Revamp of Fresno Plans, Zoning Code Aims to Create "Next Great American Downtown"
- Josh Stephens
- Nov 21, 2016
- 5 min read
In 2002, the Grizzlies AAA baseball team moved into Chukchansi Park in the heart of downtown Fresno. Like many other such “catalytic” stadiums across the country, it was meant to spark development and bring life to California’s most sprawling, poorest big city. In the past 13 years, the Grizzlies have muddled along with but a single division title. Aside from a few new breweries and tech firms, the city’s downtown has not fared much better.
Now, the city’s boosters and public officials are putting their faith in a brand-new game plan.
Last month, the Fresno City Council approved a package of plans and regulations for greater downtown Fresno, including the urban core and surrounding neighborhoods. The plans serve a dual purpose: they are meant to promote a new style of denser, more progressive development and they are meant to eliminate bureaucratic impediments that gave would-be developers fits.
In October the council voted, 7-0, to approve the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan, the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan for the city’s main street, and a new Downtown Development Code. Taken together, the new regulations set forth a comprehensive vision for a 7,290-acre area. They promote greater densities, a mix of uses, new urban design standards, and, perhaps most importantly, provide clarity for by-right development. The plan envisions up to 10,000 units of infill housing and 15,000 new residents.
