Update 10/15/09

A vote Cam Maloy cast in September is being reviewed for conflict of interest after she resigned from the commission. The 4-0 Planning Commission vote approved locked-in fees and requirements of a tentative tract map on a Granville project located just North of Tokyo Garden on Van Ness. Read more from the Fresno Bee.

Original Post

Thursday October 8th, Planning Commissioner Cam Maloy sent a letter of resignation to the City of Fresno after only four months as commissioner. The Fresno Bee writer George Hostetter reports

According to city documents, Maloy received two large personal loans from entities owned by members of the Assemi family. Farid, Darius and Farshid Assemi are brothers who have residential and commercial development interests throughout the city.

The Planning Commission is perhaps the most powerful nonelected body at City Hall, and often is the final word on the regulation and approval of development projects. Maloy had been on the commission for only four months.

Swearengin said she spoke with Maloy by phone Thursday afternoon.

“She offered to resign and I told her I thought that was the right thing to do,” Swearengin said Friday.

In her letter of resignation effective Thursday, Maloy told Swearengin she was resigning “in order to assure there is no real or perceived conflict of interest which will detract from the great work that the city and the planning commission are doing.”

Maloy’s brief stint highlights what city officials acknowledge is a flaw in the vetting process for commission nominees.

Maloy was appointed by Swearengin, and the City Council unanimously approved the appointment in June.

There was no council discussion, and the background information on Maloy dealt mainly with her extensive development experience in the private sector and with nonprofit groups.

Planning Commissioners play a very important role in our development as a city. It is crucial that the mayor, is deliberate in selecting commissioners that will represent the public’s interests equally. It is also crucial that our councilmenbers be more rigorous in vetting these appointments.

The article continues:

Swearengin said Maloy went through a pre-nomination interview, but a thorough check of her financial interests was not conducted.

After their appointments, commission members are required by the state to periodically file a statement of economic interests with City Hall.

When The Bee began asking questions about Maloy’s statement, Swearengin said, “It was the first that any of us knew of her financial connections to people who had development companies as well.”…

In a Thursday interview with The Bee, before she resigned, Maloy said she used proceeds from the Assemi loans to help buy a stake in Kamm South, a farming operation on the Valley’s west side.

She also said the Assemi brothers are among the many stakeholders in Kamm South.

Maloy said the Assemi brothers are friends of hers.

Swearengin said Maloy told the City Attorney’s Office of the loans, and was told she merely had to recuse herself from issues involving the Assemis.

But, Swearengin said, she is not satisfied with a technical compliance with conflict-of-interest laws: “We cannot have the public thinking that anyone has any ties to the projects that are coming before the commission.”

Several City Council members said they want more information on the financial history of future commission nominees. Swearengin said that will be a priority.

Swearengin said she is interviewing candidates to replace Maloy.

My hat is off to the Bee for investigating this and reporting it so well. Cam Maloy has a strong history of serving the community. She serves on the board of the Central Valley Business Incubator. And until recently served on the Historic Preservation Commission. She should be comended for her service. Despite this service we need to be very cautious of potential conflicts of interest.

I recall a Historic Preservation Commission meeting on June 22nd, 2009, Maloy spoke in favor of a Granville Homes proposal given by Darius Assemi. At the time Maloy was no longer serving on the HPC and beginning service on the Planning Commission. Looking back, this does seem inappropriate for a past Historic Preservation Commissioner or current Planning Commissioner to speak in favor of an applicant which she has financial ties to. It demonstrates the potential conflict of interest that may occur if she continued to serve on the Planning Commission.

To apply for the planning commission or other Fresno boards see the City Clerk webpage

From the City of Fresno website:

The City of Fresno Planning Commission is responsible for ensuring that the 2025 Fresno General Plan, Community and Specific Plans and the Zoning Ordinance are properly implemented. In addition, the Planning Commission takes action on various entitlements, as delegated by the legislative body (i.e. City Council). The Commission meets every first and third Wednesday’s of the month (unless otherwise noted below) at 6:00 pm in the City Council Chambers located at 2600 Fresno Street, second floor.

During these public hearings, the Commission takes action on the following entitlements:

* Subdivision tract maps.
* Appeals of Variances, Conditional Use Permit and Site Plan Review Applications
* Makes a recommendation to the City Council on all Rezone and Plan Amendment Applications
* Various policy and code updates, etc.

