City of Fresno  
2600 Fresno Street  
Fresno, CA 93721  
Meeting Minutes - Final  
Thursday, July 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 CITY HALL, LOCATED AT 2600 FRESNO  
STREET, FRESNO, CA 93721  
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  
Room 2165 located at in City Hall at 2600 Fresno Street, Fresno, CA 93728.  
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  
Also present were Long-Range Planning Staff Jennifer Clark, Maya  
Mubarak, and via Zoom Sophia Pagoulatos.  
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 ITEM were APPROVED. 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  
On motion of Board Member Coble, seconded by Chairperson  
Johnson, the MINUTES were APPROVED. The motion carried by the  
following vote:  
June 19, 2025, Tower District Specific Plan Implementation Committee  
Meeting Minutes  
III-A  
On motion of Board Member Coble, seconded by Chairperson  
Johnson, that the above Action Item be APPROVED. 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  
Clark acknowledged the committee and staff for their work to date. She  
announced that the Tower District Specific Plan, Tower District Design  
Guidelines, and accompanying EIR will be released for public comment by  
August 15,2025.  
Johnson spoke about the award that was given by Central California APA  
Section for the outreach efforts regarding the Tower District Specific Plan.  
VII. Continued Matters  
N/A  
VIII. New Matters  
Final discussion of the July Draft Tower District Design Standards and  
Guidelines  
VIII-A  
Clark gave the presentation on the revised draft of the Tower District Design  
Guidelines and Standards, focusing on the progress of the document and  
the revisions up to date, including the addition of the Architectural Styles  
and Glossary chapters.  
Clark requested that the committee members provide feedback on the  
current draft of the Design Guidelines and Standards to staff by July 24,  
2025, and noted that there will be additional time to provide comments  
during the Public Comment period.  
Birdsong asked about the committee’s review process for development  
applications.  
Clark explained that upon the document’s adoption the committee will  
transition into an implementation body tasked with reviewing all  
applications against the objective standards of the Design Guidelines and  
Standards,  
Catania asked about the review process of the Council District Review  
Committees and the Tower District Implementation Committee.  
Clark clarified that permits would go to both the Council District Review and  
the Tower District Implementation Committee and summarized the review  
process and roles of both committees.  
Birdsong raised concerns about potential conflicts between the Council  
District Review and the Tower District Implementation Committees.  
Clark did not anticipate true conflicts between the committees.  
Johnson inquired what changes came from the committee, staff or the  
consultants.  
Pagoulatos explained the source of the revisions in the current draft of the  
Design Guidelines and Standards.  
IX. Unscheduled Oral Communications  
Clark discussed options for the August and September committee meetings.  
The committee decided the August meeting will be an introduction to the  
Public Comment Period for the Tower District Specific Plan, Design  
Guidelines and Standards, and the EIR.  
Conley asked about marketing materials for the August meeting.  
Pagoulatos explained that the marketing materials will encourage the public  
to attend the August meeting and participate in the Public Comment Period.  
X. Adjournment  
Johnson adjourned the meeting at 6:11 pm.