Fresno Planning Commission Meeting - September 3, 2026: Housing Element Text Amendments and Conditional Use Permit Approval
Fresno Planning Commission Meeting - September 3, 2026
The Fresno Planning Commission met on September 3, 2026, at 5:34 PM to consider a workshop on required text amendments for the Sixth Cycle Housing Element and a conditional use permit for a smoke shop conversion. The meeting was called to order with roll call by Commissioners Dene, Janet, Lois, Denise, Bonna Alfred, Geraldine, and Jerry. The meeting adjourned at 6:12 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Agenda: Motion to approve the agenda for the August 12, 2026 meeting was made, seconded, and passed unanimously by voice vote.
- Meeting Minutes: Motion to approve the July 8, 2026 meeting minutes was made, seconded, and passed unanimously.
Discussion Items
- Workshop on Text Amendment P2602359 – Sixth Cycle Housing Element: Sophia Pagalatis, Program Administrator of the Housing Element, presented proposed amendments to the development code required by the housing element and state law. The amendments address objective design standards (replacing subjective criteria with quantifiable standards), state law updates on density bonuses (up to 80% bonus and four concessions for 100% affordable projects), parking reductions for ADUs and supportive housing within half-mile of transit, emergency shelter standards, low-barrier navigation centers, residential care facilities (limited to six persons), single-room occupancy units, and missing middle housing types (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, etc.). Commissioners raised questions about assisted living facilities, the impact of residential care facilities on neighborhoods, and the definition of missing middle. No vote was taken; the workshop was for discussion only.
- Conditional Use Permit P25-00465 – Grun Depreet Singh: The applicant, owner of a smoke shop at 7773 First Street, requested approval to convert the business into a neighborhood market (Tony's Mini Mart) with a Type 20 alcohol license for beer and wine. The market would include groceries, produce, deli items, and household supplies. The applicant stated that the smoke shop business is declining and that the new market would focus on local, organic products. Commissioners questioned competition with nearby Safeway and Smart & Final, parking challenges, and hours of operation (9 PM to 10 PM). The applicant noted a built-in customer base and affordable wholesale prices. The commission voted to approve the permit; motion carried unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Approval of Agenda and Minutes: Both approved unanimously.
- Conditional Use Permit Approved: The conversion of the smoke shop to Tony's Mini Mart with beer and wine sales was approved unanimously.
- Next Meeting: The next regular meeting was scheduled for September 9, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
You're good to go. Okay, 5 34, we'll call the meeting into order and we'll start out with our roll call. That's uh Dene, I'm here. Janet here, Lois, Denise here. Bonna Alfred here. And Geraldine here, Jerry, thank you. And then um motion to go to the approval of the agenda for letter A, August 12th, 2026 meeting. And motion to approve it. Thank you. Do I have a second? Second. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Moving on to consent calendar for letter A, July 8 of 2026 meeting minutes. We need a motion to approve the minute. That's correct. Thank you. All in favor. Aye. Okay, and then we will be moving on. We'll skip number three since there's no continued matters and number four project review new matters is the workshop for the text of an application number P2602359 in regards to the sixth cycle housing element. That's good for that. Okay, is this on Stephen? Yeah, it doesn't necessarily project very much, so just kind of speaking. Okay, I will I will project. Good afternoon. I'm Sophia Pagalatis with the planning and development department, and I'm sitting here before you today in my new role as program administrator of the housing element. So these text amendments of the development code that we're bringing before you today are all required in our housing element. And to give you a refresher on the housing element, it is a chapter of the city's general plan. Um and it is a special chapter because it is subject to special state laws and timelines. So housing elements must be updated every eight years, and um our current housing element was um has the time frame of 2023 to 2031, and we call it a sixth cycle because housing elements are on cycles in California. So every jurisdiction in California, city or county is required to have a housing element, and this housing element contains housing production goals and also several action programs or action plans to help remove barriers to housing and encourage the development of housing for all um household income levels. So that's what it is in a nutshell. Um in our current housing element, there are 37 different programs in the action plan. And today we're um we're packaging there are several amendments to our zoning code that are called for in four of those programs. So that's the context for you, and um there was the context. Let's go to the next slide. Yes, sorry, no, that was me. Moving ahead, not looking at my slides. Um, so the first so I'm just going to describe the changes in terms of overall topic areas, and the first one is objective design standards. What do we mean by that? Well, um, it means standards that are quantifiable and where there's no subjectivity in applying them. And so the housing element and state law require us to amend our residential and mixed use development and facade design standards to ensure they are clear and objective. So I'm gonna give you an example, and there's one here on the slide. A non-objective example might be um new development should be designed to enhance pedestrians' experience as they walk along public streets. That would be subjective because what might be a pleasant subjective uh pleasant experience for for you, Mr. Triquio would not be one for you, Ms. Garza, for example. Um, but um, so what we're doing is trying to remove those kinds of subject um subjective requirements and replace them with quantifiable things, such as for new development along a new street, sidewalk should be no less than five feet wide. Now, hopefully there would be additional requirements that would make the experience more pedestrian friendly, but you get the idea.
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