OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Fresno District 6 Project Review Committee Meeting – February 20, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Friday, February 20, 2026
BodyFresno, California
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateFriday, February 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 29:00

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Did they catch you?

0:02

Okay, we are live.

0:04

So we can call the meeting in some order at 5 31 p.m.

0:08

And we'll start with our roll call.

0:10

And um member Dene Garza, that's me.

0:13

I'm here.

0:14

And we have Janet.

0:15

Yes.

0:16

Lois.

0:18

Not here.

0:19

Denise.

0:20

Here.

0:21

Robert.

0:22

Here.

0:23

Bonna.

0:24

Here.

0:24

Geraldine.

0:25

Here.

0:26

And Kevin.

0:27

Here.

0:28

Okay.

0:29

Now we can move on to our first item of business, which is number one, the approval of the agenda for letter A, February 11th, 2026.

0:39

We can motion to move forward.

0:41

The motion that we second.

0:43

Thank you.

0:44

All in favor.

0:46

Okay, moving on to consent calendar for September 10th, 2025 meeting minutes.

0:52

The last time we were here together.

0:58

I voted that it's be accepted.

1:01

Second.

1:02

All in favor?

1:04

Okay, moving on.

1:05

Project review continued matters.

1:07

There's none, but we do have number four project review new matters and letter A, conditional use permit application P26-00153.

1:17

And do we have somebody here to present?

1:20

Are you James?

1:21

I am.

1:22

The floor is yours.

1:23

James, if you could tell us all about your wonderful project you have going on.

1:26

Thank you.

1:28

Yeah, so we are doing an Italian-inspired sandwich shop.

1:33

Um Italian inspired meaning, uh, it's not your typical you know Italian sub type deli sandwich.

1:41

It's uh sort of um inspired by the uh the sort of street food that you would get in Italy and Tuscany.

1:50

Um in Tuscany, they have a sandwich called a Scotciata sandwich, but we're gonna we're gonna be calling it focaccia so that it's easy to understand.

1:58

Um and that's where I've spent a lot of time traveling through Italy, and that's where I kind of get inspiration for all my projects.

2:07

And you can give us tips.

2:09

Uh yes, so what we're gonna be doing is uh freshly baked focaccia in the sense that you bake it, comes hot out of the oven, and then we split it open and there will be a display case with all the different uh spreads and toppings, and we'll we're gonna be slicing the meats to order.

2:32

You order it, we slice it, we make your sandwich on a freshly baked bocaccia.

2:37

Um so it'll be counter service.

2:39

Um and we are gonna serve wine and beer.

2:43

Uh we would like to serve wine and beer, and and that is really a complimentary item to that style of eating when you go into these little sandwich shops of Italy.

2:52

There's always some wine you know behind the counter, and you uh you know, you have your wine and your sandwich, and you enjoy.

3:02

And so uh the interior will be uh, you know, it's 2600 square foot space.

3:08

Uh and the interior will, you know, it also takes inspiration from uh from Italy, but it's a new building, so we adapt it um you know as best as we can to sort of provide that that feel um that authentic Italian uh sort of old world feel, um you know, tile floors, uh you know, custom furniture and upholstery, uh you know your yeah, so your wood trims and uh the big butcher's butcher block counter for when the bread's coming out or slicing the bread, that'll all be on display.

3:49

Um that's pretty much questions.

3:54

Thank you.

3:55

Yeah, any questions?

3:57

When does it open?

3:59

Yeah, we're hoping to open uh early April.

4:02

Oh wow, soon do yeah, nice okay and it's exactly I was trying to see on there um it look like so the new um credit union's that and then there's the other um so it's to the yeah so we're that building the credit union's right in the middle there uh the new building and then we would be on the end cap of that same building closest to it Nessa.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████31%
Affordable Housing███████████████████████████████31%
Public Engagement████████████████████████████28%
Public Safety██████████10%
Summary of Proceedings

Fresno District 6 Project Review Committee Meeting – February 20, 2026

The Council District 6 Project Review Committee met on February 20, 2026, at 5:31 PM to consider two project reviews, approve the meeting calendar, and discuss committee concerns. The meeting included public testimony and resulted in one project approval and one decision postponed pending developer attendance.

