Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
It's Time for The Gap to Return the Love to Fresno
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 6 years ago on
November 2, 2019

Share

The ball is teed up waiting for The Gap to hit it out of the ballpark.
As you might know, the city has been very good to the San Francisco-based company whose clothing brands include Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta.


Listen to this article:
 


Portrait of GV Wire News Director Bill McEwen
Bill McEwen
Opinion
In fact, the city sold the San Francisco-based international corporation 200 acres of prime land adjacent to Fresno Yosemite International Airport for $2 in 1997.
Then, last year, the Fresno City Council approved a tax-incentive deal that brought The Gap’s e-commerce fulfillment center here. The 30-year contract provides $15,000 in sales-tax rebates for every full-time job created beyond 500.

How About Donating Land for Animal Shelter?

Meanwhile, our city is under the gun to build a $15 million animal shelter because its contract with the Central California SPCA will expire in June.
So, how about The Gap donate land it isn’t using — let’s say 10 acres — back to the city? After all, the location is ideal, much of the infrastructure is in place, and the city could shave that $15 million pricetag.
One more thing: Out by the airport, you won’t have NIMBYs complaining about a shelter coming to their neighborhood.
“There are some who feel that companies like The Gap are all about corporate greed. I completely disagree and know The Gap will prove that as they donate the 6 to 10 acres to this urgent cause of saving animals,” said Fresno City Councilman Garry Bredefeld. “The Gap site is also critically important to the mission of rescuing animals because of the close proximity to the airport and highways. No other site even comes close.”

City Officials Talk to The Gap

Fresno Mayor Lee Brand, Bredeld, and councilman Mike Karbassi participated in talks with Gap officials this week about a land donation.
“They’ve got a lot of room there, and the location is unique,” Brand said. “Everyone from The Gap has been very courteous. Now we have to answer all of their questions and concerns, which we hope to do quickly. We need to complete this in the next couple of weeks.”

portrait of Fresno City Councilman Garry Bredefeld
“There are some who feel that companies like The Gap are all about corporate greed. I completely disagree and know The Gap will prove that as they donate the 6 to 10 acres to this urgent cause of saving animals.” — Councilman Garry Bredefeld
City officials and residents long have expressed concern about the SPCA’s high kill rate, as well as its high cost for animal-control services ($4 million). According to a state report, nearly 15,000 Fresno County dogs and cats were put to death in 2016. Only Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties had higher kill totals.
The SPCA is dissatisfied with its longtime relationship with the city, so the parting is mutual.
Karbassi explained that the goal is to open a shelter operated by Fresno Humane Animal Services with a no-kill rate of 80% to 90%.
“With it being by the airport, we would be able to easily fly animals to cities where there are waiting lists for adoptions,” Karbassi said. “This needs to be the site, and I don’t think we’re asking a whole lot of The Gap. Hopefully, they’re going to be on board.”
If you’re thinking the city and the county should team up on a new shelter, forget about it.
County officials have made it clear they want a separate facility. Construction on the county’s $8 million shelter, which also will be operated by Fresno Humane Animal Services, is expected to start next year in southwest Fresno.

The Humane Thing to Do

The leaders who approved the land giveaway and the tax-incentive package for The Gap believed those deals were in Fresno’s best interest. Primarily because The Gap would put people to work in a city with historically high unemployment. However, both agreements were controversial. Those who gave a thumbs-up did so with a degree of political risk.
In addition, in 2007, the city settled a dispute with the Federal Aviation Administration over the sale of the 200 acres by agreeing to pay $5.8 million and interest over 10 years into a fund for airport improvements. The feds said that the city should have sold the land at market value and reinvested the proceeds into the airport.
Thus the record shows that Fresno has gone to great lengths to make its partnership with The Gap successful.
With Fresno in what Bredefeld calls “a crisis with our pet population,” The Gap should do the humane thing. Donate the land for a no-kill shelter.
 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Elon Musk Exiting Trump’s Team After Criticizing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

DON'T MISS

Tulare Student Will Compete in Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals

DON'T MISS

Federal Trade Court Blocks Trump From Imposing Sweeping Tariffs Under Emergency Powers Law

DON'T MISS

Why Did the California Senate Shunt a Cost-Cutting Housing Bill?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Teachers Call for Probe After Superintendent Orders Up Dossier Against Union

DON'T MISS

US Court Blocks Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Rubio Says US Will Start Revoking Visas for Chinese Students

DON'T MISS

CA Man’s 378-Year Sentence Overturned After Judge Rules Accuser May Have Made Up Charges

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Faces Life in Prison for Fentanyl, Gun Charges

DON'T MISS

Tiger’s Son, Charlie Woods, Wins Team TaylorMade Invitational in Claiming 1st AJGA Event

UP NEXT

Fresno’s Crime Beat Didn’t Prepare Me for What I Saw on a Ride Along

UP NEXT

The MAGA Revolution Threatens America’s Most Innovative Place

UP NEXT

California’s High Living Costs and Rampant Poverty Sharpen Its Economic Divide

UP NEXT

Three Well-Tested Ways to Undermine an Autocrat

UP NEXT

Test Your Memorial Day Knowledge With This Quiz

UP NEXT

Gavin Newsom’s Off-the-Mark Budget Numbers Undermine His Credibility Again

UP NEXT

The Trump-Supporting Christians Accusing Jews of Antisemitism

UP NEXT

Congress Debates Two Issues With Big CA Implications: EVs, Taxes

UP NEXT

Newsom’s Budget Cuts Anger Allies and Leave the State’s Chronic Deficit Unresolved

UP NEXT

The Tragedy of Joe Biden

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Why Did the California Senate Shunt a Cost-Cutting Housing Bill?

13 hours ago

Fresno Teachers Call for Probe After Superintendent Orders Up Dossier Against Union

13 hours ago

US Court Blocks Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs

13 hours ago

Rubio Says US Will Start Revoking Visas for Chinese Students

14 hours ago

CA Man’s 378-Year Sentence Overturned After Judge Rules Accuser May Have Made Up Charges

15 hours ago

Fresno Man Faces Life in Prison for Fentanyl, Gun Charges

15 hours ago

Tiger’s Son, Charlie Woods, Wins Team TaylorMade Invitational in Claiming 1st AJGA Event

15 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: The Human Side of Law Enforcement

15 hours ago

CIF Expands Field, Changes Medal Rules for State Track Championships Amid Trump Pushback

16 hours ago

Get Ready for Several Years of Killer Heat, Top Weather Forecasters Warn

17 hours ago

Elon Musk Exiting Trump’s Team After Criticizing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

WASHINGTON — Elon Musk is leaving his government role as a top adviser to President Donald Trump after spearheading efforts to reduce and ov...

12 hours ago

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)
12 hours ago

Elon Musk Exiting Trump’s Team After Criticizing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

13 hours ago

Tulare Student Will Compete in Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals

13 hours ago

Federal Trade Court Blocks Trump From Imposing Sweeping Tariffs Under Emergency Powers Law

13 hours ago

Why Did the California Senate Shunt a Cost-Cutting Housing Bill?

13 hours ago

Fresno Teachers Call for Probe After Superintendent Orders Up Dossier Against Union

President Donald Trump holds a chart next to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
13 hours ago

US Court Blocks Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
14 hours ago

Rubio Says US Will Start Revoking Visas for Chinese Students

15 hours ago

CA Man’s 378-Year Sentence Overturned After Judge Rules Accuser May Have Made Up Charges

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend