An Important Week for Downtown Fresno
This is an important week for the future of Downtown Fresno.
Tomorrow, Mayor Ashley Swearengin will be the keynote speaker at the Downtown Association State of Downtown Breakfast. The event which is to be held at the newly remodeled “The Grand” at the Trade Center downtown is SOLD OUT.
Thursday, the Fresno City Council is scheduled to vote on hiring consultants (Elizabeth Moule & Stefanos Polyzoides) for work on the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan and the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan. You can find Thursday’s agenda here. The Downtown & Community Revitalization Department could use as much support at the council as possible. So if you can make it (I am unable to due to Leadership Fresno) you should plan on being there around 9am in the council chambers.
In thinking about this big week for downtown, I was reminded of the video that was posted by Kim “Burley” Schuller last Friday on why she loves Fulton Mall art & architecture on her now famous 31 Days of Fresno blog. As a side note, today Kim is talking Pancakes. You should check it out! Anyway, the video mentioned above was about Fresno and entitled “Rebirth of a City” You can watch it below.
The video got me thinking about how important a downtown core truly is. My excitement though, was immediately faced with the amount of times Fresno has attempted to revitalize Downtown since the 1970’s. There are numerous issues in revitalizing Downtown Fresno. They range from transportation, to public perception of Downtown to the cost of making the changes needed. Despite the challenges, one argument that has been made over and over we just can’t deny. There are no truly great cities without a vibrant downtown core.
My hope is that maybe we are on the brink of a new rebirth of our city and specifically our Downtown core. All indications point that the key will be the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan. I think I heard recently, that one of the reasons Mayor Swearengin ran for mayor was the opportunity to truly revitalize Downtown Fresno. I really hope that our community can get behind her leadership in this area.
That said, I will say that revitalizing our Downtown correctly is what is most important. We should not settle for change that will have little impact. The plan, must be robust and think through all of the obstacles and challenges. Lastly, we all should engage in the process. City Planning & Development Director John Dugan said two weeks ago at an FCASH general meeting that community involvement in the plan will be an critical part to its success. I couldn’t agree more. City leadership will need to get all of the potential stake-holders (even those north of Shaw) to come to the table for this important project.
So this important week may lead to some first steps of a new rebirth of Downtown Fresno. We have heard that before, many times actually. I truly hope this time is different.
Type your comment here. Barry, Thanks for the great post on your blog. You are correct…it is the rightness of the effort that will be key.
The downtown plans that are being presented on Thursday are really changes to the rules and laws that have governed downtown. We still have the regulations from 1960 plus all of the newer rules stacked on top of those. Amplified music is against the rules. Outdoor dining is against the rules. Special dispensation is required for upstairs housing or building a building right on the sidewalk, instead of having them approved by right in an urban environment.
Every meeting will be public. We will have a dedicated website for the plans. We'll try to broadcast the meetings on the website. Everyone will be able to sign up for email notifications. This will be the most public effort ever!
Thanks again for the great coverage. I hope that everyone can come down to City Hall for the meeting on Thrusday at 9:15 (all right, I know that most people have to work).
Craig
Craig,
Thanks for your comment and the work you are doing. I am so pleased to hear how open and transparent all of the meetings will be related to the revitalization of our Downtown. I think that transparency is so important if we are to have the widespread community buy in that will be required for success.
I'm looking forward to the day where I can enjoy a nice patio dinner on the mall with my wife and family.
I wish I was able to get to the meeting on Thursday morning, and I wish I had got tickets for the breakfast tomorrow earlier. I am looking forward to hearing the results of both.
Type your comment here. Barry, Thanks for the great post on your blog. You are correct…it is the rightness of the effort that will be key.
The downtown plans that are being presented on Thursday are really changes to the rules and laws that have governed downtown. We still have the regulations from 1960 plus all of the newer rules stacked on top of those. Amplified music is against the rules. Outdoor dining is against the rules. Special dispensation is required for upstairs housing or building a building right on the sidewalk, instead of having them approved by right in an urban environment.
Every meeting will be public. We will have a dedicated website for the plans. We’ll try to broadcast the meetings on the website. Everyone will be able to sign up for email notifications. This will be the most public effort ever!
Thanks again for the great coverage. I hope that everyone can come down to City Hall for the meeting on Thrusday at 9:15 (all right, I know that most people have to work).
Craig
Craig,
Thanks for your comment and the work you are doing. I am so pleased to hear how open and transparent all of the meetings will be related to the revitalization of our Downtown. I think that transparency is so important if we are to have the widespread community buy in that will be required for success.
I’m looking forward to the day where I can enjoy a nice patio dinner on the mall with my wife and family.
I wish I was able to get to the meeting on Thursday morning, and I wish I had got tickets for the breakfast tomorrow earlier. I am looking forward to hearing the results of both.
Craig,
Thanks for your comment and the work you are doing. I am so pleased to hear how open and transparent all of the meetings will be related to the revitalization of our Downtown. I think that transparency is so important if we are to have the widespread community buy in that will be required for success.
I’m looking forward to the day where I can enjoy a nice patio dinner on the mall with my wife and family.
I wish I was able to get to the meeting on Thursday morning, and I wish I had got tickets for the breakfast tomorrow earlier. I am looking forward to hearing the results of both.