revenue toward, construct, own, or
operate
• Work to bring public or private
buildings or real property into
compliance with seismic safety
standards and regulations
CFDs may also fund the following types of
services:
• Police protection services
• Fire protection and suppression
services and ambulance and
paramedic services
Chapter 8: Implementation |
143
• Recreation program services, library
services, maintenance services for
elementary and secondary school sites
and structures, and the operation and
maintenance of museums and cultural
facilities
• Maintenance of parks, parkways, and
open space
• Flood and storm protection services
including, but not limited to, the
operation and maintenance of storm
drainage systems and sandstorm
protection systems
• Removal or remedial action services
for the cleanup of any hazardous
substance released or threatened to be
released into the environment
One key advantage of a CFD is that it can
issue bonds, secured by the anticipated future
tax revenue. This allows improvements to be
constructed sooner, rather than later. They
can also be beneficial to developers because
they do not have to recoup the cost of the
improvements from the sales price of each
new house or building. In contrast, with DIFs,
the developer borrows the cost of the DIFs
and must reflect that cost in the sales price.

Finally, unlike other types of bonds, it is the
CFD and ultimately the property owners
responsible for repaying the bonds. The City is
not directly liable.

Enhanced Infrastructure Finance
Districts
Legislation in 2015 enabled the formation of
Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts
(EIFDs). An EIFD diverts local property
tax revenues (through tax-increment
financing) to either pay directly for the
construction of infrastructure and public
facility improvements, or to issue bonds
to finance those improvements. No public
vote is re-quired to establish an EIFD, but
a 55 percent voter approval is required to
issue bonds. However, EIFDs cannot divert
property tax increment revenues from schools
and can only capture tax increment from
taxing jurisdictions that agree to forego their
incremental property tax revenue. In the
case of Southwest Fresno, the City of Fresno
would need to agree to forego the increase
in property tax revenue that is generated by
increase in property values in the EIFD.

EIFDs can fund:
• Roads, highways and bridges
• Parking facilities
• Transit stations
• Sewage and water facilities
• Flood control and drainage projects
• Solid waste disposal
• Parks and libraries
• Child care facilities
• Brownfield restoration
• Environmental mitigation
• Military base reuse projects
• Affordable housing
• Private industrial buildings
• Transit oriented development projects
• Projects carrying out sustainable
community strategies
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Chapter 8: Implementation |
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G
Glossary

GLOSSARY
South Central Specific Plan
148 |
Annexation. Annexation is the legal
process of transferring parcels of land from
unincorporated areas of a county into the
service area and jurisdiction (City Limits) of a
city. It is one of the primary means by which
cities grow. Cities annex territory to provide
urbanizing areas with municipal services and
to exercise regulatory authority necessary to
protect public health and safety.

Buffer Standards. A buffer area is a landscaped
or natural area intended to visibly separate and
screen one use from another to improve land
use compatibility and environmental quality
by reducing noise, lighting glare and other
nuisances, or that facilitates natural drainage
and wildlife movement.

California High-Speed Rail. High-speed rail
service being designed to connect the mega-
regions of California. The system is to run from
San Francisco to the Los Angeles basin in
under three hours at speeds capable of over
200 miles per hour. The system is to eventually
extend to Sacramento and San Diego, totaling
800 miles with up to 24 stations. Initial
operations in the Central Valley are scheduled
to begin between 2030 and 2033.

City (capitalized) and city (non-capitalized).

Capitalized “City” refers to the municipal
entity and its functions as a local government
entity which is also referred to as “City of
Fresno” while non-capitalized “city” refers to
the geographical area or the people of Fresno
which is also referred to as “city of Fresno.”
City Council. The City Council is the legislative
branch of government of the City of Fresno
and, except where expressly limited by the
City Charter, is vested with all legislative
powers in municipal affairs.

City Limits. The incorporated boundaries of
the city of Fresno.

Complete Streets. Streets which are designed
and operated to enable safe, attractive, and
comfortable access and travel for all users,
including motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists,
children, seniors, individuals with disabilities,
and users of public transportation.

County (capitalized) and county (non-
capitalized). Non-capitalized county refers
to the geographical area or the people of the
county of Fresno. Capitalized County refers to
the local government which is also referred
to as either the County of Fresno or Fresno
County.

Development Code. Refers to the City of
Fresno Municipal Code, Chapter 15, Citywide
Development Code which contains the
City’s zoning and subdivision regulations and
is the planning, zoning, and development
implementing code.

