Peach Park name, removed from agenda earlier, resurfaces in public comments and letters

A resolution to formally name the city’s new Southeast Fresno regional park generated public comment and written letters at the March 13 Fresno City Council meeting after staff removed the item from the agenda earlier in the session.

City Clerk announced at the meeting’s start that consent calendar item 2c (file ID 25‑318), the resolution to name the park at 2155 South Peach Avenue “Peach Park,” had been removed from the agenda with no specified return date. Councilmember Arias later explained he had received numerous community calls and believed the Southeast seat should lead the effort once it is filled.

At the council’s public‑comment period, the meeting record included a letter from Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez—read into the record by the city clerk—urging the council to adopt Peach Park because he said it reflected resident votes and years of community advocacy; the letter noted a prior city investment of $8.5 million to launch the project. Supervisor Chavez wrote the name “reflects the will of the residents” and called the park “a symbol of progress, accessibility, and community pride.”

At the meeting, Jose Luis Barraza, a Southeast Fresno resident, told the council members that neighborhood volunteers and community groups had tended the land and that the neighborhood’s input was ignored when the naming process moved forward. Barraza said community members had worked “with shovels, rakes and hoses” and asked that the community’s voice be honored.

City staff later provided the council a summary of an online vote: Peach Park received 237 votes; other name options received fewer votes (The Grove 82, Heritage Harvest 45, Vine 42). Despite that tally, the item remained off the active agenda pending further consideration and fuller participation by the council member who will represent the Southeast seat when it is filled.

Why it mattered: Naming a large regional park in Southeast Fresno carries symbolic weight for a historically underserved neighborhood. Community members who worked on the site said they want the council to recognize local input; other residents and an elected county official said the public‑vote results support the Peach Park name.

What the council did: At the meeting the resolution was removed from the agenda and tabled by the administration; staff recorded the public‑vote tallies and accepted letters for the record. City staff said the item will return to the council at a later date when the District 5 council seat is filled or when the administration re‑places the name on the agenda.

Speakers quoted in this item appeared in the meeting transcript and are listed in the speakers section.