Fresno needs more coherent downtown

I spent 18 years growing up in Fresno, disenchanted and resentful of this city. It’s a harsh outlook, no doubt, but one that is shared by many who succumb to the brain-drain that drives youth out of the Valley.

Having spent the last year here, after being gone for six years, I find myself reconnecting with Fresno and building a counter-narrative. Fresno is an amazing place to live, a hometown to be proud of – or at least, this is what it could be. For this vision to become a reality, adoption of the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan by the Fresno City Council is necessary.

This new code would set the foundation for a more coherent and cohesive downtown in both form and function. The complexities and inconsistencies associated with the existing code would be replaced with a system where development is encouraged, business ventures are supported and historic sites are preserved. This would transform our downtown, a place Fresnans so readily scorn, into a source of pride. I will be speaking in emphatic support of this new code in front of the City Council Thursday at 2 p.m. I hope you will join me.

This story was originally published October 19, 2016 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Fresno needs more coherent downtown."