A Fresno County judge instructed the Fresno City Council on Monday to approve a 4-story apartment complex at Herndon and Prospect avenues that drew the ire of many neighbors. Further, the city may have to pick up the developer’s attorney fees.

In July 2024, the council rejected developer James Huelskamp’s proposal to build an 82-unit luxury apartment complex in north Fresno. The hearing brought scores of opponents who said the complex would congest traffic and parking. Others — including Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni — said the 4-story apartment could be a danger to children at nearby Tatarian Elementary.

Despite Huelskamp’s project meeting city code, the council denied the project on a technicality: It revoked a variance previously granted by city staff.

A call to Huelskamp was not returned before publication of this story. Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and City Manager Georgeanne White were not available for comment.

Judge Robert Whalen — a former Clovis city councilmember — directed Fresno’s council to approve the project and forego the need for the variance. He gave the council 60 days to come up with a plan for approval.

“The housing development project shall be deemed consistent, compliant, and in conformity with the applicable plan. … To then deny the project for being non-compliant with the General Plan or (Fresno Municipal Code) runs afoul of the law,” wrote Whalen in his decision.

‘State Law Erodes Local Control’: Karbassi

Fresno City Council President Mike Karbassi, who most vocally opposed the project, blamed both the 2014 General Plan and state law for allowing the apartment. He said residents felt “blindsided” by city code changes.

“The tactics used by the Mayoral administration at the time rushed the document through with minimal public notice and announced in low-readership publications like the Fresno Bee,” Karbassi said in a statement to GV Wire.

He also said Huelskamp did not engage with neighbors enough through community meetings. Karbassi directed the city to hold a meeting in 2020 after he said Huelskamp did not conduct any meetings. That meeting was standing room only, he said.

“We absolutely need more housing, but we must build responsibly, with full transparency and genuine respect for the voices of the communities we serve,” Karbassi said.

At the July 2024 hearing at Fresno City Council, county sheriff John Zanoni said a 4-story apartment complex overlooking a park and a school could be a safety issue.

“Is anyone vetting who the people are at these apartments, do they know who their friends are?” he said in the meeting.

Zanoni told GV Wire on Wednesday he wasn’t opposed to apartments, but he said they don’t fit in the area. He said he would support 2-story apartments.

“Do parents at that school feel comfortable with 3- and 4-story apartments looking down on the school yard while their kids are at school and on the playground,” Zanoni said.  “Could be a privacy issue.”

Whalen Finds No ‘Bad Faith’ in Council Decision

Changes to zoning for that plot of land under the 2014 General Plan allowed Huelskamp to go four stories high. White and councilmember Miguel Arias warned during the July 2024 meeting of the possibility of litigation.

Some public comments in opposition to the project denigrated people who live in apartments. Huelskamp argued that was the real reason for the city’s denial. Whalen, however, disagreed with Huelskamp.

“This court finds no bad faith in the robust public process which has been exhibited in the administrative record,” Whalen wrote.

State law in some cases allows fines up to $50,000 for every unit denied by a city without proper cause.

The next step for the project is for the council to decide if an environmental study under the California Environmental Quality Act is needed. State law exempts some infill projects like the one at Herndon and Prospect avenues from CEQA, but Whalen did not go so far as to grant that exemption. He left that decision to councilmembers.

In 2024, community group South Fresno Community Alliance won a lawsuit against the city and its blanket environmental document. That decision has kept many projects from using the document for necessary environmental review.

Whalen gave the council 60 days to decide whether the project needs environmental review and what conditions should apply.