Fresno Municipal Code Art. 49 Planning Authorities

The purpose of this article is to identify the bodies, officials, and administrators with designated responsibilities under various articles of the Development Code. Subsequent articles of Part V provide detailed information on procedures, applications, and permits, including Code text and zoning map amendments, and enforcement. When carrying out their assigned duties and responsibilities, all bodies, administrators, and officials shall interpret and apply the provisions of this Code to implement the policies and achieve the objectives of the General Plan.

(Added Ord. 2015-39, § 1, eff. 1-9-16).

The powers and duties of the City Council as the legislative body under this Code include, but are not limited to the following:

A. Consider and adopt amendments to the General Plan, operative plans, the Zoning Map, and the text of this Code pursuant to the provisions of Article 58, Amendments to Development Code Text, Rezones, and Plan Amendments, following a public hearing and recommended action by the Planning Commission.

B. Initiate new plans, amendments to operative plans, and the rezoning of property.

C. Consider and make decisions on land use entitlements.

D. Hear and decide applications for Development Agreements, pursuant to Article 60.

E. Hear and decide appeals from decisions of the Planning Commission on Conditional Use Permits, Variances, and any other permits that can be appealed, pursuant to Section 15-5017, Appeals.

F. Hear and make environmental determinations on projects that require Council action.

G. Hear and decide appeals on environmental determinations by the Director or the Planning Commission, pursuant to Section 15-5005, Environmental Review.

H. Establish, by resolution, a Master Fee Schedule listing fees, charges, and deposits for various applications and services provided, pursuant to this Code.

I. Shall designate the authority of the Planning Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, and the Planning Director. The Council shall authorize Planning Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, and the Director to take acts as specified in the Code.

(Added Ord. 2015-39, § 1, eff. 1-9-16).

The Planning Commission is established and organized pursuant to Article IX, Boards and Commissions, of the City Charter and the requirements of the Government Code. The powers and duties of the Planning Commission under this Code include, but are not limited to, the following:

A. All duties set forth in the City Charter (Section 907).

B. Consider and make decisions on land use entitlements.

C. Hear and decide if projects are consistent with City policies relating to architectural design, site design, connectivity to surrounding uses, performance standards, the fabric of the existing neighborhoods, etc.

D. Annually review progress towards implementation of the General Plan and recommend to the City Council changes needed to meet community needs.

E. Initiate, conduct hearings, and make recommendations to the City Council on proposed amendments to operative plans, the General Plan, Zoning Map and to the text of this Code, pursuant to Article 58, Amendments to Development Code Text, Rezones, and Plan Amendments.

F. Make environmental determinations on any approvals it grants that are subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act or the City of Fresno's adopted environmental review guidelines pursuant to State law and the procedures in Section 15-5005, Environmental Review.

G. Conduct hearings and make recommendations to the City Council on proposed revocations of permits, pursuant to Section 15-5016, Revocation of Permits.

H. Hear and decide appeals from decisions of the Director and City Engineer, and on decisions, determinations, or interpretations made in the enforcement of this Code and any other decisions that are subject to appeal, pursuant to Section 15-5017, Appeals.

I. Such other duties and powers as assigned or directed by the City Council.

(Added Ord. 2015-39, § 1, eff. 1-9-16).

The following powers and duties of the Development and Resource Management Director (the "Director") under this Code include, but are not limited to, the following.

A. Maintain and administer the Development Code, including acceptance and processing of applications, abatements, and other enforcement actions.

B. Prepare and implement rules and procedures necessary or convenient for the conduct of the Director's business. These rules and procedures must be as approved by a resolution of the City Council following review and recommendation of the Planning Commission. They may include the administrative details of notice and hearings officiated by the Director (e.g., scheduling, rules of procedure, appeals, and recordkeeping).

C. Issue administrative regulations for the submission and review of applications subject to the requirements of this Code.

D. Review applications for permits and licenses for conformance with this Code and issue a Zone Clearance when the proposed use or building is allowed by right and conforms to all applicable development and use standards and other requirements of this Code.

E. Review applications for discretionary permits and approvals under this Code for conformance with applicable submission requirements and time limits.

F. Review applications for discretionary permits and approvals to make a preliminary determination as to whether a project is subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act or the City's environmental review requirements.

G. Make recommendations to the City Council on all applications, amendments, appeals, and other matters upon which the Council has the authority and the duty to act under this Code.

