FROM RED TAPE TO RED CARPET
Adorning the entrance of Van Ness Avenue is a sign that declares Fresno to be “The Best Little City in the U.S.A.” Situated in the middle of California, Fresno is the Central Valley’s crown jewel for numerous reasons, which vary from proximity to affordability. Many have eagerly endeavored to leave their mark on the city over the years, regardless of the challenges that may have stood in the way. Now, the City of Fresno is pulling back the red tape, and rolling out the red carpet. Under the leadership of the newly elected mayor, Jerry Dyer, the greater Fresno area has much to look forward to in the coming years.
Fresno is getting a rebranding as much as its mayor is. To date, Jerry Dyer is perhaps best known for his police work. He served the city through the Fresno Police Department for four decades, culminating in being appointed the city’s longest-tenured police chief, which also makes him the longest-serving police chief of any major city in the United States. This post obviously gave him experience overseeing high numbers of employees and managing a multi-million-dollar budget. However, there’s a human-interest aspect of a different nature which comes with being a mayor.
The networks that were in place for him as head of the police department for 18 years empowered him with the opportunity to meet a lot of people, many of whom now make up the infrastructure of his dream team, allowing him to hit the ground running. “And plus, knowing the history of Fresno helps me to know when I do make a decision what that potential impact might be on a particular group, or maybe a neighborhood, to understand the politics of City Hall, as well as county government, state government, that I’m familiar with,” Mayor Dyer rationalizes. He believes that all of this “has helped me to be much more thoughtful when I do make decisions, and then know who to contact, or work with, in order to get things done more quickly.”
Mayor Dyer is going above and beyond to help Fresnans get back on their feet post-pandemic. From his perception, the most paramount struggles they are currently facing are uncertainty and increased poverty, both of which have affected small business owners most harshly. “We are moving towards a culture in our city, with employees, that clearly states we work for you, that we work for the businesses. We want to do everything we can, and we will do everything we can, to be able to expedite the opening of their business, for them to be resuscitated post-pandemic.” He aims to achieve this goal by advancing federal funding “through to those businesses in the form of business grants, so that they have the capital that they need in order to be able to stay in business,” says Mayor Dyer.
“Unfortunately, we know that there’s 30 to 35 percent of our mom and pop restaurant owners who have gone out of business and may not return. It’s important that we resuscitate them, so I’ve tripled our Economic Development Department here in the city since I came, and we will be adding more people to that,” the mayor outlines. “Their duties are to reach out to small business owners in Fresno for the purpose of finding out what assistance they need and letting them know how they can get that assistance.” In late May, Mayor Dyer anticipates receiving substantial funding from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan, which “has a separate pool of money that’s going to be administered through the Small Business Administration to businesses, and it is for the purposes of resuscitation.”
Mayor Dyer assures that the flexible terms under which businesses have been allowed to operate will continue post-pandemic. Take restaurants, for example, “where we’ve allowed for them to have outdoor dining on sidewalks, in parking lots. Wherever the case is, we’re going to continue to do that,” confirms Mayor Dyer. “Even after the pandemic, we’re going to maximize their ability to have outdoor dining. We’re going to be flexible with them in terms of how they operate their business and gravitate to ‘yes’ when they make requests.”
Outside the issue of the pandemic, an innate passion drives Mayor Dyer’s purpose with the City of Fresno. “The number one thing for me is always going to be (it’s in my DNA, I believe) safety—the safety of the people who live here. So whether I’m wearing a uniform or not wearing a uniform, I still feel personally responsible for the people to feel safe in this community. And I think that’s a primary function of a mayor,” he states.
Another issue on the mayor’s plate is the homeless population. “I am extremely passionate about dealing with that issue.” In the first couple months of his term, Mayor Dyer spearheaded initiatives that relocated those living on the freeways; he provided some 225 people with roofs over their heads rather than simply displacing them into adjacent neighborhoods. “So that’s very gratifying, but we have a long way to go.”
Major Dyer has moved forward with a sense of urgency regarding the cleaning up of freeways and enhancing the beauty of Fresno’s streets. “I am very disappointed in how Fresno has become over the years in terms of appearance. The fact that we’ve lost our curb appeal,” he admits, noting the importance of the ‘Beautify Fresno’ program, through which volunteers come together using city resources to bring back the city in terms of cleanliness. “That’s why we’re out on Saturdays, picking up trash, cleaning up the city.”
