Clovis has cleared the way for a project to widen Shepherd Avenue by securing a right-of-way acquisition of a property on Fowler Avenue through eminent domain.
The parcel is located at the intersection of Fowler and Shepherd avenues, with its boundaries extending 10 feet into the yard. It is the last holdout for the widening project, which launched in December 2023.
In recent years, housing development has flourished in northern Clovis. Developers Lennar and Wilson Homes have secured approvals to build a combined total of more than 1,000 single-family homes north of Shepherd Avenue on what used to be almond orchards.
As part of these larger-scale development plans, Shepherd Avenue will be widened from two to four lanes with curb and gutter, bike lanes, streetlights and a landscaped median. The parts between Clovis and Fowler Avenues were closed for six months in 2024 for major construction.
The latest construction schedule aims to complete the widening of Shepherd Avenue between Sunnyside and Fowler avenues by the end of December 2026, Burnett said.
Now, the widening project has reached its final stage, and Clovis is working to negotiate with property owners for the needed right-of-way.
Soljomar Rushdan, the city’s management analyst, told the council at an October meeting that staff have been in discussions with the owner of 9029 N. Fowler Ave. since September 2024 to acquire 2,469 square feet of the property, but the two parties could not reach an agreement.
“It’s hit or miss with this particular property owner. They’ll go where they’re very interactive with me, and then they’ll just completely disregard our communications,” Rushdan said.
The staff made at least 27 different communication attempts since the initial offer, Rushdan added.
“I’ve gone out to the property, door-knocked on the property. I’ve sent text messages, emails, certified mail, etc., and at this point, a complete disregard for all the attempts for communication,” Rushdan said. “At one point, she actually told me that she would just disregard things due to the nature of the entire process on purpose.”
When The Bee visited the property, a man who claimed to co-own the property with his ex-wife said that they had just communicated with city officials the previous day and everything was proceeding smoothly.
This is not the first time that they needed to cede land to the city, the man said. The property’s yard once extended across Shepherd Avenue, encompassing the traffic lights at the intersection, he said.
“We’re happy campers,” he said. “They took care of us last time, they’re taking care of us this time.”
City officials said they have been in communication with the property owner and negotiations are underway since the meeting where the council adopted the eminent domain resolution of necessity.
Property records list the owner of the property as Yu Lee Nelson, only. The ex-husband is not on the title to the property, according to city officials.
Clovis previously obtained the right-of-way from the property under threat of eminent domain, according to Rushdan.
“In that instance, the city was able to come to a mutually acceptable agreement with the property owner, so filing an eminent domain complaint with the court was not necessary at that time,” Rushdan said.
Technically, the property is located within Fresno County rather than the city limits of Clovis, which is bounded by the south side of Shepherd.
Ryan Burnett, Clovis’s engineering program manager, said that, for the widening project, Clovis obtained the county’s approval in July 2024 to acquire the right-of-way from properties, including by eminent domain condemnation actions, if necessary.
Besides this property at the northwest corner of the intersection, the city also gained right-of-way from three of its neighbors on East Shepherd Avenue, according to Burnett.
Currently, the residents of 9029 N. Fowler Ave. run a golf cart business. Several golf carts and trailers are parked in the yard, reaching all the way to the edge where the city required right-of-way access.
Rushdan told the council at the meeting that the city will work with the property owner to remove those items and push them back further into the yard.
Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck said she hopes the county could be more supportive of the needs of its city partners when processing building permits for houses along the shared border.
“I’m overwhelmed at how much stuff is on that corner,” Ashbeck said at the meeting. “So as you talk about how we might share and work together, I would just say rural-urban interface. What comes up and gets something like that is not great.”
