Planning commission recommends council consider annexation and freight terminal permit after residents raise health and traffic concerns

The Fresno Planning Commission on June 18 recommended the City Council approve an annexation, pre‑zone and development permit for a freight facility proposed by Central Transport and developed by Crown Enterprises, but the commission attached a recommendation that the applicant meet with Orange Center Elementary School to address traffic circulation and environmental concerns raised by residents.

Planning staff presented the proposal as an annexation of approximately 80.91 acres into the City of Fresno and a pre‑zone of acreage to the IH (heavy industrial) zone. The project application covers a 15.22‑acre development area where Central Transport would build a less‑than‑truckload freight terminal with an administrative office, cross‑deck transfer platform, fleet maintenance shop and diesel fueling system. Staff said the facility would operate 24 hours per day on weekdays, with limited Saturday activity for drivers returning. The project estimate was about 70–80 employees and roughly 84 truck trips and 120 passenger vehicle trips per day; staff added conditions requiring truck traffic to use designated truck routes northbound on South Cherry Avenue and prohibited truck circulation south of the site.

The applicant and representatives told the commission the business was relocated from a site acquired for high‑speed rail and that traffic and landscaping measures were included in the design. Monique Emerson of Precision Civil Engineering described outreach dating back to 2021 and said the project design includes dense frontage landscaping (15 to 50 feet) on Cherry Avenue and a truck‑routing condition to prevent trucks from traveling south past the school. Andrew Folserano of Crown Enterprises said Central Transport operates like a regional postal‑style freight mover with day and line‑haul shifts; he said the fleet is diesel but that trucks are turned over on a four‑year schedule and the forklift fleet is electric.

A number of community groups and residents spoke in opposition at the hearing. Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability and local residents urged the commission to delay action and to require deeper environmental review and further outreach. Speakers said the site abuts Orange Center Elementary School, raised concerns about cumulative truck traffic and air quality in an area previously identified for elevated pollution burdens (AB 617 contexts), and argued mailed notices and earlier outreach had not reached many residents. Leadership Council representatives pointed to inconsistent trip counts between materials provided to residents and the CEQA analysis and asked for operational mitigation measures such as cleaner trucks, anti‑idling enforcement and route/trip‑length controls.

Staff and the applicant responded that the CEQA initial study used conservative, higher trip counts for analysis; staff said construction emissions are mitigated and that operational emissions were calculated to be below thresholds. The applicant said public outreach had occurred multiple times and that the project had been reviewed by the Council District 3 project review committee in 2023 (which did not recommend approval but requested follow‑up questions).

Following public comment and applicant rebuttal, commissioners expressed concern about outreach and the school’s proximity. The commission voted to recommend that the council adopt the environmental document and approve the annexation and pre‑zone but included as a condition that the applicant meet with Orange Center Elementary School to discuss and attempt to resolve concerns about truck routing, buffering and environmental impacts before the council acts. The motion passed on recorded roll call (majority yes; one commissioner said no). The commission’s recommendation and attached condition will be transmitted to City Council for final action.