Consent Calendar

  • September 10, 2025 Meeting Minutes: Approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Des Martinez (community advocate) spoke on behalf of public transparency and community involvement. She emphasized that developers should be present to answer questions, noted difficulties marginalized communities face in accessing meeting information (lack of Wi‑Fi, transportation), and requested that the district explore alternative notification methods such as email listservs or printed flyers. She also expressed interest in knowing about affordable housing projects in District 6. The committee acknowledged her comments and directed her to the City Clerk’s webpage and the office of Councilmember Richardson for further assistance.
  • A brief public comment was made during the debate on Item B (Tentative Tract Map P24‑02432) by an unidentified speaker who noted that public comment should occur before any vote. The committee responded by allowing that comment and explaining the decision to postpone.

Discussion Items

  • Item A – Conditional Use Permit P26‑00153 (Italian‑Inspired Sandwich Shop): Applicant James presented a proposal for a 2,600‑square‑foot focaccia sandwich shop with beer and wine service, inspired by Tuscan street food, to be located on the end‑cap of a new building near the Nessa’s and credit union. He anticipated an early April opening and stated that the parking situation had improved with the addition of approximately 140 new spots to the south. Committee members asked about parking and expressed gratitude for the developer’s personal attendance. A motion to approve carried unanimously.
  • Item B – Tentative Tract Map P24‑02432 (7‑Lot Single‑Family Subdivision): Gateway Engineering’s application for a 2.42‑acre parcel (APN 578‑0105) north of the Maple & Audubon fire station was presented with no developer representative present. The committee discussed the lack of representation, noting that residents and committee members had unanswered questions about traffic and site details. A motion was made to postpone any committee decision until the developer appeared to answer questions. After a roll‑call vote, the motion carried (3 in favor: Robert, Jan, Jerry; 2 opposed). The committee stated that the project would still proceed through the normal process but that they wanted to send a message about transparency.
  • Item C – 2026 Committee Meeting Calendar: The committee reviewed the proposed calendar and discussed the absence of a November meeting due to holidays. A consensus was reached to schedule a special meeting in November if items require a hearing. A motion to approve the calendar carried unanimously.
  • Committee Consultation and Unscheduled Matters: Member Jan reported an unsettling experience at the Woodward Park Post Office where two masked individuals were filming people in an apparent “rage‑baiting” tactic. Police on scene explained that public filming is legal. Jan shared the incident as a safety concern, and other members commented on similar online harassment tactics.

Key Outcomes

  • Item A (Sandwich Shop): Approved as presented. Expected to open early April 2026.
  • Item B (Tentative Tract Map): Postponed indefinitely until Gateway Engineering or the developer attends a future meeting to answer questions. The committee’s vote was 3–2 in favor of postponement.
  • Meeting Calendar: Approved for 2026, with flexibility to hold a special November meeting if needed.
  • Public Access: The committee acknowledged the public comment about notification barriers and directed the speaker to the offices of Councilmember Richardson and staff Nicole for assistance in establishing a direct email or notification system for District 6 meetings.

Meeting Transcript

Did they catch you? Okay, we are live. So we can call the meeting in some order at 5 31 p.m. And we'll start with our roll call. And um member Dene Garza, that's me. I'm here. And we have Janet. Yes. Lois. Not here. Denise. Here. Robert. Here. Bonna. Here. Geraldine. Here. And Kevin. Here. Okay. Now we can move on to our first item of business, which is number one, the approval of the agenda for letter A, February 11th, 2026. We can motion to move forward. The motion that we second. Thank you. All in favor. Okay, moving on to consent calendar for September 10th, 2025 meeting minutes. The last time we were here together. I voted that it's be accepted. Second. All in favor? Okay, moving on. Project review continued matters. There's none, but we do have number four project review new matters and letter A, conditional use permit application P26-00153. And do we have somebody here to present? Are you James? I am. The floor is yours. James, if you could tell us all about your wonderful project you have going on. Thank you. Yeah, so we are doing an Italian-inspired sandwich shop. Um Italian inspired meaning, uh, it's not your typical you know Italian sub type deli sandwich. It's uh sort of um inspired by the uh the sort of street food that you would get in Italy and Tuscany. Um in Tuscany, they have a sandwich called a Scotciata sandwich, but we're gonna we're gonna be calling it focaccia so that it's easy to understand. Um and that's where I've spent a lot of time traveling through Italy, and that's where I kind of get inspiration for all my projects. And you can give us tips. Uh yes, so what we're gonna be doing is uh freshly baked focaccia in the sense that you bake it, comes hot out of the oven, and then we split it open and there will be a display case with all the different uh spreads and toppings, and we'll we're gonna be slicing the meats to order. You order it, we slice it, we make your sandwich on a freshly baked bocaccia. Um so it'll be counter service. Um and we are gonna serve wine and beer.

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