New state budget has $50 million for downtown Fresno. Another $200 million is uncertain
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Versions of the 2023-24 California state budget approved Thursday morning by the state Assembly and state Senate both include $50 million for a much-ballyhooed overhaul of infrastructure in downtown Fresno, from more parking to upgrading sewer and water lines.
It’s the first installment of a three-year, $250 million earmark for downtown Fresno improvements proposed last month by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer from Newsom’s May revision for his proposed state budget for 2023-24.
But whether the remaining $200 million from that pledge will come over the following two years remains uncertain, and while the Senate and Assembly voted on their versions of the $311.7 billion budget Thursday, negotiations between legislators and the governor in Sacramento will continue before Newsom signs a budget by the end of June.
“We are awaiting official word from the governor on what is ultimately passed,” Sontaya Rose, a spokesperson for Dyer, told The Fresno Bee on Thursday. “We are continuing to work hard to get this across the finish line.”
In May, Dyer said Fresno expects to use the $250 million for a wide range of infrastructure projects to help promote additional residential and commercial development in the aging downtown district. One of the largest chunks of money from the anticipated allocation – about $70 million – would be used to build two new parking structures with a total of about 2,000 parking stalls, essentially doubling the existing number of city-owned parking spaces in the area.
Those additional parking spaces, Dyer said in May, would be enough to serve between 2,000 and 3,000 residential apartments in the downtown area.
“Housing is what makes a downtown vibrant,” Dyer added. “It is that balance of daytime jobs in government offices as well as the people living there that will generate a constant vibrancy in downtown. That means a lot of activity.”
The city’s plans for other slices of the $250 million financial pie – if it ultimately materializes – include:
$80 million for overall infrastructure investments to promote housing development for 10,000 residents and other neighborhood revitalization efforts.
$25 million for a storm water drainage basin downtown
$20 million for an intermodal transit center for alternatives to driving, including buses, bicycles and walking.
$20 million for improvements to streets, sidewalks, curbs and gutters in downtown Fresno and the neighboring Chinatown area.
$15 million for pocket parks, linear parks and other green spaces.
$10 million for sewer system upgrades along Fresno and Merced streets in downtown.
$10 million for a 16-inch water supply loop along H and F streets between Stanislaus and Mono streets.
Newsom’s May budget revision called for the $250 million for downtown Fresno to come from the state’s $300 million Local Government Budget Sustainability Fund.
While both the Assembly and Senate budget plans have $50 million in the 2023-24 budget for the Fresno infrastructure program, the version approved Thursday by the Senate calls for keeping another $50 million in the sustainability fund and pulling back the other $200 million as budget savings. It’s described as one of several “key changes” in the Senate to Newsom’s budget proposals.
“The Legislature’s Budget approves the $50 million for 23-24 and leaves the other two years to decisions in those years,” according to a statement provided by the office of Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. “However, we expect this issue to continue to be discussed as we work toward a final agreement.”
The Assembly version is unclear about plans for the remaining $200 million from the sustainability fund.
Newsom’s office is not addressing particulars of the budget because negotiations are ongoing with legislators. Similarly, Assembly member Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, declined to comment Thursday.
When Newsom unveiled his May budget revision, he had high praise for Fresno’s infrastructure plans.
“We have a particular focus in the May revise on the incredible work that’s been done in Fresno and the incredible planning that has been done that allows us to make a commitment to Fresno,” Newsom said in his May 12 announcement, “in particular to accelerate that (infrastructure) effort because they’re teed up and ready to do something transformational.”
Even if the full $250 million comes to fruition over the next few years, it would likely not be enough on its own to accomplish everything that needs to happen to realize the long-range vision for a revitalized downtown with more people living and playing there.
The $20 million planned specifically for sewer and water lines, for example, pales in comparison to what city Public Utilities Director Brock Buche estimated as “somewhere in the neighborhood of $160 million to $180 million just for water and wastewater.”
Some of the sewer lines in the downtown area are almost 130 years old, Buche said in May, and some water mains date back to the 1930s.
“Great cities have great downtowns,” Dyer said in May. “We can’t say we’re a great city if we don’t have a great downtown, and that’s where we need to invest.”
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.
