DATE: December 17, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Approve General Plan Amendment No. 577, Amendment Application No. 3871, and Addendum to Fresno County General Plan Final Impact Report No. 2018031066
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Adopt Addendum to Fresno County General Plan Final Environmental Impact Report No. 2018031066 pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act Section 15164(a);
2. Adopt Resolution approving General Plan Amendment Application No. 577 as the fourth General Plan Amendment of the Fresno County General Plan for 2024 to amend the Medium High-Density Residential land use designation in the County-adopted Biola, Bullard, Caruthers, Clovis, Del Rey, Easton, Fresno High-Roeding, Friant - Friant Ranch, Lanare, Laton, Riverdale, Roosevelt, Shaver Lake, and Tranquility Community Plans to allow a density of up to 23 dwelling units per acre (29 units net) to be consistent with the County General Plan’s Medium High-Density Residential land use designation and amend the County-adopted Biola, Caruthers, Fresno High-Roeding, and Riverdale Community Plans to redesignate 13 specified parcels in aforementioned plans and the 3 specified parcels in Board of Supervisors District 1 (District 1) as Medium High Density Residential and amend Figure LU-1c to reflect changes made to the land use designation;
3. Approve Ordinance pertaining to Amendment Application No. 3871 thereby rezoning 13 parcels within the aforementioned Community Plans and 3 parcels from District 1 from R-P, R-R, AL-20, R-1, R-2, and R-2-A Zone Districts to the R-3 Zone District; and
4. Designate County Counsel to prepare a fair and adequate summary of the proposed Ordinance and direct the Clerk of the Board to post and publish the required summary in accordance with Government Code, Section 25124(b)1.
The subject parcels are generally located in the unincorporated area as follows: North of Shields between Hayes Avenue and Cornelia in the community of Fresno High-Roeding; Northeast quadrant of Shaw and Bryan east of the community of Fresno High-Roeding; Southwest quadrant of McKinley and Valentine in the community of Fresno High-Roeding; Southwest corner of Shaw and Third in the community of Biola; Southwest of Clinton and Vista in the County’s unincorporated area west of the City of Fresno; East of West St. North of Caruthers in the community of Caruthers; Northwest corner of Wood and Marks Avenue in the community of Riverdale.
REPORT
This item comes before your Board with the Planning Commission’s seven to zero recommendation to approve the subject applications with the recommendation that the parcel identified as APN 316-130-10 be removed from the County-initiated rezone application (7 to 0) at its December 12, 2024, hearing, and requires final action from your Board per the Fresno County Zoning Ordinance and State planning law. The above recommended action excludes the parcel identified as APN 316-130-10. A summary of the Planning Commission’s action is included in Attachment A. This item pertains to locations located in District 1 and District 4.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board determines that the proposed General Plan Amendment (GPA) and Amendment Application (Rezone) are not consistent with the County-adopted Biola, Bullard, Caruthers, Clovis, Del Rey, Easton, Fresno High-Roeding, Friant - Friant Ranch, Lanare, Laton, Riverdale, Roosevelt, Shaver Lake, and Tranquility Community Plans, or the County’s General Plan, a motion to deny the Applications would be appropriate.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of the Recommended Actions does not result in an increase of Net County Cost. Department cost associated with this item are included in the Department’s FY 2024-2025 adopted budget.
DISCUSSION:
A GPA and Rezone are legislative actions requiring final approval by your Board. If approved both would become effective 30 days after adoption.
Background
General Plan Amendment Application No. 577 and Amendment Application No. 3871 are being undertaken by the County in response to the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) requirements for the Sixth Cycle Housing Element (HE). The HCD, by way of the update to the HE, requires that the County demonstrate that it has sufficient parcel inventory to accommodate the anticipated population growth through the HE eight-year planning period. That growth results in the need for an additional 2,350 residential units with 1,097 of those allotted to affordable housing units for low and very low-income County residents. The HCD has also outlined specific requirements that a parcel must meet for it to be considered towards meeting the obligations of the RHNA. The requirements include a maximum parcel size of 10 acres, a zone district with adequate density provisions (minimum 20 units per acre) for very low and low- income, and the availability of resources to the location of the parcels. The RHNA allocation requirements for low and very low-income housing has resulted in the need for the County to proactively initiate the rezone of enough parcels to meet these needs.
