Clovis badly needs low-cost housing. Luxury car dealership gets prime lot instead | Opinion
On Clovis Avenue, just south of Herndon Avenue and nearly adjacent to Highway 168, sit 15 acres of prime undeveloped land.
Hundreds of times, while driving past or biking the Clovis Old Town Trail, I’ve wondered what the city wanted, or intended, to be built there.
Now we know. As was recently announced, most of the property is to become a luxury auto dealership campus owned by former major-league pitcher C.J. Wilson, who plans to move Porsche Fresno, Audi Fresno and BMW Fresno six miles from their current location at Palm and Nees avenues to the new site by 2026.
Ugh. Of all the times I’d imagined how that land could be developed, never once did my mind conjure up something so surprising yet deflating.
Opinion
Clovis has a history of shirking its responsibility to provide more housing that’s actually affordable to people living in this region. The city is wealthier and whiter than Fresno by design. Yet on a parcel of land well-suited to that purpose, here comes three sparkling showrooms filled with performance cars affordable only to a select few.
How very Clovis.
My objection isn’t with Porches, Audis and BMWs. Nor is it with Wilson, whom I wrote about in 2017 when he bought the dealerships. Wilson says the new location will allow him to expand the business, creating a couple dozen new jobs for technicians and salespersons, keep up with industry facilities standards and offer freeway visibility. I take zero issue with any of that.
Rather, any verbal side-eye is reserved for Clovis city leaders. Who are probably congratulating themselves for swiping a bunch of sales-tax revenue from Fresno ($440,000 annually by one estimate), not to mention an incalculable amount of prestige, when they deserve to be publicly reprimanded.
Before doing so, more information and context are necessary. Starting with Clovis Avenue itself, which south of Herndon is mostly commercial along with a few remaining homes that predate city annexation.
Lay of the land
Directly south of the proposed luxury car dealership are commercial buildings, the largest of which houses the California Health Sciences University pharmaceutical school. To the west are apartments, the bike trail and 168. And to the north is an RV/boat storage yard with an onsite residence built when this busy street was a country lane.
Just up the street within a quarter-mile are two large shopping centers anchored by Walmart and Sprouts and featuring a smorgasbord of restaurants.
The undeveloped 15 acres are designated as Ggeneral commercial and zoned as a planned commercial center in the city’s general plan. According to Chad McCollum, Clovis’ economic development, housing and communications director, the zoning does allow for some housing and that option will still be available for any undeveloped portions. (Besides the dealerships, plans for the site also include a hotel.)
“Housing has been considered from time to time by developers, but no one has chosen to move forward,” McCollum said.
Clovis is in the midst of a residential building boom – at least on its edges. Most of that is taking place in Loma Vista on the city’s eastern flank or in the northern growth area known as Heritage Grove, home to $1 million tract houses.
Compared to single-family homes, few apartments are under construction or have permits issued. And almost all of those, again on the city’s edges, will be priced at or near the top of the market.
Affordable housing crunch
Want to live in Clovis but can’t afford the average $1,700 monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment? You’re virtually out of luck. At last count there were fewer than 700 affordable units in the entire city. Some complexes have a multi-year wait list.
Clovis leaders regularly thumb their noses at state affordable housing mandates. The city is nowhere close to satisfying the low-income unit allotment assigned by the Fresno County Council of Governments, and is also facing ongoing litigation for its decades of discriminatory housing policies.
The Clovis City Council approved two 100% affordable housing projects in Loma Vista for a total of 338 units. However, according to McCollum, neither project has been successful in landing the necessary tax credits.
In addition, council members are reviewing applications from affordable housing developers for $1.5 million in city funds to be awarded early next year.
Close to a freeway exit, a major arterial and expansive shopping and dining, those 15 acres of undeveloped land would’ve been a great place for affordable housing. Or even a mixed-use development of studios and one bedrooms geared to younger renters, the type that work in retail and restaurants.
Instead, yet another parcel that could be used for low-cost housing will soon have three luxury auto dealerships and a hotel built upon it. Ensuring the drawbridge stays closed to low-income people and families of color.
While acres of performance cars may make Clovis wealthier, they won’t necessarily make the city any richer.
