City Council Moves Forward with Environmental Impact Report for Expansion in North Clovis

At the City Council meeting on Monday, Mar. 1, one of the items to be voted on was the association of 1,050 acres of land east of Sunnyside Avenue between Shepherd Avenue and Behymer Avenue.

Two sections are to be considered on the item, one will authorize the De Novo Planning Group to do an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on behalf of the City of Clovis. And the other would submit an application to the Fresno County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) to amend the City of Clovis sphere of influence to include the aforementioned 1,050 acres.

In September last year, the City Council had voted 4-1 to expand the Clovis sphere of influence, with Councilmember Bob Whalen voting “No” to the expansion.

Senior Planner Rick Caperton presented that this item was for the developing and the expanding of the city.

Caperton mentioned the EIR will study the traffic, noise, and air quality impact along with the water and sewage infrastructure of the area. The EIR will take about 12 to 16 months to complete.

Caperton also stated that the LAFCo application will not be completed until the EIR is finished and all findings are certified.

The total cost of the EIR for the area is estimated to be $556,268.01 and will be shared between the City of Clovis, Wilson Premier Homes and Harlan Land Co. Wilson Premier Homes and Harlan Land Co. will be the developers when the area becomes available.

Out of the 1,050 acres of land, Wilson Premier Homes plans to have about 300 acres and Harlan Land Co. will have around 62 acres.

One of the first questions asked by the council was about infrastructure and how that would impact current rural residents of the area.

Councilmember Whalen asked if there will be enough infrastructure to also serve the current development at Heritage Grove.

He was told that there is a current plan for a section north of Shepherd Avenue and that there will be more of an understanding once the EIR is completed.

During public comments, there were several pros and cons reactions from residents. The residents’ biggest concern was water and sewage.

Jared Holister, who lives in the rural community that will become part of the sphere of influence commented via phone that the city should finish Heritage Grove before starting something new.

Holister also requested that City Council address the water issues in the area. The area in which he lives, is a unique area with low yielding water. He also said the development will impact the rural community because it will bring traffic and more noise to the area.

“I think it would be prudent to focus on Heritage Grove and making that development what it can be,” Holister said. “And if there is still a need to move forward and expand then consider expanding the north of Shepherd area.”

Councilmember Ashbeck responded to Holister that all those questions about the area are good and that it could help in deciding later on if the development of the area will be a good idea or not.

Councilmember Whalen agreed with Ashbeck, but he also said that he was not for the expansion of the sphere of influence. However, he did like the EIR and would like to know what the findings will be.

“I would like all of us to make an informed decision on what the impacts are going to be,” Whalen said “But I fall back on the idea that I just want our growth in the City of Clovis to be very orderly.”

The council voted unanimously to move forward with the EIR, but was 4-1 in the expansion of the sphere of influence with Whalen the only “No” vote.

Jorge Rodriguez has a passion for journalism and wants to bring the community information and great stories. After high school Jorge joined the U.S. Army and while in active duty he was deployed twice to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While in college he worked for the Fresno City College Rampage and the Fresno State Collegian newspapers. He graduated from Fresno State in 2019 with a degree in print journalism.