On December 12, 2023, your Board approved the rezoning of five parcels as an initial step in meeting the County’s RHNA obligation. The County still needs to rezone additional land to meet its obligation and if approved, this action will fully satisfy the County’s RHNA obligation. Failure to meet HCD’s RHNA requirements will result in a non-compliant HE, which jeopardizes the County in receiving certain State funds, including housing and transportation funds, and can result other actions by the State including loss of local building permit control, financial penalties, and potential litigation from HCD.
To satisfy the HCD parcel resources requirements mentioned above, the parcels identified must meet certain criteria set by the HCD. The HCD requires that local agencies utilize the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) maps, updated annually, as the basis for determining site eligibility.
To meet the HCD resource requirements, the following must be met:
- Are in a high or highest opportunity area
- Have adequate community sewer and water systems to support new development
- Have proficient schools
- Are in safe and clean neighborhoods
- Have strong healthy economic, social, and environmental indicators.
Identified parcels must be larger than half an acre but no larger than 10 acres. These requirements set by the HCD aim to reduce areas of high segregation and poverty. Parcels that meet these requirements are limited in the unincorporated area of the County as most of the available land is not in areas of high opportunity, and does not have access to adequate community sewer and water.
Planning Commission Hearing
At its December 12, 2024, hearing, the Planning Commission considered the proposed GPA and Rezone. During the presentation from Department staff, staff reported seven phone calls were received from the public pertaining to the proposed site located at the intersection of Jensen and Phillip Avenue (APN 316-130-10). During the public testimony portion of the hearing, a petition signed by 18 individuals was submitted to the Planning Commissioners, and 4 individuals spoke in opposition of rezoning the aforementioned site. Based on the information provided and public testimony, the Commission voted seven to zero to recommend that the Board approve the General Plan Amendment No. 577 and Amendment Application No.3871 but with the exception of APN 316-130-10, to be removed from the application. The recommended action before your Board excludes APN 316-130-10.
Staff notes that even with the removal of APN 316-130-10 there will still be sufficient number of units to meet the County RHNA requirement.
If your Board is able to determine that the proposed GPA and Rezone are consistent with the Fresno County General Plan and aforementioned community plans, it would be appropriate to make a motion to approve GPA No. 577 and Amendment Application No. 3871 as recommended by the Planning Commission, stating in the approval motion the manner in which the proposal is consistent, approve the proposed attached Ordinance, and direct County staff to prepare and publish a summary of the proposed Ordinance.
If your Board determines that the proposed GPA and Rezone are not consistent with the Fresno County General Plan and aforementioned community plans, a motion to deny the GPA and Rezone would be appropriate, citing the reasons for the denial motion and the proposal’s inconsistency with the County General Plan.
Department staff notes 508 notices were mailed for this public hearing before your Board.
Environmental Review:
An Addendum to the Fresno County General Plan Final Environmental Impact Report No. 2018031066 was prepared for the project by Department staff in conformance with the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Information provided in the Addendum provides the basis for the determination that a Subsequent EIR is not required and that your Board can rely on the original EIR located at: <https://www.fresnocountyca.gov/Departments/Public-Works-and-Planning/divisions-of-public-works-and-planning/development-services-division/planning-and-land-use/environmental-impact-reports/general-plan-review-zoning-ordinance-update-copy> and the Addendum. This Addendum is included as Exhibit 6 in the Planning Commission Staff Report included with this Agenda Item as Attachment B.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #6, February 20, 2024
BAI #11, December 12, 2023
BAI #43, April 11, 2023
BAI #14, November 24, 2020
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Attachments A - B
On file with Clerk - Resolution
Ordinance
On file with Clerk - Summary of Ordinance
CAO ANALYST:
Salvador Espino