<\/p>\n
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer contemplates a question during an interview at Fresno City Hall on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.<\/p>\n
CRAIG KOHLRUSS<\/p>\n
ckohlruss@fresnobee.com<\/p>\n
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer has his game plan to pass an ambitious proposal that could significantly increase the city\u2019s size. He wants to get it done this summer.<\/p>\n
The Southeast Development Area, known as SEDA, has been decades in the making, with planning and preliminary reports. The plan could expand the city\u2019s borders by rezoning 9,000 acres of mostly farmland to the east and south. Dyer said it would add 45,000 homes if fully developed.<\/p>\n
The plan has met with skepticism and outright opposition from residents in the area, current councilmembers and those running for office.<\/p>\n
That hasn\u2019t deterred Dyer. He presented the proposal to the Fresno City Council last December<\/a>, then paused to conduct more studies to answer questions. He says he will introduce the plan for a Fresno City Council vote \u2014 at least on the first phase \u2014 this August.<\/p>\n Dyer warns that if city leaders do not approve SEDA, an adjacent city will. The land is currently unincorporated within Fresno County. Another government agency controlling regional land planning, the Fresno Local Agency Formation Commission<\/a>, could allow another jurisdiction to develop the area if Fresno says no.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you give up your growth area, you limit the future of your city, and I would be hesitant … which is what worries me, that if we don\u2019t approve an environmental impact report, that LAFCO may take this away from us as a growth area,\u201d Dyer said. \u201cAnd when that happens, who\u2019s going to get it? Clovis or Sanger. And so we\u2019re going to see Sanger and Clovis grow, but we\u2019re not going to be able to control that growth. I want to at least control the growth.\u201d<\/p>\n The growth plan for the area is decades old, dating to 1959. Even the most recent elements \u2014 preparing the environmental impact report started in 2019 \u2014 predate Dyer\u2019s administration by two years.<\/p>\n Dyer spoke at length with The Fresno Bee on May 26.<\/p>\n SEDA\u2019s phases<\/p>\n Dyer plans to break SEDA into multiple phases, starting with the southern 1,547 acres billed as \u201cSouth SEDA,\u201d bordered by Jensen, Minnewawa, North and Temperance avenues. He said it would take three to four years before anything gets developed. The first phase would be for research and development, with a small amount of residential development \u2014 467 acres, or about 4,800 units \u2014 to be built later.<\/p>\n The total cost of the first phase is $90 million for sewer and street infrastructure, Dyer said.<\/p>\n Without SEDA \u2014 and the land for housing options it creates, \u201cpeople move elsewhere, developers build elsewhere. They go to Clovis, they go to Madera,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n Criticisms from the city councilmembers, hopefuls and the community include the possibility of sprawl. Dyer said the goal is to make SEDA self-contained \u2014 with jobs and shopping close by, minimizing travel.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make sure that we are able to control the growth and to make sure we know where the growth is happening and what\u2019s going to be contained within that growth area, and to make sure that we are doing smart growth, that we\u2019re not doing leapfrog development, that we\u2019re not repeating some of the sins of our past, where we perhaps allowed some sprawl to occur that really took away from the inner city,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n Opposing residents are worried they would be forced into city limits or worse \u2014 that the city would take their land. Dyer reiterated that the city is not seeking to annex land or take it by eminent domain.<\/p>\n Annexation into the city would be at the request of private developers, Dyer said.<\/p>\n Getting Fresno City Council buy-in<\/p>\n Dyer presented SEDA to the Fresno City Council last December. Before any approval, the council requested more data from staff, voting 5-2 to wait. The requests include financial data, such as property tax revenue, sales tax revenue and job creation.<\/p>\n Miguel Arias and Brandon Vang voted no on the delay. They also voted no that same day to remove SEDA consideration from the agenda.<\/p>\n Dyer does not anticipate he would need to engage in political trading to sway a councilmember his way.<\/p>\n \u201cI would do everything I could to satisfy whatever concerns they have,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n One concern from District 5 Councilmember Brandon Vang was creating a buffer zone around a school in the proposed South SEDA area.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m willing to entertain some of those things, but I think that\u2019s where my limit is going to be as a mayor,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n Several candidates for city council said they oppose SEDA. Dyer is cognizant of the election math. The school boards for Central Unified and Fresno Unified formally opposed SEDA. Two of the board members, Central Unified\u2019s Naindeep Singh and Fresno Unified\u2019s Keshia Thomas, are running for Fresno City Council. Both are in position to advance to the Nov. 3 general election \u2014 Singh in District 1 and Thomas in District 3.<\/p>\n Dyer said the candidates have received wrong or outdated information from the media.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, the reporting has been that we\u2019re opening up 9,000 acres for development. It\u2019s not true. The reporting has been it\u2019s going to cost $4.5 billion to develop this property at city expense. Not true,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n Even if the city developed the entire SEDA plan, Dyer estimates the cost at $267 million for water mains and sewer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not doing that. We\u2019re going to focus on South SEDA,\u201d Dyer said. He said some parts of SEDA \u201cmay never be developed. Other parts may be developed in 20, maybe 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n SEDA \u201cwill more than pay for itself,\u201d Dyer said, because of community facilities districts \u2014 additional assessments on top of property taxes \u2014 and a more favorable tax-sharing agreement with Fresno County for land annexed into the city.<\/p>\n Dyer expects that if the Fresno City Council approves the environmental impact report, litigation will follow.<\/p>\n \u201cAnything that (deals) with an environmental impact report … is going to be scrutinized and perhaps challenged. Which is why it\u2019s so important to get it right, get it done right the first time, and I believe we did,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n When SEDA returns, the Fresno City Council would vote on whether to certify the final environmental impact report, adopt the SEDA specific plan, update the land use map, and update city land use policies.<\/p>\n Is SEDA Dyer\u2019s legacy?<\/p>\n Dyer downplays that SEDA will be his legacy in his two terms as mayor (his second term expires in 2029).<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s more important to the future health of our city than it is my legacy, but it is something that I\u2019m very passionate about, and I want to see it passed,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n To help SEDA grow, Dyer also advocated for the passage of a transportation tax, a successor to Measure C, which expires next year. Dyer supports the \u201cBetter Roads, Safe Streets\u201d plan. The group hit a snag<\/a> during the counting of signatures to place the item on the ballot. It is not guaranteed voters will see it on the November ballot.<\/p>\n Without the passage of a new transportation tax, Dyer said roads will continue to deteriorate. He also noted the city hasn\u2019t passed an increase for water and sewer in the past 12 to 15 years.<\/p>\n \u201cI would feel negligent as a mayor to not do the things they\u2019re going to plan for the future and help the next mayor and the mayor after,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n A map showing the city\u2019s Southeast Development Area. The south section will be the first phase. David Taub City of Fresno <\/p>\n