From:
To:
Subject: Letter Received for 6.12.25 Council Agenda ID 25 757 Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2025 10:30:39 AM
Attachments: Letter Received for 6.12.25 Council Agenda ID 25 757.pdf Hello – I’ve attached a letter that was received for the 6/12/25 agenda for item ID 25-757.
Gabriela Olea | Chief of Staff
Office of Council Vice President Miguel A. Arias
City of Fresno – District 3
Office:
From:
To:
Subject: June 12, 2025, City Council Agenda Item No. 25-757 Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 2:21:56 PM
Attachments: Fresno City Council - June 12, 2025, Consideration of Elm Avenue Rezone 4935-0730-7596 v.2.pdf External Email: Use caution with links and attachments
Good afternoon,
Attached please find a correspondence of today’s date. Hardcopy to follow via mail.
Thank you,
Hannah N. Wilhelm
Legal Assistant/Paralegal to:
John P. Kinsey
Nicolas R. Cardella
Hunter C. Castro
Kathleen DeVaney
Wanger Jones Helsley PC
Fresno, CA 93720
)
This email has been scanned for email related threats and delivered safely by Mimecast.
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T I M O T H Y J O N E S *
M I C H A E L S . H E L S L E Y
R I L E Y C . W A L T E R
P A T R I C K D . T O O L E
S C O T T D . L A I R D
J O H N P . K I N S E Y
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R O B E R T E . D O N L A N
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A M A N D A G . H E B E S H A * *
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J E F F R E Y B . P A P E†
M A R I S A L . B A L C H†
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N I C O L A S R . C A R D E L L A
G I U L I O A . S A N C H E Z
K A T H L E E N D . D E V A N E Y
C R A I G A . C A R N E S , J R . †
* A l s o a d m i t t e d i n W a s h i n g t o n
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WANGER JONES HELSLEY PC
A T T O R N E Y S
FRESNO, CALIFORNIA 93720
AND
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 95814
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L E G A L A D M I N I S T R A T O R
L Y N N M . H O F F M A N
June 10, 2025
VIA EMAIL & UNITED STATES MAIL
Fresno City Council
c/o City Clerk
CITY OF FRESNO
2600 Fresno Street,
Fresno, CA 93721
Re: June 12, 2025, City Council Agenda Item No. 25-757
Dear Honorable Councilmembers:
My office serves as counsel for the landowners who are the subject of Plan Amendment Application No. P23 -03006, Rezone Application No. P23 -03006 and related Environmental Assessment (collectively, the “Project”), which is scheduled as Item No. ID 25-757 on the agenda for the City Council’s June 12, 2025, meeting.
As you may be aware, although the Project does not contemplate the construction of any new buildings, the rezone of the subject properties back to Light Industrial (IL) would result in a theoretical loss of residential units. As a result, to comply with S.B. 330, the applicants have been informed by the City Attorney’s Office that the City Council must consider the Project at the same hearing as an item that would result in a commensurate increase in residential units.
The June 12, 2025, City Council meeting creates a rare opportunity for the City Council to consider the Project for approval, due to the Council’s concurrent consideration of Text Amendment Application No. P25 -00996 (the “Text Amendment”). If the Project is not heard concurrently with Text Amendment, it is unclear when there will be another opportunity for the Project to be heard.
From:
To:
Subject: FW: Please Choose People over Profit
Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2025 10:24:56 AM
Email received for the 6/12/25 agenda for item ID 25-757.
-Gabriela
From: Booker Lewis II
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2025 8:18 AM
To: Annalisa Perea ; Mike Karbassi
Miguel Arias ; Tyler Maxwell ; Brandon Vang
Nick Richardson ; Nelson Esparza
Cc: Laura Rios ; Alyssa Stevens ; Gabriela Olea
; Laura Garcia ; Carmen Iniguez
; Nicole DeMera ; Celida Garcia Lopez
Subject: Please Choose People over Profit
External Email: Use caution with links and attachments
Dear Council Members,
I pray this email finds you and your family in good health and well-being.
Thank you for meeting with our team regarding our concerns related to the latest Elm Avenue application ID 25-757 (Rezone Application No. P23-03006).