CITY OF FRESNO PLANNING COMMISSION

AUTHORIZATION: Fresno City Charter Section 906
TYPE: Charter
MEETS: 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m.
LOCATION: City Hall, Council Chambers
TERM: Four years
COMPENSATION: $100 per meeting, not to exceed 24 meetings
STAFF REP: Planning and Development Dept., Keith Bergthold 621-8003
Alt. Staff Contact: Joann Zuniga 621-8032
APPOINTMENTS: 7 members appointed by the Mayor with Council approval. Must be a City of Fresno resident.

Name: Term Expires:

Rama Dawar 6/30/2010
Jamie Holt 6/30/2010
Paul Caprioglio 6/30/2013
Serop Torossian 6/30/2011
Hal Kissler 6/30/2012
Rojelio (Roy) Vasquez 6/30/2011
Vacant

Today is the City of Fresno Historic Preservation Commission meeting. There are several interesting items on the agenda, but I’d like to focus on one. Darius Assemi of Granville Homes has asked to meet with the Commission to present a conceptual plan for a mixed-use project at the corner of L Street and San Joaquin Avenue in downtown.

click for larger image

The report to the Commission states that Assemi is seeking Commission and public input prior to incurring additional research and expense. If you are not familiar with the Assemi family and Granville Homes, they have made substantial investments in Downtown, specifically in the Cultural Arts District.

I believe we are at a point in development in downtown Fresno that the question is no longer “development or no development?” The question now is “How do we measure successful development?”

Last week I posted theory thursday: authenticity alluding to some projects that do not evoke authenticity. I believe that this project falls into that category. Some of the things that triggered this is that the proposal included two styles which remind me much more of tract home models than that historic Art & Crafts and Italianate which they are named for. Below are the renderings included in the proposal.

Arts & Crafts

Italianate

While this neighborhood has many vacant even severely damaged buildings, several are historic. And the common style represented is Colonial Revival of various forms. Beyond missing the mark historically, I’m of the philosophy that building faux historic buildings near real historic buildings is actually detrimental to the built environment.

There are several reasons I believe this: The level of craftsmanship of the historic resources is unmatched by the economics of and process building today; the history a neighborhood should be a patchwork of different eras leading to today’s contemporary buildings. This should be easily read. By building cheap knock offs of yesterdays buildings today with foam details once hand carved out of solid wood history become very muddy for the passerby.

A contemporary building in this location should take cues from its surroundings. What is the scale of its neighboring buildings? Is there a rhythm set by how the land was parceled? What are the materials used? How do the buildings address the street? All of these elements can help a new building fit into the context of its surrounding without trying to mimic the past.

Beyond style, the planning of the project should be such it builds community. Street life is essential as is pedestrian focus. The plan proposed feels much more like a gated apartment complex. That does not fit the downtown context.

In summery, I encourage Granville Home to continue investing Downtown, however this proposed project marks a turn in the wrong direction.

UPDATE 6-23-09

The Historic Preservation Commission meeting was interesting. I was surprised how willing the commission was to accept the fact that the 3 historic buildings on the site of the Granville proposal would most likely be demolished. They were more interested in preserving the buildings on the West side of the street that were outside the bounds of the proposal.

I found some glimmer of hope in a comment made by architect and commissioner, Chris Johnson AIA “This is not the Historic DemolishionCommission.”

To Mr Assemi’s credit he was open to all input about the design. Comments from the public including a member of the Fulton/Lowell Design Review Committee, a former HPC Commissioner Cam Maloy, and even Historic Preservation project manager, Karana Hattersly-Drayton, were in favor of a third alternative not shown above.

The third design broke the long building in two with a pedestrian walkway and each building used detail elements pulled from different styles. Most notably was a center building that quoted the parapet detail from the Helm Home on the west side of the street. Granville is also planning to renovate the Helm Home.

I spoke publicly about some of the design concerns that I had that are listed above. My comments focused around authenticity, trying to preserve at least one of the building as an anchor to the project and some of the urban planning issues that needed to be addressed regarding activating the street with entry porches activating the street.

The Commission formed a subcommittee that will further advise Granville Homes about the design