It should have been a land use plan most Fresno councilmembers could get behind. Instead, the Central Southeast Area Specific Plan was put on hold amid accusations of corruption and threatened litigation after a group of landowners in southwest Fresno said the city did not uphold an agreement to increase housing in another part of town.

On Thursday, Fresno City Councilmembers voted 5-2 to move a hearing on the Central Southeast plan to March. This came after an email from attorney John Kinsey threatened legal action because the plan does not include a rezoning for housing in southeast Fresno that his clients paid for in 2024.

The Central Southeast plan, nearly six years in the making, would increase housing and create new streetscapes in 2,000 acres of land in southeast Fresno.

Nearly two years ago, two property owners — Span Development and Buzz Oates — paid the city to do an environmental study on a rezoning that would increase housing within the plan area, and would offset their efforts to restore industrial zoning to their property in southwest Fresno.

Both companies had land uses at Elm and Annadale avenues changed by the city from industrial to mixed use in 2018 as part of the Southwest Fresno Specific Plan. They have been trying to get that industrial zoning reinstated, but in order to do so, state law requires the loss of housing be made up elsewhere.

“The problem is, recently enacted SB 330 requires that when residential units are lost (even if only on paper), the city has to offset that loss with new residential units,” Kinsey told GV Wire in an email.

Jennifer Clark, the city’s planning and development director, told councilmembers at Thursday’s meeting that the city needs to approve the southeast specific plan before the southeast site rezoning sought by Span Development and Buzz Oates could be approved.

That’s a non-starter for the Elm Avenue landowners, however, as the city’s own rules require that any loss of housing must be made up for in the same meeting, Kinsey said. That means their petition to have their Elm Avenue properties rezoned would have to happen at the same meeting as the Central Southeast plan.

‘The Fee Was Paid’: Emerson

The site used by Buzz Oates, Span Development, Mid-Valley Disposal, and others was already fully built out with industrial buildings when the city revised the zoning to mixed use as part of the Southwest Fresno plan. In 2022, Fresno City Council approved a rezone for about half of the affected land, including Mid-Valley but not including Buzz Oates or Span Development.

While the city called those businesses “legally non-conforming” — meaning companies can continue their current usage — it also meant that future industrial uses would be out of compliance if a tenant change took too long or if any substantial work needed to be done to a building.

With mixed use zoning, the southwest Fresno land could have provided space for thousands of housing units. So the industrial landowners, wanting their former zoning restored, and the city found an opportunity in the Central Southeast plan.

The city, however, said the additional housing there was not enough to make up for the losses should the city council agree to revert Elm Avenue land to industrial use.

That’s when property owners identified about 7 acres of land at the northeast corner of Maple and Butler avenues. In September 2024, the city accepted $62,000 to amend the southeast plan’s environmental document. It wasn’t until the specific plan was made public that the southwest Fresno landowners discovered the amendment hadn’t been made.

“The fee was paid, and that was with the understanding that this change would be incorporated into the CEQA analysis,” said Bonique Emerson, vice president at Precision Civil Engineering.

The city did not respond to a request from GV Wire as to why the changes were not included. At the meeting, Clark called the amendment and Southeast Fresno plan separate issues.

Accusations of Corruption Fly at Council Meeting

Once discussion returned to the dais, talk devolved into accusations amongst councilmembers Arias and Brandon Vang against council president Mike Karbassi of catering to Elm Avenue property owners at the expense of southeast Fresno.

Karbassi said he needed more time to review complex land use decisions, especially in light of threatened litigation. “We’re not here to rubber-stamp anything,” Karbassi said.

He told GV Wire that a request to limit on-the-record discussion about the Central Southeast Plan was out of an abundance of caution.

“I don’t want anything said on the record. It came from an attorney who is a land use attorney who is very well respected, so I take it seriously…” Karbassi said. “I’m worried that we’ll say things on the record that could potentially harm us later.”

Arias — who has been strongly opposed to restoring the Elm Avenue industrial zoning that lies in his council district — said he wanted to make sure Karbassi’s proposed delay of the southeast plan wasn’t connected to the Elm decision.

“This is dirty and I can only tie it to folks who are actively trying to fundraise from industrial developers for political reasons,” Arias said at the dais. Arias also brought up a mutual connection between lobbyist Alex Tavlian, who represents Elm Avenue property owners and is a campaign consultant for Karbassi, who is running for Fresno County District 1 Supervisor.

Tavlian told GV Wire his connection to the Elm Avenue property owners had nothing to do with Karbassi’s motion to move the hearing to a later date. He said those property owners represent a narrow interest at the city. He said he maintains a good relationship with councilmembers.

“I very much am focused when I’m talked to any councilmember about what the impact is relative to the city and their duty as an office holder and as a lawmaker for the city of Fresno and the impact that the current zoning issue that Elm has created on the economic development of the city,” Tavlian said.

Echoing Arias’ accusations, Vang said the city gets emails all the time threatening litigation and it was no reason to not move forward.

“Stop playing politics on the dais. Represent the people who elected you to this position, not the next position you’re seeking,” Vang said.

Karbassi denied those accusations and demanded an apology from Arias.

“Some members of this council after seven years just don’t understand that when you don’t get your way, it doesn’t give you the right to make baseless accusations without any facts to support that which can cause serious reputational harm to others,” Karbassi said.