Fresno residents could soon request a tree to be planted by the city at no charge.

The city council approved a plan for tree maintenance, 7-0 on the consent calendar without discussion at Thursday’s meeting.

Requested trees would be planted on a median strip, and the property owner would be responsible for maintenance.

Councilmember Nelson Esparza, the bill’s sponsor, said details are still being worked out. The council already designated funding for the trees.

And, the city will plant trees that won’t uproot sidewalks, Esparza said.

“I’m not an arborist, but I think we’ve learned our lesson,” Esparza said. “I look forward to avoiding (cracked sidewalks) in the next several decades.”

Esparza said certain neighborhoods are more tree-lined than others.

“It’s another way to proliferate the number of trees we have citywide and provide trees on a more equitable basis throughout our neighborhoods,” Esparza said.

The city’s tree ordinance would also require the city to plant a tree for everyone it removes.

City Council Discusses Tower District Plan

The Fresno City Council started the process on a new land use plan for the Tower District.

The updating of the plan helps the city decide where restaurants, homes, industrial, parks and more should go.

The specific plan will require an environmental impact report, extending when the plan may be approved. City staff said the EIR will cost $330,000, with the council set for approval in December 2025.

Before the hearing, five councilmembers — Nelson Esparza, Mike Karbassi, Annalisa Perea, Miguel Arias, and Luis Chavez— had to recuse themselves, because they eached owned property within the district plan boundaries. That would leave the council below the necessary four members to form a quorum.

But, there is a law to fix the situation. City Clerk Todd Stermer held a box with red and green cards for the conflicted members to draw from. Esparza and Arias drew the green cards to join non-conflicted members Tyler Maxwell and Garry Bredefeld, while the other members left the chambers.

The remaining councilmembers voted 4-0 to postpone any substantive discussion to Nov. 7. The delay, councilmembers said, will allow members of the public to know which councilmembers to speak with.

Rules applying to recusal because of owning property in a specific plan area differs from a general plan for the entire city. Recusals are not necessary (or practical) for a city-wide plan.

City Clears Way for Zoo to Own Office Building

With a 7-0 council vote, the Fresno Chaffee Zoo is now clear to own its own administrative building instead of leasing.

For nearly three years, the Fresno Chaffee Zoo leased an office building  at 1250 W. Olive Avenue — across the street from Roeding Park. The landlord, Lyles Diversified, wanted to donate the building to the zoo. To do so would require a change in the lot lines. The city said if there was a lot line change, improvements to the sidewalk and street lights would also be required.

Lyles Diversified appealed, with the decision reaching the city council on Thursday. Arias agreed that such requirements were too much for a building donation.

“All’s well that ends well,” Todd Sheller, vice president of Lyles Diversified, told Politics 101 after the vote.

The move will not only save rent, Fresno Chaffee Zoo CEO Jon Dohlin said, but will help if the zoo every requests a bond.

“It’s important for the zoo to be able to own that as an asset as opposed to being a tenant,” Dohlin said.

The more assets they have, Dohlin said, the more they can potentially borrow.

City Attorney Evaluation

For the fifth time this year, the city council held a closed session meeting to “consider the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, discipline, or dismissal of a public employee,” specifically City Attorney Andrew Janz.

The council met four times in 2023 on the same item.

One councilmember told Politics 101 the numbers are not necessarily what they seem. Just because it is on the agenda, the councilmember said, it does not mean they get to the item. Meetings run late, and the members are tired so they and push the evaluation off to next time, Politics 101 was told.

The city attorney and the city clerk are the only positions that the council hires and fires. The council met to evaluate the City Clerk Todd Stermer twice so far this year, and five times last year.

Other Council Notes

• With a 7-0 vote on the consent calendar, the council awarded American Paving Co. a $9.6 million contract as part of a new 49-acre city park at in southeast Fresno at south Peach Avenue, south of east Hamilton Avenue. The contract calls for the company to build two lighted sports fields as part of phase one. Construction is scheduled to start in January.
• Council observers and staff enjoyed newly reupholstered seats at Thursday’s meeting. The city budged $60,000 to fix hundreds of seats in the chamber with new upholstery and freshly  painted seat arms. City Manager Georgeanne White said the project is not 100% finished. The chamber holds 250 seats, with an additional six seats for the media.