H. Serve as the Secretary of the Planning Commission.

I. Make recommendations to the Planning Commission on all applications, appeals, and other matters upon which the Planning Commission has the authority and the duty to act under this Code.

J. Approve, conditionally approve, modify, or deny projects pursuant to Table 15-4907, Planning Permits and Actions.

K. Approve, conditionally approve, modify, or deny requests for deviations to dimensional requirements and requests for reasonable accommodation, pursuant to Article 56, Minor Deviations, and Article 57, Reasonable Accommodation for Housing.

L. Approve, conditionally approve, modify, or deny modifications to approved permits and modifications to approved Conditional Use Permits and Variances, pursuant to Article 50, Common Procedures.

M. Refer items to the Planning Commission where, in their opinion, the public interest would be better served by a Planning Commission public hearing and action.

N. Provide required notice and conduct public hearings and make recommendations to the City Council about Development Agreements, pursuant to Article 60.

O. Negotiate the components and provisions of Development Agreements for recommendation to the City Council.

P. Delegate administrative functions as they so deem to members of the Planning Department.

Q. Other duties and powers as may be assigned by the City Council or established by legislation.

(Added Ord. 2015-39, § 1, eff. 1-9-16).

The Historic Preservation Commission shall have the powers and duties established in the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance.

(Added Ord. 2015-39, § 1, eff. 1-9-16).

A. Purpose. The purpose of Council District Project Review Committees is to:

1. Provide the opportunity for citizen review on every entitlement request to insure the voices of the community are heard;

2. Allow for citizens of each council district to provide insight on the unique needs and concerns that exist in the different districts; and

3. Act as advisors to the Planning Commission and City Council on the adopted plans that affect individual council districts.

B. Number and Name. The number of committees shall be equal to the number of the City's council districts and the boundaries of each committee shall be coterminous with the council district boundaries. The committees shall be referred to collectively as the "Council District Project Review Committees" and individually by reference to the council district number. For example, the committee for Council District 1 would be referred to as "Council District 1 Project Review Committee."

C. Structure and Members.

1. Each Councilmember shall determine the number of members and appropriate qualifications for their district's committee.

2. Each Councilmember shall appoint members to their district's committee. At minimum, one member on each district committee shall be appointed by the Mayor.

3. Committee members, upon appointment, shall make themselves familiar with every adopted City plan that falls within the boundaries of their committee's area.

4. Committee members shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority.

5. Organizational Form to Establish the Committee. The Councilmember shall complete the Organizational Form for City of Fresno Boards, Commission, Committees, and Similar Bodies attached to Resolution No. 2004-185 to establish the structure of the committee, the qualifications of the members, the number and frequency of meetings, and any other provisions as the Councilmember deems appropriate. The Organizational Form shall be filed with the City Clerk and the Director of the Planning and Development Department before any appointments may be made.

a. Changes to the Organizational Form. Any changes to the Organizational Form shall be made in writing and filed with the City Clerk and the Director of the Development and Resource Management Department prior to implementation of the changes. A new Councilmember assuming office may adopt a different structure for their district's committee and different qualifications for committee members by filing a new Organizational Form.

D. Committee Duties. Committees shall have the following duties.

1. Committees shall review and provide recommendations to the Planning Commission and Council on every application for a Plan Amendment, Rezone, Tentative or Parcel Map, Conditional Use Permit, Planned Development Permit, or Variance to develop property within the committees' boundaries. Development applications may be reviewed by multiple committees if a development project crosses committee boundaries. In providing its review and recommendations, the committee shall consider every plan to which the development is subject.

a. Development Permit applications submitted in multi-unit and mixed-use districts consistent with the Certainty Option set forth in sections 15-1004, 15-1005, 15-1104, and 15-1105 of this Code shall not be subject to review and recommendation by Council District Project Review Committees.

Development Permit applications submitted in said districts consistent with the Flexibility Option set forth in the aforementioned sections of this Code shall be subject to review and recommendation by Council District Project Review Committees.

2. Committees shall act as liaisons between property owners, residents, business people, the community-at-large, the Council, and staff, providing a forum for public participation.

3. Committees may make recommendations to the Planning Commission and Council on any matters related to planning and zoning and the plans in the Councilmember's district, including adoption of guidelines to implement the goals and policies of adopted City plans.

4. Committees shall have any additional duties that the Councilmember provides in the Organizational Form.

E. By-Laws. Council shall adopt written by-laws by resolution to be applicable to all of the committees. The by-laws may only be altered by Council. These by-laws may be made applicable to committees that advise on City plans other than the Council Project Review Committees.

