Costco proposes a new, bigger Fresno store. Residents can weigh in on project plans

Costco is proposing a new and larger northwest Fresno members-only warehouse store at Herndon Avenue and Riverside Drive, to replace its existing store at Shaw and Blythe avenues less than three miles away.

But first, the project must go through an environmental review process. A draft environmental impact report for the Costco Commercial Center was released Tuesday by the city of Fresno’s Planning & Development Department for a 45-day public comment period.

Basic plans for the 22.4-acre site at the northeast corner of Herndon and Riverside include a main warehouse store building of more than 241,000 square feet, plus 32 fuel pumps at a Costco gas station and an automated car wash. The store would be in the southeastern portion of the property, while both the gas station and car wash would be across the parking lot at the north end of the site. A total of 889 parking stalls are planned.

The center would replace Costco’s current store on West Shaw Avenue, but the Costco gas station at the Shaw Avenue site would remain, according to the city documents.

Residents can voice their opinions about the proposal by submitting written comments to the city’s supervising planner, Jose Valenzuela, by mail at 2600 Fresno St., Room 3043, Fresno, CA 93721 or by email at jose.valenzuela@fresno.gov. Comments will be accepted through Aug. 25.

A timeline for construction and potential opening of the store is not specified in the draft environmental analysis. But the project will require a slew of various permits and entitlements before major work could begin, including amendments to the city of Fresno’s general plan and zoning ordinances; a conditional use permit; a state license and an associated permit from the city for the sale of beer, wine and liquor; and a permit related to construction noise.

State and regional agencies agencies including the state Water Resources Control Board, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District also have to review the project and give their various blessings.

Traffic likely to be a concern

One of the major issues likely to generate public feedback is future traffic in and around the intersection of Herndon and Riverside, which is populated on the southwest corner by the large Marketplace at El Paseo shopping center. The analysis states that the Costco center would generate more than 10,600 vehicle trips each weekday, with traffic volume ballooning to more than 14,200 trips on Saturdays and Sundays.

Between 10 and 13 delivery trucks would be expected on a typical weekday, mostly between 2 a.m. and 1 p.m., as well as two to three trucks delivering fuel to the associated gasoline station.

Herndon Avenue is currently considered an “expressway” in the city’s circulation plans east of Riverside Drive, which does not allow for driveways or intersections that are not controlled by traffic signals. Primary access to the Costco center would be from Riverside Drive at a new signalized intersection at Fir Avenue, north of Herndon.

But Costco also wants Herndon Avenue’s designation to be changed to a “superarterial” from Riverside Drive east to Hayes Avenue, which would allow for construction of a new private drive from Herndon Avenue north into the site.

Spruce Avenue, which currently dead-ends at the southeastern corner of Riverside Golf Course, would be extended along the southern edge of the golf course westward to Riverside Drive, on the northern boundary of the Costco site.

Traffic was one of the issues raised by residents when the city opened up comments in 2021 on its plans to begin the environmental review process for the store.

“The traffic this business would bring is absolutely unwelcome,” wrote Kati Pitts, who lives in a nearby neighborhood to the west of the site. “The parcel of property in question is directly across from schools who require many students to walk home (across Herndon Avenue) on Riverside Drive, and an increase in traffic would greatly impact student safety.”

Another resident, Rangel Melendez, said a larger store than the current Shaw Avenue site “will need additional loading/unloading bays for the products being sold.”

“This means that additional trucks will be coming through the area to offload/load their cargo,” Melendez added. “This will in no doubt contribute to the air pollution in the area. Vehicular traffic will also be another contributor to the already polluted air we have to breathe in Fresno.”

Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi, whose District 2 includes the proposed Costco site, declined to comment specifically on the Costco site when contacted by The Fresno Bee because the environmental review process will eventually bring the project to the City Council for approval. Speaking out before the issue officially reaches the council at a public hearing could force him to recuse himself from future discussion and a vote on the project.

Instead, Karbassi spoke in general terms about his views on any major development project that comes to the city for review and approval.

“With any project, especially on a major corridor like Herndon, I’m going to be concerned with traffic flow, ingress and egress – how you get into and out of the place,” Karbassi told The Bee. “I’m going to look very closely at how it will affect nearby residents.”

Air quality and the effects of the Costco center on the values of homes across Riverside Drive and neighborhoods to the west were other issues raised during the 2021 comment period. The site’s proximity to two schools, Rio Vista Middle School and River Bluff Elementary School, both on the south side of Herndon Avenue, were also mentioned.

Karbassi said he urges residents to send their comments to Valenzuela so their support or opposition can be included in the final version of the environmental impact report.

A bigger project than two years ago

Costco has been at its West Shaw Avenue location since 1985, the city reported. That store encompasses about 134,000 square feet.

“Costco’s customer has outgrown the capacity of the current facility, which could lead to traffic and parking concerns” at the old site, the environmental review states. “For this reason, the existing Costco warehouse would close, and the new facility would serve the same customers as the existing facility plus additional growth in the area.”

In 2021, according to city documents, Costco was proposing a building of about 178,000 square feet. The latest incarnation of plans is more than 35% larger, at 241,342 square feet, including loading/receiving/storage areas and a market delivery operation.

“The project would allow Costco to expand services in the area to include an additional gas station and a car wash, as well as a loading area to facilitate delivery of purchases directly to home in the Fresno area,” the analysis states.

The store will include a tire center, optical exams and optical sales, hearing aid testing and sales, pharmacy, food preparation and sales, meat preparation and sales, bakery and sales of baked goods, and alcohol sales.

The land is currently vacant, but was used as an orchard for more than 60 years through at least 1998. The orchard had been removed by 2002, according to information from the city.

Under the city’s general plan, the site is designated and zoned for Community Commercial uses, but because of the anticipated high volumes of traffic from throughout the greater Fresno area would require changes in both the general plan and zoning ordinances to General Commercial.