Compromise vote clears the way for much-needed San Joaquin River access from Fresno
The never-ending process to create public access along the San Joaquin River in northwest Fresno lurched forward this week with a negotiated compromise that should allow a long-stalled project to proceed.
At least in theory.
For more than a decade, the River West Open Space Area has been in stasis as two disparate sides argued over whether vehicle access to the 290-acre property should go through a newly constructed road near Palm and Nees avenues or Riverview Drive in a residential neighborhood a mile away.
That debate resulted in a March 2019 lawsuit brought by a neighborhood group against five individual board members of the San Joaquin River Conservancy, the state agency charged with assembling an envisioned 22-mile parkway between Friant Dam and Highway 99.
By a 13-1 vote Wednesday on Zoom, the conservancy board essentially chose both access alternatives. In a subsequent action, members went into closed session and voted to approve a lawsuit settlement with the neighborhood group by the same 13-1 margin.
“What we accomplished moves the project forward in a really big way,” said Paul Gibson, one of the board’s two citizen representatives. “Both parties moved to the middle, and the public is going to benefit from it.”
Formerly a gravel mining site before being purchased in 2003 with $10 million in state bond and private foundation money, River West sees plenty of public use but lacks improvements or amenities. Highlighting the envisioned upgrades is a 2.4-mile extension of the Lewis S. Eaton Trail, the parkway’s paved backbone, from its current terminus behind Woodward Park.
How long until the ribbon-cutting? That day remains years off. But at least there’s a board-approved plan that should allow for construction now that the lawsuit is settled.
I keep using “should” rather than “will” because nothing about this project has been easy or straightforward. My first story about River West appeared in 2009, when the city of Fresno (rather than the state) was the lead agency spearheading its development.
By choosing vehicle access through both Riverview Drive and Palm and Nees, known respectively as Alternative 1 and Alternative 5B in planning documents, the conservancy board more or less split the middle.
At Riverview Drive, a lighted, 15-space parking lot will be built inside a new gate at the river bottom. (The city will also stripe 15 parking spaces outside the existing gate at the top of the hill.) The existing gravel road will be improved and a bus turnaround built closer to the river, along with restrooms.
At Palm and Nees, an elevated road will be constructed through the back of Spano Park and down the bluff that winds around a flood-control basin before eventually settling in a new 40-space parking lot near the river.
A third, noncontroversial access point with a 50-space parking lot equipped for horse trailers will be built at the stub of Perrin Avenue close to the Highway 41 overpass.
Everyone ‘a little unhappy’
For years, a group of Woodward Bluffs residents known as the San Joaquin River Access Corp. fought bitterly against vehicle access through their neighborhood. The group went so far as to purchase multiple parcels of river bottom land, including the site of the parking lot utilized by Alternative 5B.
Meanwhile, Alternative 1 proponents argued Alternative 5B is structurally unfeasible, unnecessarily expensive and chews up most of Spano Park as well as a stand of mature sycamore trees.
“Some people say it’s a good negotiation if everyone leaves a little unhappy,” said Julie Vance, regional manager for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Vance is one of four board members named in the lawsuit. She, along with Wildlife Conservation Board executive director John Donnelly and State Lands Commission executive officer Jennifer Lucchesi, reversed previous votes, taken in February 2019, that halted progress on Alternative 5B.
The lone holdout? Madera City Councilman Santos Garcia, who argued for a delay due to a lack of ample public input partially caused by COVID-19.
“It breaks my heart because we’re supposed to be the people’s voice for the river and the vote that was taken was contrary to what we as board members are assigned to do,” said Garcia, who cast the lone no vote in both 13-1 decisions.
Would another month or two of debate have changed anything? Highly unlikely, as board members seemed intent on putting legal matters to rest and moving forward on River West following years of delays.
A minor red flag
The exact terms of the settlement agreement will not be made public until the document is executed by all parties. According to John Shelton, the conservancy’s executive director, that could be in a matter of days.
Sources tell me the settlement includes a provision requiring the access points through Spano Park and Riverview Drive to be constructed concurrently. And if one can’t be built for any reason, the other can’t, either.
This sends up a minor red flag, mainly because there is some debate between structural engineers over whether the road through Spano Park is actually feasible — or costs will soar far beyond its estimated $3.2 million price tag.
“People keep saying it’s doable, so I guess we will see,” Vance said.
In a separate action, the conservancy board voted 14-0 to allocate $3.6 million in state bonds to purchase the Sumner Peck Ranch along Friant Road north of Fresno. The 76-acre property, adjacent to publicly owned Ball Ranch and Ledger Island, where plans are underway to create a 520-acre regional park, includes a half-mile of river frontage.
Undoubtedly, this purchase would’ve been bigger news if not overshadowed by the River West approval and lawsuit settlement.
Vote by vote, acre by acre, the San Joaquin River Parkway continues to take shape.
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 12:15 PM.
