‘20-minute neighborhoods‘ underway in Fresno, Clovis. Which gets built first? | Opinion

Marek Warszawski
·4 min read
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Tread cautiously, Mayor Dyer.

Any more talk of “20-minute neighborhoods” and Fresno’s recently reelected Republican honcho might get himself confused for (gasp) a progressive.

“It is geared to be a 20-minute neighborhood,” Jerry Dyer said during an interview regarding the Fancher Creek Town Center in southeast Fresno. “It’s a long time coming.”

Dyer’s “20-minute neighborhood” is an offshoot of the “15-minute city” concept, an urban planning strategy in which residents have easy, convenient access to most of their daily necessities and services including shopping, work, schools, health care and leisure activities by walking, biking or riding public transit.

Contrary to what’s being peddled by conspiracy theorists and right-wing influencers, the aim isn’t to promote lockdowns or take away freedoms. It’s to reduce dependency on cars, which improves our air quality (a biggie in ozone-choked regions like ours), and promote healthier, sustainable lifestyles.

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Needless to say, Fresno and Clovis were not developed with this concept in mind. Houses in one area. Grocery stores in another. Shopping centers, hospitals and schools all over the place. All of it connected by an expanding grid of featureless surface streets.

Among the first incarnations of “20-minute neighborhoods” were so-called “town centers” that began popping up in California cities during the early 2000s. Developments such as Santana Row in San Jose and Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga transformed old shopping malls into vibrant mixtures of housing, businesses, retail and entertainment.

It didn’t take long for that idea to spread to the central San Joaquin Valley. But instead of re-purposing, our “town centers” would be built from the ground up.

Fancher Creek was the first “town center” proposed for the region — way, way back in 2000. At the time, it was forward thinking by Fresno developers Ed Kashian and Tom Richards.

An aerial view shows the land that will be developed as part of Fancher Creek at Clovis Avenue and Tulare Street in southeast Fresno. Apartments for seniors and low-income families, pictured in the background, have already been built.
An aerial view shows the land that will be developed as part of Fancher Creek at Clovis Avenue and Tulare Street in southeast Fresno. Apartments for seniors and low-income families, pictured in the background, have already been built.

In 2003, Clovis followed suit with Loma Vista, an “urban village” designed to feature a variety of housing options, including high-density mixed use. Plus commercial and business centers, parks and school facilities linked with biking and walking paths.

Not to be outdone, the developers of Madera County master-planned communities Riverstone and Tesoro Viejo a few miles north of Fresno on Highway 41 have also included “town centers” in their conceptual designs.

What do all four of these “town centers” or “urban villages” have in common?

None have actually been built. At least not in a way that represents anything significantly different than all the single-family housing tracts that have come before.

Roundabout to nowhere

For years, the strangest sights in southeast Fresno were the roundabout to nowhere near Clovis and Tulare avenues and the concrete parking structures that stood in an empty dirt field.

This was the Fancher Creek Town Center. Seemingly destined to be another Fresno folly.

Following decades of delays, Fancher Creek may actually become a thing. Or a semblance of one. A 180-unit senior housing development is full and a 120-unit affordable housing project is under construction nearby. Both projects were heavily subsidized.

Now comes word that In-N-Out Burger has purchased land at the shopping center and pledged to build a location while other retailers (including Sprouts) have signed leases.

While a couple housing projects and retail shopping doesn’t qualify as a “20-minute neighborhood,” construction of a movie theater, a transit center and recreation spaces, including a 1.5-mile multiuse trail along Fancher Creek, would inch things closer.

An artist’s rendering of a clock tower and central fountain plaza inside the village green area of Clovis’ Loma Vista urban growth area. A construction bid for the 6.2-acre village green was recently awarded with completion scheduled for the fall of 2023.
An artist’s rendering of a clock tower and central fountain plaza inside the village green area of Clovis’ Loma Vista urban growth area. A construction bid for the 6.2-acre village green was recently awarded with completion scheduled for the fall of 2023.

Clovis has even grander designs for Loma Vista, whose centerpiece is a 6.2-acre village green surrounded by areas zoned for high-density residential, mixed uses, commercial centers and public facilities like a post office and library.

For years, Loma Vista consisted of little more than single-family homes and schools. Recently, however, other aspects of the “urban village” have started to take shape: a new fire station, apartments (market rate, naturally) and earth being moved at a planned retail center at Shaw and Leonard avenues.

What’s more, construction of the village green’s central plaza featuring a clock tower and fountain is also underway.

Will Fresno or Clovis be the first Valley city to construct a 20-minute neighborhood? Or will Madera County overtake both despite spotting them a 15-year head start?

Our region’s slow-motion development horse race continues.

An overview of the Loma Vista village green, the centerpiece of Clovis’ southeast urban growth area. A construction bid for the 6.2-acre park was recently awarded with completion scheduled for the fall of 2023.
An overview of the Loma Vista village green, the centerpiece of Clovis’ southeast urban growth area. A construction bid for the 6.2-acre park was recently awarded with completion scheduled for the fall of 2023.