Over a decade in the making, Fresno County’s long awaited draft land use plans for 2023 – 2042 are now available for public review and comment. Public comments are due by 5 P.M. June 27.
To access these draft plans, enter “Fresno County General Plan Review and Zoning Ordinance Update” into an Internet search box. That should lead directly to a County webpage with these four draft documents:
Draft 2023 General Plan Policy Document
The Draft 2023 Policy Document contains the goals, policies and implementation programs that will govern decision-making over the next twenty years for just about every issue affecting the quality of our lives, including economic development, transportation, water supply and environmental protection.
Draft 2023 General Plan Background Report
The Draft 2023 Background Report is a policy-neutral document that describes existing conditions and trends in the county. It covers a wide range of topics, such as natural resources, demographics, and land use, as well as public services, facilities and infrastructure.
Draft 2023 Zoning Ordinance
The Draft 2023 Zoning Ordinance codifies allowable uses and building standards for a set of around 40 zoning districts, examples being Rural Residential (R-R), Exclusive Agriculture (AE) and General Industrial (M2).
Draft 2023 Environmental Impact Report
The Draft 2023 Environmental Impact Report assesses the environmental impact of buildout over the next twenty years under the new Draft 2023 General Plan and Zoning Ordinance. The 2023 Draft EIR contains a finding that plan implementation is likely to adversely impact air quality, agriculture, forest resources and transportation infrastructure.
The document that draws the most interest is the Draft Policy Document. If adopted as now written, the Document will include new policies and programs that specifically target climate change, flooding potential, wildfire danger and environmental justice. In contrast to the current Policy Document, the revision also decreases support for farmland conservation and increases support for non-agricultural residential and commercial development.
Admittedly, public review of (and comment on) the new Draft 2023 Policy Document is a daunting task. For starters, there’s the sheer volume of the changes. The County proposes to delete or significantly revise 82 of 121 programs (68%) and to do the same for 174 of 604 policies (29%). The draft also contains 58 new programs and 125 new policies. It’s a challenge to understand the need for so many changes, especially since the County has made little effort to explain the need for a majority of the revisions.
