45,000-home mega-development nears approval in California

DUSTIN JONESSeptember 6, 2023

According to a report, a controversial mega-project that could create 150,000 new homes in central California is nearing approval.

The project, called the Southeast Development Area, will add 45,000 potential new homes over 9,000 acres in Fresno and “is planned to create more housing at all income levels,” city officials said in a statement 124-page draft of the plan.

However, the outline does not specify how much SEDA will cost taxpayers, how many of the proposed 45,000 homes would be affordable housing, and how the City of Fresno intends to pay for SEDA’s infrastructure costs.

Those important details will only be finalized after the city council approves or rejects this project, said city planning director Jennifer Clark Fresnoland.

Among SEDA’s critics was Sanger Unified Assistant Superintendent Eduardo Martinez, who said the development would double the size of the public school district and require 16 new schools to accommodate SEDA’s young residents.

Building that many new schools would require $1 billion, Martinez told Fresnoland — a staggering sum the county doesn’t have.

Sign above the street in Fresno — A planned mega-project aims to build 45,000 new homes on 9,000 acres in Fresno, California.

Dog in a yard in Fresno — The proposal will be presented to the Fresno City Council for approval later this fall.

The proposed development in California’s fifth-largest city comes amid a nearly $1 billion land grab by Silicon Valley elites hoping to build a utopian city north of the Bay Area.

Similar to Solano County’s controversial proposal, Fresno’s plan would convert a rural piece of land into a walkable neighborhood where residents could walk to downtown, the elementary school, a recreation area, a community garden, and local shops.

The draft also mentions plans to create bike lanes and a convenient public transport service to “promote health by reducing harmful emissions from cars”.

Expanding these communities would create between 30,000 and 37,000 jobs, Fresno officials said.

In addition, should SEDA be approved, “between 40,000 and 45,000 housing units of varying type, size, density and affordability” would be built.

The proposal also mentions the planting of school gardens within neighborhood schools, the integration of community orchards into SEDA’s public spaces, and the development of a “Fresno Grown” brand for locally grown produce.

The plan will be presented to the Fresno City Council for approval in the fall.

According to the local news site, Sanger West — the first of the 16 new schools SEDA requires — needs all of the financial resources that Sanger Unified has and the government school bonds that local schools depended on to build new facilities 40 years ago dried out .

SEDA has already begun construction of Clovis Unified’s Terry Bradley Educational Center on land acquired in 2008 under SEDA’s terms.

Map of the development plan — Fresno officials said the development — dubbed the Southeast Development Area — would create up to 37,000 jobs, although critics have warned the expansion would require 16 new schools at a cost of $1 billion.

The school is scheduled to open for 1,200 students in the 2025 school year, but due to its remote location, it already faces the big question of how to maintain water and sanitation services.

In April, city officials considered introducing a “temporary” sewer connection that would last 15 years. Fresnoland reports, and they hope that by that time the SEDA infrastructure will be sufficiently developed to connect the school to it.

Another proposal involved building an entirely new, temporary support infrastructure site near the school, the outlet reported, though the application was denied by the Fresno County Planning Commission.

Recently published renderings of "California forever" Show children riding bikes on tree-lined streets — About 60 miles northeast of San Francisco, another utopian metropolis called “California Forever” has been proposed.

If Fresno officials don’t come to a conclusion by 2025, students who wished to attend the school will have to report to Clovis East High School, which Fresnoland says will bring enrollment to 5,000 students, exceeding its 3,500 capacity.

City officials of Fresno did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.

Meanwhile, about 60 miles northeast of San Francisco, a secret Californian company has been hired to build a city for Silicon Valley billionaires.

Recently published renderings of "California forever" Show residents walking on the sidewalk and boarding public transit — Recently released renderings of “California Forever” show kids riding bikes through tree-lined streets, kayakers crossing a tranquil river, and people fishing along a beautiful waterway, with mansions stacked on top of each other against a scenic, hilly backdrop .

Renders of the utopian techie metropolis titled “California Forever” were released last week. The idyllic sketches depict children riding bikes through tree-lined streets, kayakers crossing a tranquil river and people fishing along a beautiful waterway, with mansions stacked on top of each other against a scenic, rolling backdrop.

The images are a far cry from the current state of the country.

The area — which covers 55,000 acres between Napa Valley, Sacramento and San Francisco — consists mostly of arid, inhospitable farmland battered by high winds, turbines and abandoned gas wells, local officials told the Post.