DATE: December 12, 2023
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Appeal of the Planning Commission’s denial of Environmental Review No. 3860, General Plan Amendment No. 570 and Amendment Application No. 3860 (Appellant/Applicant: Department of Public Works and Planning)
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Consider appeal of the Planning Commission’s denial of General Plan Amendment Application No. 570 and Amendment Application No. 3860 proposing to amend the County-adopted Caruthers, Clovis, Del Rey, Fresno High-Roeding, and Riverdale Community Plans to encompass and/or redesignate APN Nos: 043-201-27 (3.41 acres), 495-061-25 (2.84 acres), 350-080-68T (18 acres), 442-341-07 (1.73 acres), and APN 053-260-24S (6.48 acres) from Medium Density Residential, Rural Residential, Agriculture, and Community Commercial to Medium High Density Residential allowing a maximum density of 20 dwelling units per acre pursuant to the Fresno County General and rezone said parcels from the R-1 (Single Family Residential, 6,000 square foot minimum parcel size), C-2 (Community Shopping Center), AE-20 (Exclusive Agriculture, 20 acre minimum parcel size), and RR (Rural Residential, two acre minimum parcel size) Zone Districts to the R-1 (Single Family Residential, 6,000 square foot minimum parcel size), R-2 (Low Density Multiple Family Residential, 6,600 minimum parcel size) and R-3 (Medium Density Multiple Family Residential, 7,500 square foot minimum parcel size) Zone Districts; and
2. If the Appeal is granted thereby approving General Plan Amendment No. 570 and Amendment Application No. 3860:
a. Adopt Addendum to Fresno County General Plan Final Environmental Impact Report No. 99051024 pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act Section 15164(a); and
b. Adopt Resolution approving General Plan Amendment Application No. 570 as the First General Plan Amendment of the Agriculture and Land Use Element of the Fresno County General Plan for 2023; and
c. Approve Ordinance pertaining to Amendment Application No. 3860 thereby rezoning the above referenced parcels from the R-1, C-2, AE-20 and RR Zone Districts to the R-1, R-2, and R-3 Zone Districts; and
3. If approved, 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 located at: The southeast quadrant of the intersection of W. Caruthers and S. Marks Avenues in the community of Caruthers; the northwest quadrant of the intersection of S. Marks and W. Kruger Avenues in the community of Riverdale; the north side of E. Jefferson Avenue between S. Del Rey and S. McCall Avenues in the community of Del Rey; the northeast corner of N. Feland and W. McKinley Avenues adjacent to the City of Fresno; and the southeast quadrant of N. Clovis and E. Ashlan Avenues in the Tarpey community area.
REPORT
This item comes before your Board on appeal of the Planning Commission’s recommendation to deny the subject applications (6 to 1, one Commissioner absent) at its November 16, 2023, hearing. A summary of the Planning Commission’s action is included in Attachment A and a copy of the Planning Commission Staff Report is included as Attachment B. Department staff notes that two sites within the Bullard Community Plan (Assessor Parcel Nos. 415-120-35 located at the southwest corner of W. Browning Ave. and N. Van Ness Blvd. and 415-133-09 located at W. San Madele and N. Forkner Avenues) proposed for rezoning have been withdrawn from consideration and are no longer part of these applications. This item pertains to locations located in Districts 1, 4 and 5.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board determines that the proposed GPA and rezoning is not consistent with the County-adopted Caruthers, Clovis, Del Rey, Fresno High-Roeding, and Riverdale Community Plans or the County’s General, 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 2023-2024 adopted budget.
DISCUSSION:
GPA 570 and Amendment Application No. 3860 is 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 parcels 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 in order for it to be considered towards meeting the obligations of the RHNA. The requirement includes a maximum parcel size of 10 acres, a zone district with adequate density provisions, 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 take the initial steps to rezone a sufficient number of parcels to meet these needs. The County will need to rezone additional parcels within 12 months of the County receiving certification of the HE to meet the State requirement to facilitate the development of affordable housing. Failure to meet 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 in potential litigation from HCD.
To satisfy the HCD parcel 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, to confirm that rezoned parcels meet the requirements. To meet the HCD requirements, the following must be met: Parcels have access to resources; 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; and have strong healthy economic, social, and environmental indicators. Identified parcels also cannot be smaller than half an acre and no larger than 10 acres and cannot be prime agricultural land. 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, do not have adequate community sewer and water, or is zoned as Agriculture. A considerable amount of time and resources will be necessary to locate and identify a sufficient number of parcels to rezone for a compliant HE during the 12 months after certification.
At its November 16, 2023, hearing, the Planning Commission considered the proposed GPA and rezone. After receiving a presentation from Department staff and testimony from the public, the Commission voted six to one to recommend that the Board deny the applications. Staff notes that a total of 567 property owners within 600 feet of the subject parcels were noticed for the Planning Commission hearing. A total of 35 emails were received from the public in opposition to the proposal, and 16 individuals spoke in opposition at the hearing.
The County originally presented to the Planning Commission a list of seven parcels proposed for rezoning to higher density residential development. The Planning Commission voted to deny the proposed community plan amendments and rezoning and, in its motion, the deny included a request that your Board consider permanently precluding sites identified as Assessor Parcel Nos. 415-120-35 and 415-133-09 from all future County-initiated rezone applications. The Commission, in their denial action, also included a recommendation, that all future County-initiated rezone applications be proposed on a parcel-by-parcel basis rather than a group of actions presented in a single agenda item. Staff notes that given the issues raised at the Planning Commission hearing by the Commission and the public, the Department has withdrawn these two parcels (Assessor Parcel Nos. 415-120-35 and 415-133-09) from the proposal.
Department staff notes 143 notices were mailed for this appeal hearing before your Board. Additionally, staff has provided email notification to the neighboring property owners of the two contested parcels that these sites are no longer included in the proposal.
If your Board is able to determine that the proposed GPA and Amendment Application are consistent with the Fresno County General Plan and aforementioned community plans, it would be appropriate to make a motion to approve GPA No. 570 and Amendment Application No. 3860 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 rezoning would be appropriate, citing the reasons for the denial motion and the proposal’s inconsistency with the County General Plan.
Environmental Review:
An Addendum to the Fresno County General Plan Final Environmental Impact Report No. 99051024 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/files/sharedassets/county/v/1/vision-files/files/13736-general-plan-eir.pdf>) and the Addendum. This Addendum is included as Exhibit 7 in the Planning Commission Staff Report included with this Agenda Item as Attachment B.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #43, April 11, 2023
BAI #14, November 24, 2020
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Attachments A - B
On file with Clerk - Resolution
On file with Clerk - Ordinance
On file with Clerk - Summary of Ordinance
CAO ANALYST:
Salvador Espino