An ambitious, controversial plan to build 45,000 homes in southeast Fresno appears far from becoming a reality any time soon, despite having Mayor Jerry Dyer’s support and clearing a key regulatory hurdle.
That much was underscored in a tense, eight-hour hearing at City Hall Thursday evening, in which hundreds of residents and advocates turned out in opposition. They criticized the plan as a poorly thought project that would create expensive urban sprawl and divert resources from existing neighborhoods.
The $4.3 billion proposed large-scale expansion known as SEDA has been decades in the making and faces a projected $3 billion shortfall. The plan aims to develop 9,000 acres of mostly agricultural land east of Temprance Avenue and south of Jensen Avenue into residential neighborhoods…