F. Staff Duties. Each committee shall be staffed by the Development and Resource Management (DARM) Department with at least one person. DARM staff shall perform the following duties:

1. Keep records for the committees and be responsible for keeping the records of the agendas and any recommendations of the committees.

2. Provide a copy (in written or electronic form) of all plans to the committees, the committee by-laws, and the Organizational Form for the committee.

3. Provide reports to the committees as requested on matters within the scope of planning and land use.

4. Council Staff. To the extent that a Councilmember assigns tasks to a committee that are outside the scope of land use planning, the Councilmember's office shall provide staff to the committee to assist with those tasks and otherwise perform those responsibilities that would be the duties of the staff person from the DARM Department.

G. Brown Act and State Conflict Laws. The committees and the committee members are subject to the Brown Act (Cal. Gov't Code §§ 54950 et seq.) and the State laws on conflicts regarding public officials (including Cal. Gov't Code §§ 87100 et seq.).

H. Additional Committees. Nothing in this section is intended to limit the ability of Council or the Mayor after the effective date of this Ordinance from establishing committees in addition to the Council District Project Review Committees to advise on plans or guidelines adopted under the City's plans; including committees created to help draft new plans.

1. Development Permit applications submitted in multi-unit and mixed-use districts consistent with the Certainty Option set forth in sections 15-1004, 15-1005, 15-1104, and 15-1105 of this Code shall be subject to review by applicable Specific Plan Design Review Committees as follows:

a. Upon completion of an application following internal departmental review, DARM Department staff shall provide the completed application to members of any applicable Specific Plan Design Review Committee.

b. If a Committee member chooses to request a meeting to discuss the application, they must submit the request to DARM Department staff within three business days of their receipt of the application.

c. A meeting of the applicable Specific Plan Design Review Committee must be set within 5 business days of the first request for a meeting.

d. If no members of a Committee request a meeting to discuss the application within the allotted time, it shall move forward without review by the Committee.

e. The Committee's review is limited to verification of the project's compliance with the requirements of the Certainty Options set forth in sections 15-1004, 15-1005, 15-1104, and 15-1105 of this Code, and the requirements of any applicable Specific Plan, including all applicable design guidelines.

I. Compensation. Council may provide a stipend to committee members through the Master Fee Schedule.

J. Suspension. Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, Councilmembers, may, at their discretion, suspend meetings of their Council District Project Review Committee. The suspension will be documented by a written notice filed with the City Clerk. At their discretion, Councilmembers may resume their Council District Project Review Committee meetings by written notice filed with the City Clerk. In the event of such a suspension, projects shall not be subject to the review of the suspended committee.

K. Nothing within this section shall be construed as to cause the dissolution or suspension of any committee in existence at the time of the adoption of this Code.

(Added Ord. 2015-39, § 1, eff. 1-9-16; Am. Ord. 2016-32, §§ 33, 34, eff. 10-21-16; Am. Ord. 2018-25, § 30, eff. 6-11-18; Am. Ord. 2025-024, §§ 75, 76, eff. 7-27-25).

The following table shows, for ease of reference, a brief summary of the permits and actions that are administered under this Code. The table is not regulatory. For complete regulations, procedures, and requirements, see Articles 49 through 66.

TABLE 15-4907: PLANNING PERMITS AND ACTIONS

NOTE: This table is not regulatory, and is provided only as an overview of permits and actions for ease of reference. For complete regulations, procedures, and requirements, see Articles 49 through 66. PC = Planning Commission and CC= City Council

TABLE 15-4907: PLANNING PERMITS AND ACTIONS (CONTINUED)

(Added Ord. 2015-39, § 1, eff. 1-9-16; Am. Ord. 2016-43, § 13, eff. 12-9-16; Am. Ord. 2024-043, § 1, eff. 1-16-25; Am. Ord. 2025-024, § 77, eff. 7-27-25; Am. Ord. 2025-023, § 4, eff. 12-26-25).

Editor's note— Ord. 2024-043, § 1, adopted December 12, 2024, and effective January 16, 2025, amended the title of § 15-4907 to read as herein set out. The former § 15-4907 title pertained to summary of primary planning permits and actions. Subsequently, Ord. 2025-023, § 4, effective December 26, 2025, amended the title of § 15-4907 to read as herein set out. The former § 15-4907 title pertained to planning permits and actions.