Business owners are demanding Fresno City Councilman Miguel Arias be disqualified from weighing in on the Elm Ave. rezoning proposal.
The owners of the Elm Avenue Business Park sent a letter to Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz on Monday urging him to counsel Arias to recuse himself on the matter during Thursday’s council meeting.
The backstory: Business park owners Buzz Oates and SPAN Development are requesting the city to rezone the land from mixed use to industrial.
- The land was originally zoned for industrial use, but the city switched it to mixed use in 2018 as part of the Southwest Fresno Specific Plan. Those businesses are currently considered legally non-conforming by the city. They are allowed to continue their industrial use, but any future industrial tenants would not be in compliance.
- State law requires housing to be made up in another part of the city if land is rezoned to industrial use. The businesses previously paid for an amendment to the Central Southeast plan to rezone around seven acres at Maple and Butler avenues for housing, effectively tying those two issues together.
Driving the news: Arias has been vocally opposed to the rezone and held a town hall event last week with the community.
- During the town hall, Arias incorrectly told the public that the rezone would eliminate 3,500 housing units, replacing them with heavy industrial zoning. But the rezoning would actually be for a limited industrial classification, not heavy industrial zoning.
- The business owners are pointing to Arias’ actions last week as to why he should be disqualified from voting on the rezone on Thursday, since state law requires councilmembers to act in a quasi-judicial matter on such issues. That means councilmembers are barred from advocating for one side over another.
What we’re watching: Along with the request for Arias to recuse himself, the businesses are also asking for an extension on the rezoning plan and the Central Southeast plan for 90 to 120 days…