City of Fresno  
Ted C Wills  
770 N. San Pablo Ave.  
Fresno, CA 93728  
Meeting Minutes - Final  
Thursday, April 17, 2025  
5:30 PM  
Regular Meeting  
Fresno City Hall, Second Floor Room 2165  
Tower District Specific Plan Implementation  
Committee  
Chairperson - Christopher Johnson  
Vice Chair - Janay Conley  
Board Member - Annie Lokrantz  
Board Member - Michael Birdsong  
Board Member - Myra Coble  
Board Member - James Kitch  
Board Member - Joseph Catania  
THE COMMITTEE WELCOMES YOU TO FRESNO CITY HALL. LOCATED AT 2600  
FRESNO STREET, FRESNO, CALIFORNIA 93721, ROOM 2165.  
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – Any interested person may appear at the public hearing and  
present written testimony or speak in favor or against the matters scheduled on the  
agenda. Public participation during Tower District Specific Plan Implementation  
Committee meetings is always encouraged and can occur by attending a meeting in City  
Hall room 2165 located at 2600 Fresno Street, Fresno, California 93721.  
When called to speak during a meeting, you may approach the speaker podium upon  
the Chair's call for any additional public comment. Unless otherwise announced, all  
public speakers will have up to 3 minutes to address the Committee.  
SUBMIT DOCUMENTS / WRITTEN COMMENTS –  
Email – Agenda related documents and comments can be emailed to the Long Range  
Planning Division. Unless otherwise required by law to be accepted by the City at or  
prior to a Committee meeting, no documents shall be accepted for Committee review  
unless they are submitted to the Long Range Planning Division at least 24 hours prior to  
the commencement of the meeting at which the associated agenda item is to be heard.  
a. Email comments to LongRangePlanning@fresno.gov  
b. Emails should include the agenda date and item number you wish to speak on in the  
subject line of your email. Include your name and address, for the record, at the top of  
the body of your email.  
c. Emails will be a maximum of 450 words.  
VIEWING MEETINGS (non-participatory) – For your convenience, there are ways to view  
Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee meetings live:  
2. Cable Television: Comcast Channel 96 and AT&T channel 99  
3. Zoom:  
https://fresno.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_vd76-Ro1Tb-qFVjAtgt0aQ  
a) Register in advance for this webinar: After registering, you will receive a  
confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.  
b) If you do not wish for your name to appear on the screen, then use the drop down  
menu and click on “rename” to rename yourself.  
Should any of these viewing methods listed above experience technical difficulties, the  
Committee meeting will continue uninterrupted. Committee meetings will only be  
paused to address verifiable technical difficulties for all users participating in Zoom or in  
person.  
The City of Fresno’s goal is to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  
Anyone requiring reasonable ADA accommodations, including sign language  
interpreters, or other reasonable accommodation such as language translation, should  
contact the Planning Department, 559 621 8277 within 48 hours of the meeting.  
I. Call to Order & Roll Call  
Chair called the meeting to order at 5:34 pm and initiated roll call.  
Also present were Long-Range Planning Staff Sophia Pagoulatos, Yamilex  
Nava, and Jennifer Clark, with Adrienne Asadoorian-Gilbert present via  
Zoom. Consultants Peter Winch and Matt Taecker were also present via  
Zoom.  
Present 7 -  
Chairperson Christopher Johnson, Vice Chair Janay Conley,  
Board Member Annie Lokrantz, Board Member Michael  
Birdsong, Board Member Myra Coble, Board Member James  
Kitch, and Board Member Joseph Catania  
II. Approve Agenda  
On motion of Board Member Birdsong, seconded by Board Member  
Lokrantz,the above ITEM was APPROVED AS AMENDED. The motion  
carried by the following vote:  
Aye: 7 -  
Chairperson Johnson, Vice Chair Conley, Board Member  
Lokrantz, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Coble,  
Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania  
III. Approve Meeting Minutes  
March 20, 2025, Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee  
Special Meeting Minutes  
III-A  
On motion of Board Member Coble, seconded by Board Member  
Birdsong, that the above Action Item be APPROVED AS AMENDED.  
The motion carried by the following vote:  
Aye: 7 -  
Chairperson Johnson, Vice Chair Conley, Board Member  
Lokrantz, Board Member Birdsong, Board Member Coble,  
Board Member Kitch and Board Member Catania  
IV. Council District Updates  
N/A  
V. Chair's Report  
N/A  
VI. Staff Updates  
N/A  
VII. Continued Matters  
N/A  
VIII. New Matters  
Review the updated Draft Tower District Design Guidelines and Standards  
VIII-A  
Consultant Taecker presented the updated draft of the residential portion of  
the Tower District Design Guidelines and Standards. The Committee  
reviewed each guideline and standard, making recommendations to modify  
some guidelines into standards. These changes included separating the  
language for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and garages and to make  
the language more objective, reinforcing the language in Cladding Materials  
and Finishes (S4) to prohibit stucco over wood, converting architectural  
guidelines into standards, as well as addressing parking design, and façade  
design.  
IX. Unscheduled Oral Communications  
Birdsong noted that the Historic Preservation Association received approval  
from District 3 to paint the lamp posts green. Birdsong asked Staff if there is  
a point of contact to confirm the color of the lamp posts.  
X. Adjournment  
Johnson adjourned the meeting at 7:10 pm.