Costco’s wish to move to a new location in northwest Fresno was granted by the City Council on Thursday. 

It was the second time the council supported the move, needing to make another decision on it after an environmental lawsuit forced the city to redo its environmental impact review. 

The backstory: Two years ago, the Fresno City Council approved Costco’s move from W. Shaw Ave. to the northeast corner of Herndon Ave. and Riverside Dr. 

But a group called the Herndon-Riverside Coalition sued the city for apparently violating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Last year a Fresno County judge ruled that the city failed to meet state law when conducting the environmental impact review and ordered the city to produce a revised assessment. 

The big picture:The council voted 5-0 on Thursday to approve the move with the new environmental impact review in hand. Councilmembers Miguel Arias and Nick Richardson were absent. 

The new Costco will sit on 22.4 acres with a store that spans 220,000 square feet. It will also have 32 gas pumps as well as a car wash. 

The Costco will also feature a Market Delivery Operation (MDO), a facility that will hold large items that will be delivered to people. That will allow for quicker home deliveries, speeding up a process that currently involves Costco’s distribution center in Tracy. 

What they’re saying: Councilman Mike Karbassi, who represents northwest Fresno, said the move will increase the amount of income captured in the city, countering the trend of people who have moved to Madera County. 

“We’ll have people from Madera, for once, coming back into our town spending their money here,” Karbassi said. “These are folks that live in Madera – they used to live in Fresno – use our services and tear up our roads during the day and pay all their property tax to the other county. We’re finally turning the tide on that issue.” 

What we’re watching: The Herndon-Riverside Coalition promised more litigation in its hopes to bar Costco from the move. 

Coalition organizer Daniel Brannick told the council during the meeting that his group will be back in court to continue fighting the project over environmental concerns.