Please consider that if you approve this application, you will be undoing years of work to reverse the unfair saturation of industrial business operations in Southwest Fresno. I suspect that reversing the zoning definitions adopted in the Southwest Specific Plan in 2017 may be seen by some as a correction to to zoning policy. However, we must remember that the development of the Southwest Specific Plan was an incredible example of community and Civic engagement rarely experienced by the most vulnerable residents in our city.
The Southwest Specific Plan is in fact the correction to planning and development policy that has burdened our community for over seven decades. To correct the correction made in 2017 is to reinstate unfair and harmful business development practices that
plague our community.
Please allow me to reiterate why this rezone application should be denied.
1. These industrial facilities are too close to schools, housing, and medical facilities.
2. These businesses threaten the health and well-being of our community.
3. No jobs will be lost as a direct result of denying this application.
4. Our city must preserve the integrity of the SW Specific Plan and policy that protects our most vulnerable communities.
5. The life expectancy challenge in Southwest Fresno is a documented reality.
6. We must reverse the impact of historical industrial racism and injustice in our city.
Please deny this application.
Since I’m sending this communication as Pastor Lewis, I can earnestly say that I pray God‘s blessings on each of you and prayerfully solicit your favorable consideration.
Pastor B. T. Lewis II
Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church, Fresno
Office:
'Compelled by the Love of Christ' 2 Cor. 5:14
From:
To:
Cc:
Subject: SUPPORT: ID 25-757 – Plan Amendment & Rezone Application No. P23-03006 Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2025 11:17:26 AM
Attachments: 6.10.25 - INVEST Fresno - Elm Ave Rezone Support Letter.pdf External Email: Use caution with links and attachments
On behalf of INVEST Fresno, please see the attached letter expressing our support for Plan Amendment Application No. P23-03006, Rezone Application No. P23-03006, and the related Environmental Assessment (Elm Ave. Rezone).
Approval of the Elm Ave. Rezone and the restoration of light industrial zoning will promote a healthy mix of land uses, support job creation, and signal that Fresno is once again open for business. This move is a critical step toward achieving long-term economic and fiscal stability.
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Thank you,
--
Ben Granholm
Executive Director
INVEST Fresno
www.INVESTFresnoCA.com
INVESTFresnoCA.com
June 10, 2025
Mike Karbassi, President Submitted Electronically
City Council
City of Fresno
2600 Fresno Street,
Fresno, CA 93721
[email protected]
RE: SUPPORT: ID 25-757 – Plan Amendment & Rezone Application No. P23- 03006 and related Environmental Assessment – Elm Avenue Rezone
Dear Council President Karbassi and Members of the Council:
On behalf of INVEST Fresno, a coalition of residents, businesses, and community organizations committed to building a diverse and sustainable economy in Fresno, to express our strong support for Plan Amendment Application No. P23-03006, Rezone Application No. P23-03006, and the related Environmental Assessment pertaining to approximately 55.31 acres bounded by East Annadale Avenue to the north, State Route 41 to the east, South Elm Avenue to the west, and East Chester/East Samson Avenue to the south (Elm Ave. Rezone).
For the past two years, the City of Fresno has operated with budget deficits—over $40 million in 2025 and an anticipated $20 million in 2026. Fresno’s budget is closely tied to the strength of its local economy. By attracting new businesses, encouraging housing development, and revitalizing underutilized areas, the city can expand and diversify its tax base. A broader tax base increases property tax, sales tax, and business license revenue without necessarily raising taxes on residents and consumers. Fresno needs sustainable economic development that not only increases city revenues but also boosts employment and enhances the overall quality of life.
The Southwest Specific Plan, adopted in 2017, and the subsequent downzoning of properties marked the beginning of a series of policy decisions that signaled to business owners—large and small—that Fresno was no longer prioritizing economic development.
Downzoning severely impacts landowners and employers by rendering their properties inconsistent with new zoning regulations. These changes diminish Fresno’s appeal to reputable, well-capitalized businesses interested in investing in
cc: Jerry Dyer, Mayor
Georgeanne White, City Manager
Councilmembers, City of Fresno