Southwest Fresno residents fight rezone, citing health concerns

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Quality of beingness and aerial contamination are concerns for the southwest Fresno assemblage if rezoning is allowed.

Landowners adjacent Annadale and Elm are asking for the country to beryllium changed from vicinity mixed usage to airy industrial.

Opponents said this goes against a 2017 agreement.

This solution is connected the City Council's docket for Thursday, but those progressive deliberation it volition beryllium continued.

However, assemblage members privation the Council to perceive their concerns and yet ballot "no" erstwhile they bash perceive the request.

On a engaged intersection of southwest Fresno betwixt a WIC gathering and an concern complex, astir a twelve assemblage members from Southwest Fresno gathered to combat against improvement successful their neighborhood.

"For 7 decades, southwest Fresno has endured the overwhelming load of biology contamination successful our city," said Pastor B. T. Lewis.

The radical voiced their concerns implicit a projected rezoning adjacent the intersection of Annadale and Elm. The determination would alteration much than 55 acres from vicinity mixed usage to airy industrial.

The radical said this would beryllium damaging to the community's wellness and defies a astir decade-old agreement.

"When we came unneurotic successful 2013 and 2015 to enactment connected the Southwest Specific Plan, it was with the wellness and payment of our assemblage successful mind," said Dr. Venise Curry.

"What we've done is to accidental arsenic a assemblage that we take health; we take the payment of our assemblage implicit the profits."

John Kinsey, who represents those requesting the rezone, said the concern and spot owners ne'er signed onto that agreement.

"Back successful 2017, the landowners were ne'er brought successful arsenic a stakeholder, they didn't marque an statement with anyone, they weren't adjacent alert of that process," said Kinsey.

To bolster their wellness argument, Dr. Venise Curry presented a missive from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) written successful 2021 that opposed rezoning of a smaller conception respective years ago, arguing that "significant imaginable nationalist wellness impacts are astatine stake."

It went connected to say, "An country designated arsenic residential would not, generally, emit arsenic overmuch operational aerial contamination arsenic an country designated arsenic airy industrial."

The missive goes connected to database the authorities that would beryllium successful absorption to the rezoning.

Pastor B.T. Lewis believes the rezone is astir funding.

Kinsey agrees that backing is portion of the issue, but that jobs are besides astatine stake.

"This is truly astir preserving these jobs," said Kinsey. "The City of Fresno needs manufacturing organisation jobs; these jobs are held by Fresnans, we wanna support these jobs successful Fresno."

Action News did scope retired to Councilmember Miguel Arias due to the fact that helium represents this district, but helium was not disposable for comment.

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