Residents of a picturesque California city lashed out at a 9,000-acre housing project that could cost billions of dollars and further upset their quality of life.
Fresno is looking to push ahead with a 45,000-unit site called the Southeast Development Area (SEDA), but locals have argued that doing so is unreasonable and ‘not viable.’
Dillon Savory, the executive director of the Fresno-Madera-Tulare-Kings Central Labor Council, said the development would have unintended consequences.
‘It doesn’t pay for itself, and sprawl development in Fresno is why Fresno is one of the worst-planned cities in America,’ Savory told SFGATE. ‘Nobody wants to be here.’
Sprawl refers to low density single-family housing – sometimes built in an unplanned way – spread out across a city’s outskirts.
Preparing the land for SEDA could cost $2.2billion, while the entire project could reach $4billion.
Savory claimed that Fresno wanted to take land away from local family farmers, which he said were being ‘exploited’ in a way that was ‘absolutely asinine.’
‘These are residential farmers,’ Savory added. ‘They’re generally interested in the soil quality and preserving the rural way of life.’
SEDA might not be finished until 2082 at its current projected pace, Fresnoland reported
Dillon Savory was one of the locals outraged by the 45,000-unit site called the Southeast Development Area, saying the sprawl made Fresno undesirable
Farmers also admitted to being worried about the massive housing plan.
Helen Ramming, a farmer who lives within SEDA’s demarcation, told GV Wire that families would ‘preserve the highest grade of prime farmland on planet earth.’
She said: ‘The biggest concern is that they are taking 9,000 acres of some of the best farmland in the world,’.
Fresno is located in the placid San Joaquin Valley – roughly 220 miles north of Los Angeles and 185 miles southeast of San Francisco. The city has around 544,000 residents, making it the fifth most populous in California.
However, the SEDA plan argued that Fresno was becoming increasingly unaffordable – largely due to its rising rent and housing costs.
The project was presented as the ‘final frontier’ for the west coast city to create more housing and receive an economic boost.
Tyler Maxwell, a Fresno councilmember, said during a November 6 meeting: ‘This city has a long history of growing irresponsibly that so many folks have been afraid to grow, period, even though the housing crisis that our state and our city faces pretty much necessitate that we grow as a city. But I think we have an opportunity to grow responsibly.’
SEDA is meant to focus on creating mixed income neighborhoods with diverse housing types that remain affordable
Fresno City councilmembers Tyler Maxwell (left) and Mike Karbassi (right) have backed the SEDA plan
Another councilmember added that the SEDA plan would reduce costs for residents across Fresno.
Mike Karbassi, who represents Fresno’s second district, said: ‘The best, most pro-housing thing we can do is to increase supply.’
The proposal said SEDA would focus on creating mixed income neighborhoods with diverse housing types that remain affordable.
Still, the timeline of the housing project remains unclear.
SEDA first needs to be approved by the city’s planning commission, whose next meeting is November 19.
Savory claimed that opponents of the plan like himself ‘have the political acumen to put an intense campaign of pressure’ on the lawmakers tasked with voting for SEDA.
He said: ‘All of those people in their districts are going to be calling them and say, ‘How come you want to send $100million-to-$3billion to developers so you can build these cardboard houses for upper middle class?’
The multibillion dollar project first needs to be approved by the city’s planning commission
Urban sprawl refers to low density single-family housing spread out across a city’s outskirts
Then, SEDA might not be finished until 2082 at its current projected pace, according to Fresnoland.
Questions have also been raised about what the 9,000-acre site would mean for the city’s air quality.
Fresno is already in the top five most polluted areas in the US, according to the American Lung Association, but that problem could be exacerbated by the gigantic housing development.
The city’s latest environmental review said SEDA could increase ‘the frequency or severity of existing air quality violations; cause or contribute to new violations; or delay timely attainment’ of air quality in Fresno.
The American Lung Association gave Fresno an F grade for air pollution, which can cause premature birth, heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer.
