As local leaders, attorneys, and environmental experts attempted to navigate the uncomfortable truth that Costco generates a massive amount of car trips, the Fresno City Council unanimously approved the retailer’s newest prototype to be built in northwest Fresno.

The first-of-its kind-for-Fresno Costco model brings together a fulfillment center, retail operation, and delivery site, said Anna Shimko, attorney representing the retailer. The 22.4-acre site at Herndon and Riverside avenues also includes a gas station, car wash, and tire center.

Fresno City Council approved the project 5-0 with councilmembers Miguel Arias and Nick Richardson absent.

Despite previous objections to the project from environmental advocates, Councilmember Mike Karbassi said ahead of the vote that the opposition largely came from one person.

“I’m sorry to the public this hasn’t been done sooner because of a handful of people, one person,” Karbassi said from the dais. “The coalition is trying to prevent us from moving forward, but I think that common sense and good policy will prevail today.”

‘We’ll Be Back in Court,’ Says Project Opponent

The problem for one environmental group — the Herndon Riverside Coalition — was the impact Costco brings. Daniel Brannick, lead organizer and land use attorney with the coalition, said the city has not resolved environmental issues a judge ordered them to fix in 2025.

“If you approve this project today, we will be back in court,” Brannick said at the meeting.

The 24 dock doors at the 47,000-square-foot Market Delivery Operation connected to the center eclipse other retail operations, Brannick said. He told GV Wire the scale of the project does not meet the “commercial” designation the city zoned for the land.

“For something as big as the Costco project, that’s a gravity-shifting project in a bunch of different ways,” he said.

New Costco Not a ‘Shadow Distribution Center’: Shimko

In its day before the public, Costco brought together a host of experts to explain what Shimko called “the evolution of retail delivery.”

She said the new design is Costco’s newest prototype intended to meet changing consumer demands and not a “shadow distribution center.”

A majority of the 24 dock doors are designed for box trucks — similar in size to U-Hauls, delivering large items straight to customer homes.

For people ordering a bulky item, that could mean faster delivery.

Normally, ordering an item may mean sourcing it from the company’s distribution center in Tracy, driving it to an MDO in Fresno and ultimately to the doorstep. By Costco having an MDO in Fresno, the item could be already waiting in town.

“If you are having a party tomorrow and you come into Costco and say ‘I really need a barbecue for my son’s graduation party tomorrow and I have to have it.’ It may very be well that that barbecue is sitting in that MDO in the store,” Shimko said.

Could MDO Reduce Vehicle Trips?

Discussions around Costco’s impact to the area became very technical. After a Fresno County Superior Court judge sided with Brannick about the environmental analysis — namely greenhouse gas emissions and traffic — around the project, the project went back to the drawing board.

With the newer proposal, Brannick objected to the city’s reliance on a 2014 analysis and state greenhouse gas goals.

California law requires that projects do everything they can to mitigate environmental impacts. Considering the demand and shopping habits at Costco, analysts largely said impacts would be unavoidable.

That includes the number of vehicles going to and from the site.

Amy Lopez, consultant for Costco, said having the MDO could actually reduce vehicle trips.

“Multiple people receive a delivery from the same truck in one day and it is routed in such a way to be efficient for those drivers,” Lopez said.

Not all of those 166,000 trips would be new, either. The new Costco replaces the one at Shaw and Blythe avenues, diverting car trips from that crowded center to Herndon and Riverside avenues.

Brannick told GV Wire that considering how much farther north the new Costco is, that could mean drivers traveling more.

Where Did Fresnoland’s $40 Million Figure Come From?

Ahead of the Costco hearing, Fresnoland reported that the city “exempted” $40 million in Costco’s fees under a 2025 Fresno program to mitigate travel miles.

City staff not only disputed that figure but said no fees were exempted.

In addition, Costco is paying more than $8 million in development fees, and city official estimate it will generate $15 million a year in tax revenue.

As opposed to multiplying the number of daily trips by a $295 fee, as was reported by Fresnoland, the complex Vehicle Miles Traveled calculus involves project specific analysis looking at acceptable travel miles, and other mitigation measures, said Jennifer Clark, planning and development director for the city.

City Manager Georgeanne White brought up that the city’s entire VMT program only expects $20 million in the first five years.

White also excoriated Fresnoland for saying the city exempted those VMT fees. The Costco project was submitted before the city approved its VMT program.

“To think we can go back and retroactively apply something after the project has already gone through the process, those are the kinds of things that we all get criticized for,” White said.

Legal Liability of Approving Costco

Matching the intended land use was a major sticking point for Brannick. With the MDO making up more than 20% of floor space, he said the city should go through the process of designating the land for industrial use.

Karbassi, however, noted the improvements Costco would bring to nearby streets. Left turn lanes would be added along Herndon Avenue to divert traffic. Riverside Avenue would be widened, and truck traffic would not be allowed on the road.

Spruce Avenue would be completed and on the east side of the project, Arthur Avenue would also allow access, receiving the truck traffic.

In an interview with GV Wire, land use attorney John Kinsey with Wanger Jones Helsley said the state tends to defer to cities in interpreting its own zoning policies.

“Ultimately, the courts generally defer to the city so long as that’s supported by substantial evidence,” Kinsey said. “In this case, the definition for general retail is pretty broad.”