Producers Dairy parking project in Tower neighborhood up to mayor’s office to resolve

After outcry from residents and activists, the Fresno City Council voted Thursday to let the mayor work with Producers Dairy and find a site to park refrigerated trailers and trucks, rather than allow the business to demolish two historic buildings and add parking and truck activity in a residential neighborhood.

City staff recommended the council approve a project allowing Producers to demolish two Central Valley Cheese Co. buildings at 450 E. Belmont Ave. and use the property for up to nearly 70 trucks to park. The plan called for bricks from the original buildings to be saved for a memorial wall and the construction of a sound wall and decorative fence around the perimeter of the 1.83 acre lot.

But before the vote, Councilman Oliver Baines said he couldn’t support the project since it violated a covenant the dairy made with Tower District residents in the early 1990s while the Tower District Specific Plan was drafted. The covenant was signed by Producers owners and residents and said the business must maintain the historical buildings.

“It’s not up to us (the council) to break that deal,” Baines said. “When I had to think about this issue, that made it easy because it started there, with the covenant.”

If the covenant was not enough to sway the other council members, Baines asked them to think about their own neighborhoods.

“If upholding the covenant is not good enough, you saw what’s happening to that neighborhood,” he said. “That’s just not right. There’s not a single colleague of mine sitting on this dais that would want that (trucks) in their neighborhood.”

The project first went before the council in November, and Baines asked for a continuance.

Since then, residents opposed to the project garnered support through a Change.org petition to save the Central Valley Cheese Co. buildings.

On Wednesday, a handful of residents staged a protest in front of the Producers driveway, blocking a truck from exiting and forcing a manager to come pick up the driver. At the council meeting on Thursday, residents lined up to plead with the council for about an hour before the council debated the issue for another hour.

Scott Shehadey, president of Producers, said in an interview with The Bee on Wednesday that the company was put in a bind when the space they previously leased for parking on Thorne Avenue was obtained by High Speed Rail through eminent domain.

“We’re trying to be great stewards of the community in every aspect and way we can,” he said. “We evaluated other solutions and alternatives, and we really believe this is the best option for our business and our people, and ultimately it’s good for the community. That’s why we’re moving forward.”

Shehadey said he is the third generation in his family’s business, and the Tower District Specific Plan and Producers’ agreement with the city predates him. The ice cream operation that was planned for the lot when the family first purchased the property never materialized, and the market and business has changed since then, he said.

“We’re talking about something that was 20 some-odd years ago,” he said. “And, quite frankly, things have changed over 20 years. It didn’t make sense for us to do that (move forward with the ice cream operation). This is what we really feel is at the best interest of the community.”

But residents and council members agreed the covenant could not be broken.

Kiel Schmidt, a resident who serves on the committee for the Tower District Specific Plan, said the Producers project was an attack on the community plan.

“They’ve broken their promise,” he said. “Every promise they made in the measures tied to the deed, they want to get out of. In the last 20 years, they have not met any of those. That’s 20 years of impact on a neighborhood that has gone unmitigated.”

Baines asked the council to give the neighborhood the same consideration it gave north Fresno residents when considering access points to the San Joaquin River. Council President Esmeralda Soria echoed those thoughts, saying south Fresno residents are not treated fairly.

“I’m not OK with that,” she said. “I’m tired of the ‘Tale of Two Cities.’”

Residents left the meeting feeling hopeful. Bruce Owdom, an attorney, said he is glad the covenant will be enforced.

“I’m pleased they (council members) recognize that south Fresno deserves the same respect and dignity given to north Fresno,” he said.

This story was originally published March 22, 2018 at 9:51 PM with the headline "Producers Dairy parking project in Tower neighborhood up to mayor’s office to resolve."