Pismo’s owner wins rezone of land near popular Fresno restaurant. What’s next isn’t clear

A 1.7-acre piece of land behind a prominent north Fresno shopping center had been intended to be the site of a high-density apartment complex.

In 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, owner David Fansler proposed relocating his popular Pismo’s Coastal Grill restaurant, in the Villaggio shopping center at Blackstone and Nees avenues, to the property a short distance to the west along Nees Avenue.

At that time, Fansler acknowledged that the land would need to be rezoned in a process that would likely take a couple of years.

On Thursday, a divided Fresno City Council approved Fansler’s application to change the city’s general plan designation and zoning for the site from high-density residential to allow for mixed uses – potentially clearing the way for a future proposal for a combination of residential, retail or commercial development on the land.

That didn’t sit well with Councilmember Miguel Arias, who described the process as a “loophole” that could allow a developer to escape the obligation to help the city with its housing stock.

“We have a parcel that zoned for high-density housing. We are in a housing crisis, in need desperately of more housing,” Arias told Fansler’s land-use consultant, Dirk Poeschel. “The applicant is requesting that we eliminate the high-density housing zoning so that you can pursue potentially a commercial use development?”

“That’s not quite true or not quite accurate,” Poeschel responded. “In the proposed rezoning, the identical residential designation remains.”

Poeschel added that Fansler has not decided what he wants to develop there, but said options could include a “boutique” hotel, offices or a potential commercial project — a range that could still allow for relocation of his Pismo’s restaurant that’s been in its current location for about 13 years.

“If we were to come forward with a use that was not residential, then we would have to make up those units in accordance with directives” from the city,” Poeschel said.

Loss of housing?

State law requires that if Fansler ultimately proposes something other than housing, he would need to compensate for the lost residential capacity, at 30 to 45 units per acre, somewhere else in the city.

Jennifer Clark, director of the city’s planning department, told council members that simply changing the land-use designation to mixed-use, which could allow for even higher density housing, does not reduce the potential housing capacity because there is not yet a specific development project associated with the property.

“We cannot assume that a future project would eliminate residential, … ” Clark said. “This (rezoning) does not take away the residential capacity that exists on this particular parcel until there is a future project that proposes that.”

Arias said he’s concerned because of the potential for reducing zoning in the affluent north end of Fresno at the expense of concentrating more high-density housing in his southwest Fresno district or other southern neighborhoods.

“The applicant clearly knew it was zoned for high density, that was the expectation, (and) neighbors have known that for a while,” Arias said.

A database search of property records indicates that that Fansler bought the property in the summer of 2015 from the owners of the Villaggio Shopping Center for an estimated $1.25 million.

The city’s staff report indicates that when the latest version of the Fresno General Plan was adopted in December 2014, the land-use designation for the property was changed from Administrative & Professional Office to High Density Residential. The city’s Development Code was later amended in 2015 to make it consistent with the General Plan, cementing the future land use for high-density multi-family residential purposes.

While the General Plan designation for the property had already been revised by the time Fansler purchased the site, Poeschel asserted to the city council on Thursday that neither Fansler nor the seller “were aware (at that time) that the city changed the property zoning and the general plan designation” to require only high-density housing.

A new Pismo’s? Hotel? Offices? Future use undecided

The council voted 5-2 to approve Fansler’s application for the general plan and zoning changes. Arias was joined by District 7 Councilmember Nelson Esparza, who represents central and east-central Fresno, in opposing the changes.

After the vote, Poeschel reiterated to The Fresno Bee that Fansler does not yet have a specific development project in mind for the property. He said that originally, a major branded hotel was one of the ideas, but the lot size was not suited for that. Instead, the focus shifted to other types of projects, including a specialty “boutique” hotel. “We don’t have anything like that here” in Fresno, Poeschel said.

And, of course, there are the plans that Fansler unveiled in 2019 to relocate and expand Pismo’s.

Office uses or commercial uses also remain on the table, he added.

“We are either going to come back with a multi-family project, or find replacement units,” Poeschel told the city council. “We’d like to get going and bring you a project someday.”

In December, Fansler and his attorney, Fresno lawyer Warren Paboojian, filed a legal claim against the city accusing Arias of “unilaterally and unjustifiably removing” Fansler’s application for the plan amendment and zoning change from the council’s agenda for consideration in retaliation for Fansler suing the city over its COVID-19 measures in 2020 requiring prohibiting indoor seating in restaurants.

It was not Arias who removed Fansler’s application from the Nov. 17 City Council agenda, but District 2 Councilmember Michael Karbassi — who represents northwest Fresno including the 1.7-acre site — who tabled the item for consideration at a future council meeting.

Fansler’s 2020 COVID-19 lawsuit also named Arias, Esparza, District 5 Councilmember Luis Chavez, then-Mayor Lee Brand, former City Attorney Doug Sloan, former city council members Esmeralda Soria and Paul Caprioglio as defendants along with the city.