Downtown. The area in the city of Fresno
bound by State Routes 99, 41 and 180.

Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities
(DUCs). Settled places not within city limits
with at least 15 dwelling units at a density not
Glossary |
149
less than one unit per acre and where the
median household income is 80 percent or
less than the statewide median household
income.

Environmental Impact Report (EIR). A
document used to evaluate the potential
environmental impacts of a project, evaluate
reasonable alternatives to the project, and
identify mitigation measures necessary
to minimize the impacts. The California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires
that the agency with primary responsibility
over the approval of a project (the lead
agency) evaluate the project’s potential
significant impacts in an Environmental
Impact Report (EIR).

Farmland Classification. California
Department of Conservation system for
categorizing farmland with respect to its
potential for agricultural productivity based on
soil type and other physical characteristics.

Fresno Active Transportation Plan (ATP). The
comprehensive guide outlining the vision for
active transportation in the City of Fresno and
a roadmap for achieving a complete, safe, and
comfortable network of trails, sidewalks, and
bikeways that serves all residents of Fresno.

Fresno Council of Governments Reverse
Triangle Transportation Area Plan (RTTAP).

A plan completed by the Fresno Council of
Governments that identifies transportation
infrastructure improvements and mobility
service programs and strategies to ensure that
future anticipated growth within the Reverse
Triangle area will provide opportunities to
improve connectivity, accessibility, and quality
of life of the existing communities.

Fresno Council of Governments Regional
Transportation Plan (RTP). Fresno COG’s 2018
Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) charts the
long-range vision of Regional Transportation
through the year 2042. This RTP identifies
existing and future transportation related
needs, while considering all modes of travel,
analyzing alternative solutions, and identifying
what can be completed with anticipated
available funding for the over 3,000 projects
and multiple programs included within it.

Fresno General Plan (General Plan). Adopted
December 18, 2014. An integrated and
comprehensive long-range set of goals,
objectives, policies, and implementation
measures and diagrams for the general
physical development of the City of Fresno
and any land outside the City’s boundaries
which bears relation to the City’s planning.

Overlay Zone. An overlay zone is a regulatory
tool that applies an additional layer of
standards to all base districts within a defined
geographic area.

Fresno Parks Master Plan. Articulates the
community-based vision for planning a
complete and functional park and open space
system in Fresno.

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150 |
GOALS AND RELATED TERMS:

Goal. A goal is a general direction-setter. It
is an ideal future end related to the public
health, safety or general welfare. A goal is
a general expression of community values
and, therefore, may be abstract in nature
and is generally not quantifiable or time-
dependent.

Objective. An objective is a specified end,
condition, or state that is an intermediate
step toward attaining a goal. It should be
achievable, and preferably measurable.

Policy. A policy is a specific statement that
guides decision-making and indicates a
commitment of the local legislative body to
a particular course of action to accomplish
goals and objectives.

Implementation. Actions, procedures,
programs, or techniques that carry out
policies.

Implementation Measure. An
implementation measure is an action,
procedure, program or technique that
carries out general plan policy.

High-Speed Rail and High-Speed Train.

Rail services with top speeds of 110 MPH to
150 MPH or higher, as defined by the U.S.

Department of Transportation. See also
California-High Speed Rail.

Highway. A public roadway that is publicly
maintained and open to the public for
purposes of vehicular travel to connect cities
and towns.

Infill Opportunity Zone (IOZ). General or
specifically defined geographic areas for
which policies and implementation measures
are established to promote development or
planned land uses. Includes many of Fresno’s
established neighborhoods, which are in need
of both large, catalytic reinvestment projects
and small-scale strategic interventions.

Infrastructure. Permanent utility installations,
including roads, water supply lines,
sewage collection pipes, and power and
communications lines.

Sensitive Uses. Refers to the land use
categories where sensitive receptors live or
spend a significant amount of time including
residences, schools, religious institutions
playgrounds, child-care centers, hospitals,
retirement homes, and convalescent homes.

Sensitive receptors are persons or land users
that are most sensitive to negative effects
of air pollutants. Persons who are sensitive
receptors include children, the elderly, the
acutely ill, and the chronically ill.

Sphere of Influence (SOI). A planning
boundary that designates the probable future
city limits and service area.

Specific Plan. Refers to a plan that provides
detailed design and implementation tools
for a specific portion of the area covered by
a general plan. A Specific Plan may include
all regulations, conditions, programs, and/
or proposed legislation which may be
necessary or convenient for the systematic
implementation of any general plan
element(s).

