FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — The long-planned Friant Ranch project moved forward Tuesday after the Fresno County Board of Supervisors certified the final environmental review and approved the development following extensive public comment.
The proposed project encompasses 942 acres in the unincorporated community of Friant and has been decades in the making. According to project developer Brian Wagner, the development adds to the growing landscape in the area.
“Friant Ranch is now in a regional development area. It is not a leapfrog development. It is surrounded by development in Madera County,” Wagner said.
The project faced years of legal challenges. On Tuesday, supervisors reviewed the final environmental impact report, which had been tied up following a California Supreme Court ruling that found it failed to adequately address air quality impacts.
New findings presented during the meeting concluded the project’s health impacts were “less than significant.” The board was tasked with certifying those findings and deciding whether to move forward with the development, hearing arguments from both supporters and opponents.
“I get to have my grandchildren there. I get to have my children there. I get to have their schools there. There is no way in the world we should say no to this,” said Bruce Kinabrew, former Friant Resident.
The proposal remains unchanged from the version first presented in 2011. Plans call for 2,500 residential units, more than 2,200 of which would be designated for residents age 55 and older.
Opponents urged supervisors to consider changing circumstances over the past decade. Friant resident Johnny Osburn said he is concerned about how the project could affect local water resources.
“Eighteen children live there; we are on a well. I don’t know what impact this could have on our well. We are not incorporated,” Osburn said.
“It’s going to help the existing residents who are there with aging infrastructure. I think moving people off of septic and having some type of centralized tertiary treatment facility is much better than allowing people to have leach fields,” Magsig said.
Following public comment, the board unanimously voted to certify the updated environmental review and approved the project. Supervisor Brian Pacheco was the lone dissenting vote on the project itself, citing unresolved infrastructure concerns.
“Over the last several months, we have had issue after issue on water, and a lot of those developments in that area all have water issues,” Pacheco said.
The project still needs to return to superior court to show the new plan is in compliance before it can move forward again.
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