REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, AICP, Director
Planning & Development Department
PHIL SKEI, Assistant Director
Planning & Development Department
BY: MARIA CAMBRON, Housing & Neighborhood Revitalization Manager
Planning & Development Department
SUBJECT
Title
***RESOLUTION - Adopting the 29th Amendment to the Annual Appropriations Resolution (AAR) No. 2025-179 to appropriate $5,000,000 in Downtown Fresno and Chinatown Infrastructure Grant funding (Requires 5 Affirmative Votes) (Subject to Mayor’s Veto).
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the 29th Amendment to the Annual Appropriations Resolution (AAR) No. 2025-179, appropriating $5,000,000 in Downtown Fresno Infrastructure Grant funds to the Planning & Development Department for implementation of Fresno housing projects.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The State’s FY 2025-26 budget includes a $5 million allocation to the City of Fresno to support Downtown Fresno and Chinatown housing projects. Although the funds have already been received by the City at the time of this report, the proposed action will formally appropriate the $5 million into the City’s FY 2025-26 budget.
Appropriating these funds will enable the City to maintain progress on infrastructure timelines and continue deploying the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF), which provides essential gap financing to accelerate higher-density housing development within the downtown core. As presented to the Council on September 11, 2025, the anticipated and now received $5 million will be appropriated to the City’s existing RLF, for a total of $25 million.
BACKGROUND
In 2023, the Fresno City Council approved the acceptance of a $250 million Downtown Fresno and Chinatown Infrastructure Grant from the State of California to support transformative infrastructure and economic development initiatives. The initial $50 million supported key projects, including water and sewer upgrades, the H Street Parking Structure, and other public improvements.
The FY 2025-26 State Budget included a $100 million installment, which the Council accepted on September 11, 2025, through Resolution No. 2025-256. Of this amount, $80 million was appropriated to the Capital Projects Department to continue infrastructure delivery, while $20 million established a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) under the Planning & Development Department. A The RLF will provide gap financing for shovel-ready, higher-density housing projects, furthering the City’s strategic housing goals. A Notice for Funding Availability (NOFA) is currently published for the RLF, with the NOFA closing on December 31, 2025.
Under the 2025-26 California Budget Bill Jr. (Chapter 104, Statutes of 2025, SB 105), the City was allocated an additional $5 million from the State General Fund specifically to support housing development in Downtown Fresno and Chinatown. The funds were received in early December 2025 and being appropriated as part of this item.
Together, these combined investments will help sustain momentum on public infrastructure efforts while leveraging new financing tools to accelerate housing production and long-term revitalization in the downtown core.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This item is not a “project” as defined by California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 and is therefore exempt from CEQA requirements.
FISCAL IMPACT
This action appropriates $5,000,000 in State funding into the City’s FY 2026 Budget for the Planning & Development Department’s Downtown Housing Project Fund. There is no impact to the City’s General Fund.
Attachment:
29th Amendment to the Annual Appropriations Resolution No. 2025-179