Meanwhile, Shafter \u2014 a city that has historically resisted the project \u2014 gave Lennar Homes<\/a> tentative city approval in May for a subdivision that ignores the rail authority\u2019s planned tracks through the city\u2019s east side.<\/p>\n Merced\u2019s frustration showed<\/a> at the rail authority\u2019s August board meeting. County Supervisor Josh Pedrozo told the board it was like \u201cgroundhog day\u201d asking the state agency to send someone to his community and talk to residents.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t get you guys to come and explain this, but you can go to Fresno and speak at Fresno,\u201d Pedrozo said. \u201cYou have to go through Merced to get to Fresno. It doesn\u2019t make any sense to me.\u201d<\/p>\n At issue: the rail authority\u2019s proposal to build the Merced station near Mission Avenue and Highway 99 \u2014 outside city limits \u2014 instead of downtown, a shift the agency says could save $1 billion. The move would require amending SB 198, the 2022 state law that defines Merced\u2019s station as a downtown facility with connections to ACE and the Amtrak Gold Runner.<\/p>\n Blanca Ojeda, a Merced advocate with the nonprofit Faith in the Valley, blasted the proposal at that meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen did it become acceptable to design a project around changing the law instead of following the law that already exists?\u201d Ojeda said, during public comment. \u201cWhere is the accountability to the people of the Central Valley?\u201d<\/p>\n Rail authority CEO Ian Choudri has defended the relocation as the responsible choice given available funding and the disruption downtown construction would cause. \u201cIt\u2019s not about broken promises,\u201d Choudri told The Fresno Bee in June<\/a>. \u201cWe want to have a smart discussion around what makes sense for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n An Aug. 26 letter from Merced officials to rail leaders argues the state should not \u201cseek legislative changes, make a final station decision or take irreversible actions affecting the downtown location before the mitigation agreement is complete.\u201d<\/p>\n Last fall in Shafter, city leaders rejected a rail redesign that would have kept trains at ground level and reconfigured local streets as underpasses and overpasses. Mayor Chad Givens said he would rather see the train \u201cgo around the city.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Then in May, the city tentatively approved Lennar\u2019s map for 1,251 single-family lots despite a rail authority objection letter. City Attorney Marco Martinez told the council staff could find no legal basis on which to deny the map.<\/p>\n Givens told The Bee the developer\u2019s move may have actually strengthened Shafter\u2019s leverage. \u201cIt started to force them to say, \u2018Maybe we shouldn\u2019t come this way,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The rail authority says its route through Shafter \u2014 set in a 2018 environmental lawsuit settlement \u2014 remains unchanged, though it is \u201cevaluating options.\u201d<\/p>\n The third conflict cut across the Valley. The rail authority wants to capture<\/a> a portion of the rise in local property and sales tax revenues \u2014 called tax increments \u2014 generated within a half-mile of its future stations. In Fresno, that radius covers the entire downtown core and Chinatown.<\/p>\n Dyer, a longtime rail supporter, drew a hard line. \u201cI\u2019m not in a position to compromise,\u201d he told The Bee in April. \u201cI am not willing to.\u201d He noted he had just balanced a budget that was $34.5 million in the red.<\/p>\n Nine California mayors signed an April 23 letter<\/a> to Choudri warning the proposal is likely unconstitutional and would \u201calmost certainly invite extensive litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n A drawing shows the proposed downtown Merced station for the California High-Speed Rail. California High-Speed Rail Authority Merced: Controversial station change idea<\/p>\n
A map shows the conflict between the California high-speed rail alignment and a Lennar Homes plan to build a new neighborhood in the Gossamer Grove area of Shafter. The rail alignment is in red. CITY OF SHAFTER Shafter: 1,200 homes in the train\u2019s path<\/p>\n
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer contemplates a question during an interview at Fresno City Hall on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com Tax capture idea: Fresno led the pushback<\/p>\n