Clovis OK’s controversial plan for vacant Shaw Ave. lot. ‘A betrayal to residents’
Despite strong opposition from residents, the Clovis City Council approved a storage facility on a 2.45-acre parcel of land on Shaw Avenue that has been vacant for nearly half a century.
The vacant parcel, located north of Shaw Avenue between Fowler and Laverne avenues, was originally designated for office use, according to the city’s Shaw Avenue Specific Plan, established in 1978.
Sites along Shaw Avenue were generally prohibited from becoming drive-throughs, restaurants, and retail, as Clovis aimed to prevent the corridor from becoming a continuation of the commercial sprawl prevalent in Fresno west of Clovis Avenue, according to the staff report.
However, over the past two decades, Clovis has modified its plan to allow for commercial development on Shaw Avenue, including a drive-through Walgreens pharmacy, drive-through car wash and a Human Bean coffee kiosk.
The proposed two-story self-storage facility will provide 750 to 800 storage units, including interior-access units and drive-up units, and they will be guarded with roll-up doors. The business plans to operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, according to the documents submitted to the city.
At Monday’s council meeting, city officials said the site remained vacant for so long likely due to development restrictions and insufficient market demand for office space. The plannningdepartment recommended the council to consider allowing the rezone to reflect the current demand.
But some residents raised concerns about noise and traffic in their public comments.
“We already have a lot of traffic that comes through from the DMV and driving schools in the area,” said Karene Debardeleben, a resident who lives near the vacant Shaw lot.
Another resident, Melisa Nilmeier, criticized the planning department for failing to take residents into consideration.
“So you want to put a building there that’s open at 6 a.m. so somebody can go get their boat at six in the morning. But we can’t mow our lawn until 7 a.m. I can’t put a roofer on my house until 7 a.m.,” Nilmeier said. “And then where the pneumatic gate is going to be, it’s not going to be some cute little wrought iron gate. I don’t know how anybody can say that there’s no noise and no vibration.”
The project applicant addressed resident’s concerns by stating that the storage facility would generate 85% less traffic than an office building.
“We did an analysis comparing the normal office building to storage use, just based on historical data, and you know, this use is probably one of the lowest uses you could possibly get in this district,” said Eric Tange, local development agent for Hawkins Companies, LLC.
The council approved the project in a 3-2 vote. Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua, Mayor Pro Tem Diane Pearce and Councilmember Matt Basgall voted in favor of the project, which Councilmembers Lynne Ashbeck and Drew Bessinger were opposed.
Some council members said past amendments allow other businesses to establish, and a storage facility has the least harmful effect on the neighborhood.
“It was a dead pine tree until we put a car wash there,” Bessinger said in reference to another formerly vacant Shaw lot in the area. “Was I thrilled about a car wash? I would have rather had medical offices as part of the existing ones there, but you know, you can only play the cards you’re dealt.”
Ashbeck strongly opposed the project, saying Clovis already had plenty of storage facilities. The project isn’t thoughtful nor compelling, she said.
“I feel like we’re doing a desperate land use plan because someone wants to build a storage unit, and they want to operate till 10 o’clock at night, because they said that’s what their user does, but they don’t even have a user,” Ashbeck said. “So I don’t actually buy that. I think there are so many things wrong with this.”
Ashbeck likened building a storage facility on the vacant lot to “chasing the bottom of land use.” She urged the council to take this as an opportunity to examine the policies and the General Plan and modify them for the future.
“It’s a betrayal of those policies to do this, to the neighbors who live there, to the other businesses that have relocated,” said Ashbeck. “We do not, in Clovis, run to the lowest common denominator, and that’s what we’ve done to this project. It doesn’t fit. It doesn’t match the attention to the neighbors.”
This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 3:11 PM.
