This Week in Fresnoland: Measure C renewal kicks off to a rocky start
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Good morning, and welcome to the Fresnoland Lab newsletter. Today is Tuesday, March 2nd.
Last week in Fresnoland, Dympna wrote about the Fresno Housing Authority postponing the selection of an interim CEO and Monica wrote about the potential water quality aftermath of the Creek Fire.
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It’s Danielle Bergstrom, policy editor for Fresnoland, here.
It’s official: Fresno County transportation officials have launched the process to start assembling the next version of Measure C, the county’s transportation sales tax. They’re hoping to place it on the ballot in November of 2022. (The current tax was passed by 78% voters in 2006 and sunsets in 2026.)
The measure — which was first approved by voters in 1986 — has historically prioritized freeway and road expansion, but gives enough for road maintenance, transit, and trails to keep small cities, transit, disability, and air quality advocates from raising continued opposition.
But as many communities struggle to get sidewalks installed, a more frequent bus schedule, and potholes filled, advocates are concerned that the renewal process is severely lacking in ways to meaningfully engage with the community. This, layered with the pandemic, could make it impossible for those not politically connected to influence the process in a meaningful way.
Two new committees officially commenced in February to decide what actually gets included in the tax’s spending plan: an executive committee — a group of high-level officials, business interests and community representatives who were hand-selected by county transportation officials to represent a diversity of sectors, urban, small cities, and rural communities — will get the final say on what goes to the 15 city councils, Fresno County Transportation Authority board, and finally — the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, to review final ballot language.
Then there’s a technical working group — a less powerful, larger committee, full of transportation experts from across the county, tasked with working through the details of different proposals that the executive committee will ultimately decide on.
Officials say the meetings will be public, but not subject to the Brown Act, California’s open meetings law. They plan to post agendas and solicit public comment, according to an email from FCTA spokesperson Rose Willems.
Advocates are unconvinced. “There’s a history in Fresno — the San Joaquin Valley, really — of cutting the community out of giant decisions. There’s this notion that ‘we know best, you’re not smart enough to be at this table’,” said Leslie Martinez, a policy advocate with the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, a Fresno-based group that is actively advocating for equitable transportation policy in Fresno County.
Business interests are predominantly clustered on the more powerful executive committee, and the majority of community-based and non-business advocacy organizations are concentrated in the technical working group.
The executive committee holds just two seats for groups representing community-based organizations — Artie Padilla of the Central Valley Community Foundation and Linda Hayes of the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission. Community Regional Medical Centers holds the lone health seat. There are no representatives for transit, air quality, disability, or environmental justice on the committee; those are all relegated to the technical working group.
Padilla said he’d like to see more racial diversity on the executive committee as well as a mechanism in place to assure that Measure C addresses racial inequities in transportation.
(Fresno ranked last of 59 cities in California for racial and economic inclusion, according to 2020 research from the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C. based think tank. )
Measure C has not always been formed through a closed-door process. In 2002, a coalition of air quality, disability, transit, and trails advocates banned together to oppose the Measure C renewal, which was again heavy on freeway expansion. After a resounding defeat by the voters, the opposition group had created the leverage to force Measure C boosters to negotiate — and hosted a series of open, public meetings throughout the county to deliberate over what would be included in the measure and listen to residents’ feedback in the process. And in 2006, they got 78% of voter support.
“Making the decision to oppose [Measure C] was very difficult,” said Mary Savala, a representative with the League of Women Voters who was very active in the 2002 opposition campaign. “We were all very antagonized, and very unpopular. But there are times you have to say, ‘we cannot support this’. The bottom line is, if you’re fearful of public comment from all across the community, then there’s something wrong.”
Fresno County transportation officials say they have a comprehensive community engagement plan where the public will have opportunities to engage throughout the life of the process, said Rose Willems, a spokesperson for the Fresno County Transportation Authority.
They also pointed towards the county’s regional transportation plan, where community engagement is ongoing to identify specific road, transit, bicycle or pedestrian projects to include in the plan.
Advocates bristled at the idea that engagement for the regional transportation plan would meaningfully impact the spending plan. “Measure C will result in $2-$3 billion of investment in the county,” explained Veronica Garibay, co-director of Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. “This is way beyond figuring out what gets included in the regional transportation plan — what’s at stake is the convergence of so many issues: transportation, housing, land use, climate, air quality, and public health.”
Willems also shared that executive committee members were selected with race, gender, geography, and socioeconomic status in mind — along with members who are “respected community leaders, recognized for their ability to build consensus, with a desire to build a plan that meets the mobility needs of all Fresno County residents.”
Garibay and Martinez hope that the engagement process will provide an opportunity for residents to directly choose projects that get included into the measure, not unlike the Transform Fresno process, where southwest, Chinatown, and downtown residents and business owners selected projects to be funded by nearly $70 million in state climate funds in 2017.
But ultimately, they’re comforted that voters get the final say at the end of the day. “Refusing to open the door to participation never ends well. But they’re very mistaken if they think that we’re not going to show up and fight for the community,” Martinez said. “I don’t have anything to lose.”
And now, the week’s top reads:
(For the most recent local coronavirus updates, visit www.fresnobee.com/coronavirus.)
Housing, Transportation, and Land Use
Did an illegal pot grow spark the Creek Fire? Residents look for clues. Fresno Bee Opinion
Fresno County judge halts the sale of the historic Tower Theater to a church. Fresno Bee
Homeless residents in Tulare County have filed suit against the county for clearing out a homeless encampment. Fresno Bee
The U.S. Green Building Council, Central California, has received a grant from the San Joaquin River Conservancy to plan for a Native American and Environmental Resources cultural center on the river. Fresno Business Journal
Land is plenty for apartments, but the incentives and willing developers are few: inside the broken statewide affordable housing process in Riverside County. CalMatters
The upzoning wave catches up to California, as cities like Berkeley and Sacramento look to ban single-family zoning. Bloomberg CityLab
Where have all the houses gone? The inventory is startlingly low, but the pandemic isn’t fully to blame. New York Times
Buying a new home? Expect to pay at least $24,000 more because of lumber shortages. Fortune
Economy and Neighborhood Inequality
Fresno City Councilmember Luis Chavez proposes hazard pay for grocery store workers. Fresno Bee
Fresno police stop Black drivers more often, data shows. Chief says it’s not racist. Others disagree. Fresno Bee
Californians speak more than 200 languages. Not all are getting the Covid-19 information they need. Sacramento Bee
California legislature passes bill allocating funding to track anti-Asian hate crimes and bias. Sacramento Bee
Are you eligible for a California stimulus check? Here’s how to find out. CalMatters
Water and Air Quality
Fresno has its driest February in 50 years. Weather experts say we need a ‘Miracle March’ to catch up. Fresno Bee
California’s water futures market, explained. Pacific Institute Blog
Officials in Petaluma, California have voted to become the first city in the nation to ban gas stations. Gizmodo
This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 9:54 AM.
