Is Fresno’s general plan committee reporting enough of its economic interests?
A regional group is asking members of a Fresno committee focused on the city’s general plan to divulge their economic interests beyond the city limits and into the city’s sphere of influence.
The Central Valley Partnership submitted a letter to Fresno City Attorney Doug Sloan in January saying the General Plan Implementation Review Committee’s 17 members should cast a larger net as they fill out Form 700 paperwork.
That’s the same kind of transparency declarations required of elected officials.The partnership’s concerns are motivated out of fear the committee members have economic interests outside city limits — disclosures that don’t have to be reported under transparency laws.
The committee members are required to report only their economic interests within the city limits, according to the Fresno County City Clerk’s Office.
Cities generally mark their sphere of influence as extending past the official borders of the town, because of the potential effects decisions can have on the nearby parcels of land.
The letter was signed by Daniel O’Connell, executive director of Central Valley Partnership.
“Finally, given that there are consultants to and representatives of land owning developers who engage in city planning and entitlement efforts ... ,” he wrote in the letter. “It is reasonable to require these entities to also need to appropriately disclose their client’s real property interests.”
The General Plan committee has been appointed to review over the next year whether to lessen the city’s focus on infill and increase the amount of new development at the edges of town, especially towards the southern end.
O’Connell said he had not yet gotten an answer Tuesday from the City Attorney’s Office and Central Valley Partnership was weighing whether to file an official compliant with the Fair Political Practices Commission.
City Attorney Doug Sloan did not respond to requests from the Fresno Bee about whether the City Council could require more reporting from the members of the committee. He also did not answer a question about whether the request would make reporting excessive.
Councilmember Luis Chavez, who proposed the new review of the general plan, did not return requests for comment.
The committee is made up of two appointees from each council district and three from the mayor.
District 1: Daniel Brannick, senior planner at Odell Planning and Research, and Mariah Thompson, co-director of Central Valley Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.
District 2: Sal Gonzales, CEO of Lance-Kashian Co., and Gary Giannetta of Gary Giannetta Engineering.
District 3: Don Simmons, a social science professor at Fresno State, and Grecia Elenes, senior policy advocate for Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.
District 4: DeWayne Zinkin, developer with Zinkin Development, and Jeff Roberts, vice president of Granville Homes.
District 5: Joe White, member of the Jackson neighborhood group, and Nick Yovino Sr., former head of Fresno’s Development and Resource Management department.
District 6: Josh Peterson, owner of Wathen Castanos Homes, and Darius Assemi, president of Granville Homes.
District 7: Patience Milrod, executive director of Central California Legal Services, and Keith Bergthold, executive director of Fresno Metro Ministry.
Mayor: Lorraine Salazar, co-owner of Sal’s Mexican Restaurant; Cary Catalano, CEO of Catalano, Fenske and Assoc.; and Wayne Rutledge, CEO of Uncle Harry’s.
