Producer host Julia Dudley Najieb addresses communication-breakdown ahead of tonight's potentially contentious Planning Commission meeting
By ONME Newswire
In this part 2 special report podcast of It's ONME Local - Fresno: Deny Rezone Request, producer host Julia Dudley Najieb reviews how the community outrage was caused by the lack of communication and transparency to southwest Fresno residents.
After the March 26 emergency media briefing organized by concerned Fresno community members and southwest Fresno residents who were upset about a group of landowners attempting to rezone 92.53 acres near Elm Ave., it was clear that a communication break-down has resulted into the recent riff between the City of Fresno and some of its southwest Fresno residents, (see previous story on this.)
Representatives at the media briefing were disgusted at the City of Fresno for disregarding the Southwest Fresno Specific Plan (SWFSP) passed by the the Fresno City Council in 2017; a group of landowners located in southwest Fresno, represented by Attorney John Kinsey wish to rezone their existing businesses back to light industrial use versus the current neighborhood mixed use.
The virtual meeting tonight with the Planning Commission and the Fresno City Council will be at 6:00 PM tonight regarding the approval of rezone request, application no. P20-01665. Public comments are allowed via email (Erik.Young@fresno.gov ) or via zoom during the virtual meeting. People can join by phone: 1-669-900-9128 Webinar ID: 938 0971 426
Dudley Najieb replayed clips from the Feb. 3 Planning Commission meeting where Fresno's district 3 councilman, Miguel Arias, is in the middle of the miscommunication web regarding the neighboring community being contacted about the rezone matter and his justification for waiving the neighborhood meeting.
Members appointed to the neighborhood committees admitted to not doing their due diligence to read the fine black-and-white print regarding the rezone request.
Dudley Najieb also pointed out the decades of inconsistent funding designated for district 3 through redevelopment grants and City of Fresno funding being rerouted to other parts of Fresno; the act defunct the infrastructure of southwest Fresno as a result of budget mismanagement under the direction of councilpersons sitting in the district 3 seat over the years and the City Council as whole who agreed and sanctioned the process.
