This story is produced from an episode of KVPR’s Central Valley Daily podcast. Listen to all episodes here, and wherever you get your podcasts. Central Valley Daily is supported by the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. If you have a story idea, email podcast@kvpr.org.
FRESNO, Calif. – A proposed 9,000-acre development has resurfaced a perennial problem for Fresno.
A project known as the “Southeast Development Area Plan,” or SEDA, would create a mini community along Fresno's eastern edge. But it has sparked a debate as old as the city itself: is this the way to grow?
The proposed development has quickly become one of the most closely monitored issues at Fresno City Hall.
Fresno has historically undergone several growth spurts over the decades, branching out in all directions and at times at the expense of inner city developments – most notably downtown.
The city in recent years has, to its credit, turned its attention to once again try to revive downtown life — aided by $250 million in state funds.
Growth and development projects in Fresno, California's fifth largest city, have spanned several mayors. They each have tested different visions and methods to keep the city’s momentum.
That has included forming different narratives to spell out to residents the city’s direction at any given time. Under Fresno's current mayor, Jerry Dyer, the city has operated under a "One Fresno" vision.
In their attempts to grow, city leaders over the years have invested time and effort in existing neighborhoods. Others have looked at new developments.
Dyer is faced with a similar question of his own, as he completes his second and final term in office. And he has chosen a direction that falls somewhere in the middle.
He recently told KVPR’s Central Valley Daily podcast that SEDA represents an opportunity to bring new jobs, create new housing, and maintain the city’s competitiveness in the modern economy. But he has also pushed for investment to see through housing and commercial projects in the city’s core.
SEDA's origins
The idea of SEDA, located just east of Fresno Yosemite International Airport began to pick up momentum in 2006, when the area was approved for incorporation into Fresno’s so-called “sphere of influence.”
In order to do that, the city of Fresno needed to conduct environmental reviews before any development moved forward.
The 2008 recession put the development area’s plans on hold, but it stayed in the city’s general plans, blending in with the city’s priorities in other areas.
Initial SEDA plans proposed roughly 45,000 new homes – 15,000 to be built by 2035. That would require a lot more services and would generate a fresh wave of economic activity in the city. But that is exactly where today’s debate lies.
Priorities at odds
Mayor Dyer is on the side of those who say SEDA is an opportunity to keep Fresno growing. City officials also say the state’s housing crisis has accelerated the need to build more units.
“We’ve just got to continue to do the things that help us to grow, to build…and when we stop growing, we die as a city,” he told Central Valley Daily’s Soreath Hok.
But others see it differently. Dillon Savory, executive director of the Fresno Madera Tulare and Kings Central Labor Council, said the project raises questions about accountability and finances.
“The mayor has not released one piece of information about how this plan would be financed, how it would pay for itself,” Savory told the Central Valley Daily podcast.
Savory said the city of Fresno should instead focus more on redevelopment within the city’s current limits, especially downtown.
“You can’t mortgage the future, when we already have future plans. We need to focus on what is in the pipeline and what is completable now,” he said.
SEDA has also been caught up within Fresno’s education landscape.
Veva Islas, a Fresno Unified School District trustee, said the proposal to build homes on the city’s eastern edge could take families and resources away from schools that are already facing challenges. SEDA would neighbor Clovis and Sanger.
While leaders are still ironing out the details of what the development could look like, Dyer argues that the city must continue to expand to meet the future economic demands.
Revisiting plans
A contentious meeting over the SEDA plans at city hall last December broke the fight out into the open – and forced officials to go back and review the project. Dyer now plans to present new information to the city council in August.
Among the top issues that will be addressed are costs associated with the development, including upfront costs from the city and developer costs.
Dyer is focusing efforts on a smaller footprint of the full SEDA project, an initial first phase called “South SEDA.” The area bordered by Jensen and North, Temperance and Minnewawa consists of 1,547 acres.
“We are moving forward with the South SEDA plan only. We’re not looking at the 9,000 acres,” Dyer said in an interview that aired on Central Valley Daily in June.
Plans for the area were modified, originally slated for mix-use and residential development. Instead, Dyer said the area will be fully dedicated to research and development, with a focus on manufacturing jobs.
Another 467 acres between Jenson and Hamilton, just east of Temperance bordered by the Briggs Canal, would be set aside for residential use. Dyer anticipates 4,800 total units with a third dedicated to multi-family housing and two-thirds for single family homes.
Dyer envisions a job center south of Jensen Ave and nearby housing, which would reduce long commutes and help the city to retain residents who would typically move out to surrounding communities.
“We have to give them a variety of options, so that they don’t move to Madera or Visalia or Kerman or Sanger,” Dyer said.
Dyer told KVPR, much of the middle bulk of SEDA may never get developed. He contended upfront costs to put in city infrastructure was too high for all 9,000 acres, totaling an estimated $267 million for water and sewer mains.
But the environmental impact report must consider the entirety of the project, Dyer said, to avoid what he said was the unlawful practice of piecemealing.
Dyer said in order to bring a “comfort level” to the idea of developing South SEDA, he would consider thresholds to be put in place before any further development happens.
But Savory, the union leader, said that opens the door for too much legal and financial risk. He said the mayor should be accountable for the environmental impact report that looks at all of SEDA, not just a portion of it.
“Show us how you’re going to pay for it, then propose it on its face. But don’t give us a wink and a nod,” he said.
School funding at risk?
Dyer pushed back on criticism that the project would place any sort of financial burden on taxpayers. He says the infrastructure costs that are tied to the development project would be paid by developers instead of city residents.
Islas, the school trustee, told Central Valley Daily her concerns about SEDA go far beyond the finances.
Fresno Unified is already struggling with a large decline in enrollment and a budget shortfall. Islas says the mayor’s criticism of the district doesn’t take into account the need for long term efforts to improve outcomes.
“You don’t turn around a district as large as Fresno Unified in a month or a week. This takes long term investment and it takes a lot of planning,” she said.
If new housing is built outside of the district’s boundaries, she fears families could be drawn away from the district and worsen the decline – and further risk school funding.
Listen to interviews about SEDA on KVPR’s Central Valley Daily podcast below:
