Costco has touted<\/a> the planned new store as a $98 million investment with the potential to generate $55 million annually in economic benefit for the area.<\/p>\n But the city faced a lawsuit from the Herndon-Riverside Coalition for Responsible Planning and Development shortly after approving the Costco plans in 2024. The community group argued the area\u2019s zoning does not allow a distribution center included in the project and that its environmental impact report was inadequate. Last summer, Fresno County Judge Jonathan Skiles agreed and halted the project.<\/p>\n Northwest Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi said he is confident the project\u2019s newly revised planning documents<\/a> address the problems found in Skiles\u2019 ruling.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a path forward to have something that\u2019s environmentally friendly and complies with the law,\u201d Karbassi told The Fresno Bee.<\/p>\n Daniel Brannick, an environmental attorney representing the coalition that sued the city, appears to disagree. He did not respond to a phone call requesting an interview Wednesday, but a letter he sent to the city in January says the project still has not addressed the \u201czoning inconsistency\u201d of its distribution center. His letter also says the project\u2019s analysis of greenhouse gas emissions \u201cremains informationally inadequate.\u201d<\/p>\n The Fresno Planning Commission is scheduled to consider the revised plans Wednesday evening. If given the OK, the plans would then head to the City Council again.<\/p>\n Do new Fresno Costco plans address problems found in lawsuit?<\/p>\n The northwest Fresno Costco plans include a 47,000-square foot \u201cmarket delivery option\u201d space, which court documents describe as a distribution center for large items.<\/p>\n Brannick argued in the lawsuit that the distribution space is considered an industrial use under Fresno\u2019s Municipal Code and was not authorized in the commercially-zoned project area. The city had argued the distribution space would be integrated into the main Costco warehouse and would be legal within the area\u2019s zoning as one part of a retail operation.<\/p>\n But Skiles wrote in his opinion that the city provided no evidence that the distribution space would be an \u201caccessory use\u201d as defined by Fresno law. In its revised planning documents, the city says the distribution space would function \u201clike the storage element of a typical home improvement or furniture store.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs is evident to anyone who has visited or shopped at a large-format retailer or grocery store, modern retail uses incorporate both opportunities for in-person shopping and delivery to customers,\u201d the documents say.<\/p>\n Skiles also struck down the project\u2019s environmental impact report in his ruling because it was based, in part, on the city\u2019s defunct 2021 greenhouse gas reduction plan. The new environmental report cites the city\u2019s 2014 greenhouse gas reduction plan, among other regulations it says the project will abide by.<\/p>\n The report says the project will result in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, but adds that it \u201cwould not conflict with or impede\u201d the state\u2019s ability to reach its pollution reduction goals.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n
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