Council approves 48-unit Chestnut Avenue housing plan with added landscaping condition

Fresno City Council approved a plan amendment and rezoning on July 17 to change a property on Chestnut Avenue from employment/office to medium-high density residential and allow a 48-unit, two‑story apartment project, council staff said.

The project, located on about 3.78 acres on the west side of Chestnut Avenue north of Behymer, will rezone the site from O (office) to RM-1 and proposes six two‑story buildings. The council adopted the environmental assessment and approved the development permit and plan development permit, with an additional condition asked for by the Planning Commission requiring dense evergreen screening along the site’s southern boundary adjacent to a daycare.

Rob Holt, planning and development supervising planner, told the council the proposal yields roughly 12.7 dwelling units per acre and complies with lot coverage and open‑space standards in the staff report. Holt said the project provides 81 parking spaces where 78 are required and 48 covered spaces mandated by bedroom count. He also noted the project lies within an airport influence area and received an Airport Land Use Commission consistency finding.

Neighbors raised concerns at required neighborhood meetings about noise, traffic, on‑street parking and views into backyards. Holt said staff and the applicant addressed those items in the record and in project conditions; the Planning Commission recommended approval 6‑0 and asked that the southern boundary adjacent to the daycare be “extremely densely screened.”

Applicant representatives provided a landscaping exhibit showing six evergreen trees along the southern boundary and committed to additional screening and grading work to increase privacy along the western boundary adjacent to single‑family homes. Dirk Pushl, representing the applicant, said the trees will be evergreen and grow to about 30–35 feet and that the applicant had met with neighbors multiple times during the review process.

Council members pressed staff and the applicant for details about setbacks and neighborhood outreach. Holt confirmed the standard 20‑foot setback adjacent to single‑family zoning will be exceeded: buildings are proposed about 86 feet from the single‑family rear property line. Councilmember comments noted the irregular lot shape and the applicant’s multiple neighborhood meetings; the councilmember for the district said residents were notified within 1,000 feet and about 8 people attended the neighborhood meeting.

Councilmember motioned to approve the staff recommendation together with the Planning Commission’s screening recommendation; the motion passed and the council adopted the plan amendment, rezoning and permits. The council record shows five members present and the final tally recorded as four in favor and one opposed.Decisions and next steps: Staff will return with any required development agreements and final permit paperwork; landscaping and screening plans will be part of building permits and monitoring by planning staff.

The Planning Commission and subsequent council action close two major discretionary approvals in the city’s housing pipeline for a project that city staff described as consistent with the housing element’s program to add housing variety in high‑resource areas.

Ending: The developer and planning staff said they will submit final landscape and grading plans addressing the screening condition before issuance of building permits.