Clovis, CSUF agree on deal
Fresno Bee 3/13/07
After last-minute negotiations Monday, the council accepted the university's commitment to improve streets surrounding the 45-acre project. But the council still did not endorse the mixed-use project.
The California State University board of trustees, meeting today in Long Beach, will consider the project east of the Save Mart Center.
Last week, the council and Fresno State officials agreed on several traffic improvements to accommodate Campus Pointe, which lies on the western border of Clovis. Campus Pointe would place apartments, stores, offices, a hotel and a 14-screen theater on 45 acres of university-owned land.
Fresno and Clovis chambers of commerce are opposed to Campus Pointe because they say it does not meet the educational mission of the university and its tenants will compete with local businesses.
Among the improvements being debated are the widening of Barstow Avenue west of Willow Avenue to accommodate additional traffic, and upgrades to the intersection of Bullard and Willow avenues.
Clovis City Manager Kathy Millison said Monday afternoon that university officials have said they are concerned that widening Barstow might impinge on the university's farming operation.
Millison said the city believes the partial widening of Barstow could be done without interfering with the farming program.
On Monday night, council members were advised that the city and university reached agreement and that the university's traffic engineers and agriculture department officials believed the project could be done without creating problems for the university.
Under the agreement, the university expects to widen the road by the end of 2009.
The other sticking point is work that was to be done at Bullard and Willow avenues when the Save Mart Center was built. Those improvements have not been made, Millison said.
Clovis contributed $250,000 for work on its portion of the intersection to the city of Fresno. Fresno passed it along to the university with an understanding that the university was the lead agency to construct the improvements, Millison said.
"We are saying to make the commitment to get it done or transfer the funding back to the city of Clovis and we will do our side," Millison said.
Monday night, Millison said the university committed to returning the $250,000 to the city if no work is done by 2009.
Clovis city officials also retained the right to oppose the project and will send a contingent to today's state board of trustees meeting.
Before the council meeting, Deborah Adishian-Astone, the associate vice president for California State University, Fresno, Auxiliary operations, was optimistic about the progress the university has made with Clovis.