State. Non-capitalized state refers to the
geographical area or the people of state of
California. Capitalized State refers to the state
government which is also referred to as the
State of California.

Glossary |
151
State Route (Officially Known as State
Highway Route). A number assigned to a
California state highway.

Stormwater Runoff. Surplus surface water
generated by rainfall that does not seep into
the earth but flows overland to a watercourse.

Stormwater Management. A coordinated
strategy to minimize the speed and volume
of stormwater runoff, control water pollution,
and maximize groundwater recharge.

Street, Local. Shall mean a street which is not
a major street.

Street, Major. Shall mean a roadway
designated by the General Plan Circulation
Diagram as a Connector, Collector, Arterial,
Super-arterial, Expressway, or State Route.

Traffic Calming. The combination of measures
that reduce the negative effects of motor
vehicle use, alter driver behavior, and improve
conditions for non-motorized street users.

Water Recycling. The reuse of tertiary-treated
wastewater for landscaping, industrial cooling,
irrigation, groundwater recharge, or other
uses.

Zoning Code and Zoning Regulations. See
Development Code.

Zero- or Near Zero-Emission Facilities.

Facilities that utilize and are equipped to
accommodate zero- or near zero-emission
vehicles.

Near-Zero-Emission Vehicle. A vehicle that
utilizes zero-emission technologies, enables
technologies that provide a pathway to
zero-emissions operations, or incorporates
other technologies that significantly reduce
criteria pollutants, toxic air contaminants,
and greenhouse gas emissions, as defined
by the state board in consultation with the
State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission consistent with
meeting the state’s mid- and long-term air
quality standards and climate goals. California
Code, Health and Safety Code - HSC Section
44258
Zero-Emission Vehicle. A vehicle that
produces no emissions of criteria pollutants,
toxic air contaminants, and greenhouse gases
when stationary or operating, as determined
by the state board. California Code, Health and
Safety Code - HSC Section 44258

A
Appendices

APPENDICES
For additional information on South Central Specific Plan, please refer to the following appendices.

To access these appendices, please visit the respective links or scan the QR codes provided.

Appendix A - Market Study
Appendix A includes a nonresidential real
estate market analysis to support planning
efforts for the Plan. The Analysis presented
herein evaluates existing and historical
socioeconomic conditions and nonresidential
market trends, and estimates market support
for nonresidential land uses in the Plan Area
through the study horizon of 2040.

SCAN
ME!
https:/ /www.fresno.gov/wp-content/
uploads/2024/05/Public-Draft_SCSP_
Appendix-A_Market-Study.pdf
Appendix B - Community Outreach
Summaries
Appendix B provides summaries of the seven
community workshops described in Chapter

2. Each summary includes information about
the purpose of the workshop, publicity
efforts, and a summary of the feedback
received.

SCAN
ME!
https:/ /www.fresno.gov/wp-content/
uploads/2024/05/Public-Draft_SCSP_
Appendix-B_Resolution-2019-235.pdf
Appendix C - City Council
Resolution
Appendix C contains City Council Resolution
2019-235
SCAN
ME!
https:/ /www.fresno.gov/wp-content/
uploads/2024/05/Public-Draft_SCSP_
Appendix-C_Community-Workshop-Summaries.
pdf
South Central Specific Plan
154 |
Appendix D - Alternatives
Appendix D contains the proposed
Blended, Community and Business
Plan Alternatives Planned Land Use
Maps, Buffer Maps, Acreage Tables, and
Development Standards. Also, included is
the adopted General Plan Planned Land
Use map for comparisons. The alternatives
propose changes to the adopted General
Plan.

SCAN
ME!
https:/ /www.fresno.gov/wp-content/
uploads/2024/05/Public-Draft_SCSP_
Appendix-D_Plan-Alternatives.pdf
Appendix E - Hydraulic Analysis
Appendix E contains a hydraulic analysis
that summarizes the water and sewer
system performance and design criteria,
projects future water demands and sewer
flows, evaluates the adequacy of capacity
for the water distribution and sewer
collection facilities to meet the existing
and projected demands and flows, and
recommends capacity improvements to
mitigate observed deficiencies and service
growth areas.

SCAN
ME!
https:/ /www.fresno.gov/wp-content/
uploads/2024/05/Public-Draft-SCSP_
Appendix-E_Hydraulic-Analysis.pdf
Appendix A |
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Fresno City CouncilDecember 5, 2024

Fresno City Council
December 5, 2024