Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
County Residents Reject Joining the City. Will It Be the Same in Southeast Fresno?
Edward Smith updated website photo 2024
By Edward Smith
Published 1 month ago on
December 27, 2024

Many residents in southeast Fresno oppose development, saying it will take away from Fresno's farmland. Supervisors say it helps the city meet necessary housing goals. (GV Wire Composite/David Rodriguez)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

In 2020, the city and county of Fresno had to take special measures to allow a Fresno attorney to build nearly 500 homes on his family’s land in the southwest part of town.

Part of that agreement required the city to not only annex the 89 acres owned by Eddie Fanucchi, but also a parcel that would connect the new development to city limits.

However, residents objected to the annexation, and in the November election, more than 84% of them rejected joining the city. While the vote won’t stop homebuilding from happening at that property, it may preview a fight on the other side of town.

If the city ever undertakes annexation to develop southeast Fresno, resident opposition could be one of many hurdles for the city’s stalled SEDA plan.

SW Fresno Homes Moving Forward Despite

The map for Fanucchi’s development near Dakota and Hayes avenues would have created a peninsula that bypassed city control — something lawmakers try to avoid, said Brian Spaunhurst, executive officer of the Fresno Local Agency Formation Commission.

Rather than repeat the contentious and lengthy annexation process, Fanucchi and the city agreed to submit a separate application proposal, Spaunhurst said.

But during the annexation process, landowners and registered voters objected to the proposal, forcing the matter to go before voters. Spaunhurst said the agency does not ask why residents would oppose an annexation.

To annex land, notices have to be given to affected people. For land considered “uninhabited” — 11 or fewer registered voters — the commission may not need to send out notices or hold hearings. But for land with more than 12 voters, an election must be held if protests come from more than 25% of voters.

Voters in the property adjacent to Fresno attorney Eddie Fanucchi’s new housing development voted against annexation. (Fresno LAFCo)

Of the 76 votes cast during the November election for annexing the parcel of land at Ashlan and Hayes avenues, 64 people voted “no.” The “no” vote won’t affect the Fanucchi development as the city agreed to take on roadways connecting the parcel to the rest of the city, said Fresno City Manager Georgeanne White.

Fanucchi said construction on the project is well underway, with waterlines being laid.

“The area needs the housing, we’ve very happy that we made a better use of our old property to help the housing needs that are out there because most of these homes are all going to be first-time buyer homes,” Fanucchi said.

SEDA Will Irreversibly Transform Prime Farmland: Residents

Part of what made getting Fanucchi’s land development so contentious was that the agreement for how the city and county would split property taxes expired as the plan map was getting ready for approval. Both governments said they weren’t getting enough to pay for services they provide.

In December, both bodies agreed to a new tax sharing agreement.

And, while hearings for the tax-sharing agreement at the city brought out developers praising the agreement, at the county hearing, residents of southeast Fresno came out to object.

The SEDA plan repurposes 9,000 acres of land from rural farmland into a residential and commercial miniature city. The city’s specific plan, which includes an environmental study and estimated infrastructure cost, is stalled, with little apparent desire from city officials to move the plan forward.

This map proposes how the city would zone the 9,000 acres included in the SEDA area. (City of Fresno)

Under the terms of the agreement, the city would get 51% of property taxes in the SEDA area, compared to the 40% it gets everywhere else.

Many residents said during the meeting that the SEDA plan comes at the cost of valuable farmland.

Jose León Barraza, CEO for the Southeast Fresno Community Economic Development Association and Fresno City Council candidate, said SEDA promotes urban sprawl at a time the city has vacant infill land.

Property owners David and Helen Ramming said the plan changes land and water use and increases traffic and noise pollution in the area.

“Losing our farm is not as big a concern as losing the 9,000 acres of prime agricultural land with the best sandy soil in the country,” Helen Ramming said.

Fresno County Supervisor Brian Pacheco said during the meeting that SEDA helps bring affordable housing to the county by way of the city.

He also said it helps preserve farmland in other areas.

“As a supervisor from the west side of our county, I supported this plan years after it was originated because I want to protect our unique and highly fertile farm soils of the west,” Pacheco said during the hearing. “If we allow asphalt to overlay our soil, we will never get it back.”

Annexation Requires Consent: Mendes

Annexation is a complicated process.

Official portrait of Buddy Mendes

“Look at the Fanucchi project, a group of people said they don’t want to be annexed, and they didn’t get annexed.” — Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes

It begins with a property owner’s request, White said. Under the Cortese Knox Hertzberg Act, to keep from creating county islands and peninsulas, property owners between the requesting land and the nearest city boundary also get drawn into the process. Those that vote against annexation would retain their county zone district.

The city’s overlay code also allows annexed property to keep rural features such as barns for animals or barbed wire that would otherwise not be allowed under city code, said Jennifer Clark, director of Fresno’s Planning and Development Department.

Property owners would also have to consent to selling their land. Mendes said that provides protections for property owners who don’t want to see their land changed.

