City will take Campus Pointe concerns to board
Clovis Independent 3/9/07
"The whole issue is very frustrating," said Council Member Jose Flores, adding that the university and Clovis should plan together.
"This is a case for integrated planning," said Council Member Lynne Ashbeck. "The conversation is troubling."
Several issues in the final Environmental Impact Report for the Campus Pointe project done by the university bothered the City Council.
The project would be located to the west of Freeway 168 along Shaw Avenue in Fresno, but just adjacent to Clovis' city limit. Under the proposal, the university, through a public/private partnership, would turn 45 acres of ag land into a development that includes a high-end hotel, a 14-screen movie theater, retail shops and housing for senior citizens and students.
Fresno State farming programs would benefit from the profits made on the acreage that university officials described as the least productive acreage on campus.
In recent months, Clovis city and business leaders have come out against the project, citing a perceived unfair competitive advantage in the retail aspects of the venture, the loss of university ag land, the economic impact on Clovis businesses and more traffic along Shaw Avenue near Highway 168.
The City Council commented on the final E.I.R. March 5.
"We still have disagreement with the conclusions," said City Manager Kathy Millison. "But we're not in a position to challenge the final E.I.R."
A point of contention is the possible loss of business at Clovis' theaters due to competition by the proposed cinema at Campus Pointe.
Criterion Stadium 16 Cinemas opened a brand-new complex in December at the Sierra Vista Mall on Shaw, about three miles from the university. United Artists Clovis Towne Center is also on Shaw, about two miles from the university.
"It is likely that one of our theaters will go by the wayside," Millison said. "My concern is that we will lose one theater."
Ashbeck said that if the theater were to be left out of the university's proposal, about 80 percent of the problem would go away.
However, Deborah Adishian-Astone, the associate vice president for auxiliary operations and enterprise development for the university, said the university is not interested in taking the theater out of the equation at this time.
"Never in our wildest imagination" did the city believe the university would be promoting commercial interests, Millison said.
Council Member Bob Whalen pointed out that Clovis and the university would become competitors in business, and he questioned why the university would "bite the hand that feeds them."
Cynthia Matson, vice president for administration and chief financial officer of the university, said a number of business functions are missing from the proposed Campus Pointe, and that the university is not interested in competing with local businesses.
Fran Blackney of the Clovis Chamber of Commerce said Clovis would receive no tax revenue but would instead acquire increased traffic.
Apart from the disagreements with the university, five key issues were resolved at Monday's council meeting, including emergency access and the mitigation of projected traffic problems along Willow Avenue at Bullard and Barstow avenues.
When asked by the council if he was satisfied, Steve White, the city's chief engineer, said "absolutely not," even though significant points were addressed. "It will get the city by another two to three years," he said, calling that a flawed process.
Additionally, the university agreed to work in "good faith" with Clovis to continue future improvement of the two intersections on Willow Avenue as necessitated by increased traffic flow.
City attorney Tom Riggs said "good faith" means each party has every intent of honestly and diligently reaching a decision with common language, when future terms are unknown, but that this language doesn't have "ironclad teeth."
The council also acknowledged the university's agreement to accept responsibility for noise mitigation measures, now and in the future, along Freeway 168.
Finally, the council dedicated itself to engage in a more assertive level of communication with the university as it develops and implements its Campus Master Plan. According to the final E.I.R., the Campus Master Plan has not been updated in more than 40 years.
Millison said Clovis asked for a commitment in writing from the university with respect to integration of planning; Matson said the university recognizes the need to be more aggressive and will commit to more regular regional planning.