Bernard Jimenez, assistant director of the Fresno County Department of Public Works and Planning, doubted that work in the SEDA plan would begin in the 10-to-15-year lifespan of the tax sharing agreement.

Opting out may not prevent development from happening around property owners who oppose annexation if SEDA is approved and moves forward.

But Mendes said the overlay district and annexation rules do provide some protections to rural residents.

“Look at the Fanucchi project, a group of people said they don’t want to be annexed, and they didn’t get annexed,” Mendes told GV Wire.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

DEI Will Not Be Missed

DON'T MISS

FACT FOCUS: No Evidence That $50 Million Was Designated by the US to Buy Condoms for Hamas

DON'T MISS

Community Health System Announces $30M Milestone for Neuroscience Institute

DON'T MISS

Visalia Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charge

DON'T MISS

Eagles’ Victory Celebration Turns Tragic for Temple Student

DON'T MISS

Mayor Dyer Addresses Police Chief Search, Immigration Raids, High-Speed Rail

DON'T MISS

Fed Holds Rates Steady, Hitting Pause After a Series of Cuts

DON'T MISS

Senate Confirms Zeldin to Lead EPA as Trump Vows to Cut Climate Rules

DON'T MISS

Clovis Is Rewarding Diners for Eating and Drinking Local

DON'T MISS

How Much Rain Will Fresno Get From Storms Slamming NorCal?

UP NEXT

FACT FOCUS: No Evidence That $50 Million Was Designated by the US to Buy Condoms for Hamas

UP NEXT

Community Health System Announces $30M Milestone for Neuroscience Institute

UP NEXT

Visalia Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charge

UP NEXT

Eagles’ Victory Celebration Turns Tragic for Temple Student

UP NEXT

Mayor Dyer Addresses Police Chief Search, Immigration Raids, High-Speed Rail

UP NEXT

Fed Holds Rates Steady, Hitting Pause After a Series of Cuts

UP NEXT

Senate Confirms Zeldin to Lead EPA as Trump Vows to Cut Climate Rules

UP NEXT

Clovis Is Rewarding Diners for Eating and Drinking Local

UP NEXT

How Much Rain Will Fresno Get From Storms Slamming NorCal?

UP NEXT

Trump’s Orders Aim at Critical Race Theory and Antisemitism on Campuses

Edward Smith,
Multimedia Journalist
Edward Smith began reporting for GV Wire in May 2023. His reporting career began at Fresno City College, graduating with an associate degree in journalism. After leaving school he spent the next six years with The Business Journal, doing research for the publication as well as covering the restaurant industry. Soon after, he took on real estate and agriculture beats, winning multiple awards at the local, state and national level. You can contact Edward at 559-440-8372 or at Edward.Smith@gvwire.com.

Visalia Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charge

4 hours ago

Eagles’ Victory Celebration Turns Tragic for Temple Student

4 hours ago

Mayor Dyer Addresses Police Chief Search, Immigration Raids, High-Speed Rail

5 hours ago

Fed Holds Rates Steady, Hitting Pause After a Series of Cuts

5 hours ago

Senate Confirms Zeldin to Lead EPA as Trump Vows to Cut Climate Rules

5 hours ago

Clovis Is Rewarding Diners for Eating and Drinking Local

6 hours ago

How Much Rain Will Fresno Get From Storms Slamming NorCal?

6 hours ago

Trump’s Orders Aim at Critical Race Theory and Antisemitism on Campuses

7 hours ago

At Signing of Laken Riley Act, Trump Says He Plans to Send Migrants in US Illegally to Guantanamo

7 hours ago

Authorities Seize $160K, 100 Pounds of Marijuana in Merced County Traffic Stop

7 hours ago

DEI Will Not Be Missed

Bret Stephens Opinion Jan. 28, 2025 In December 2015, the Obama administration decided to allow women to serve in all combat roles. “There w...

3 hours ago

Soldiers at the Army’s jungle training school on Oahu, in Hawaii, practice tactical movements in the pouring rain, Nov. 28, 2023. (Mark Abramson/The New York Times)
3 hours ago

DEI Will Not Be Missed

3 hours ago

FACT FOCUS: No Evidence That $50 Million Was Designated by the US to Buy Condoms for Hamas

4 hours ago

Community Health System Announces $30M Milestone for Neuroscience Institute

4 hours ago

Visalia Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charge

4 hours ago

Eagles’ Victory Celebration Turns Tragic for Temple Student

5 hours ago

Mayor Dyer Addresses Police Chief Search, Immigration Raids, High-Speed Rail

The Federal Reserve building in Washington, Nov 3, 2024. The Federal Reserve is set to stand pat at its first gathering of 2025, pressing pause on interest rate cuts as policymakers take stock of how the world’s largest economy is faring. (Anna Rose Layden/The New York Times)
5 hours ago

Fed Holds Rates Steady, Hitting Pause After a Series of Cuts

5 hours ago

Senate Confirms Zeldin to Lead EPA as Trump Vows to Cut Climate Rules

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

Search

Send this to a friend