The greater Fresno area continues to experience exponential growth. “There’s a lot that we have to offer here, in terms of being a desirable place to live.” Mayor Dyer believes affordable housing and land are the primary reasons people are attracted to Fresno. “We have proximity in our favor,” he references, noting how close mountains, national parks, and the Central Coast are. “We don’t have traffic congestion, like you see in many of the big cities.” The region also prides itself on its educational system—Clovis Unified ranks as one of the leading school districts in the country. “So all of those are very important to us,” making Fresno County, especially, stand apart from other cities in the Valley as an excellent place to establish or grow businesses and raise families.
Yet with this growth comes a degree of urban sprawl that many cities in the Central Valley are experiencing. Driving along Blackstone Avenue, it’s easy to see how the shift to online shopping in recent years has impacted areas that have traditionally been retail destinations. Mayor Dyer understands the need for infill, and Blackstone Avenue is going to play a pivotal role in Fresno’s development as a major city. “I envision that we’ll see four to five-story townhouses all up and down Blackstone.” This plan incorporates the construction of mixed-use buildings (where the lower levels are retail with apartments above), much like how metropolitan areas function.
This strip is already accessible via the city’s bus rapid transit. “Transit corridors are very, very important when you have that type of condensed housing that you’re putting on those areas,” he emphasizes. By utilizing preexisting structures, from bussing to buildings, many districts of the city will be seamlessly interconnected. Fresno offers the diversity of a major city without technically being a major city. Nonetheless, it has been on the brink of crossing that line for quite some time—public transit accessibility, from Northern Fresno to the downtown, will bring it one step closer to that inevitable evolution.
For now, but not for long, Fresno is still a “small town” with “big city” vibes, and the anchor for this mindset is firmly positioned in Downtown Fresno. Practically every mayor of Fresno has championed the revitalization of the city’s downtown, and the last few years have finally yielded results in the area. “The magnet for our downtown area is our baseball stadium,” Mayor Dyer says, referring to Chukchansi Park, which is being utilized for drawing in more permanent residents. “We’re getting ready to break ground in, probably, September on a multi-story apartment complex that’s going to overlook the stadium. We’re looking at another one that’s going to be adjacent to it, where we would actually have townhouses where you overlook the stadium there,” shares Mayor Dyer.
“I really believe that great cities have great downtowns, and you can’t claim to be a great city until you have a great downtown,” the mayor states, recognizing that while Downtown Fresno is the best it has been in decades, it still falls short of its potential. “Part of it has to do with the fact that we have so many vacant buildings.” Mayor Dyer has already addressed this issue by setting a limit on how long buildings may remain unoccupied. There’s a need for more event and entertainment space, leading to developments with Selland Arena and Valdez Hall such as “moving forward with building a 7,500-seat stadium with suites,” designated for soccer and other outdoor activities. He also acknowledges that “we don’t have a sufficient number of people living downtown.” Right now, the majority of available housing offerings in the downtown area are rentals, rather than an investment for individual homeowners. “Currently we have 3,000 people living downtown, and that number needs to grow to about 10,000 people before we’re really able to have a sustainable vibrant nightlife in Fresno.”
Fresno is on the verge of becoming a major thoroughfare for the Golden State with world-class attractions. “We’re going to have the first high-speed rail station in the nation, in Downtown Fresno, and that’s going to happen over the next seven years.” Mayor Dyer is working on “Bringing in USA Wrestling, which is going to be a huge draw for Central California.” Southwest Airlines just landed at Fresno Yosemite International Airport. “There’s another development that we’re working on that I can’t talk about yet, but I hopefully can within the next six months, but I promise you, it will change the trajectory of Fresno and the image of Fresno forever,” the mayor teases.
“I’ve always said, when people migrate to our country, that you assimilate as an American, but it’s important to hold on to your culture. And so, Fresno is rich in diversity, and I believe that’s what makes us so strong. I have found over the years, it’s our diversity that unites us as long as we recognize that we’re all part of Fresno—we’re one Fresno. And that has been my theme,” the mayor maintains. “You’re going to end up seeing a more prosperous, beautiful city in Fresno. You’re going to see a government that listens, keeps its promises, and a government that is owned by the people of Fresno.” Under Mayor Dyer’s guidance, Fresnans will feel welcomed at City Hall with concierge-type treatment. “We’re not here to roll out red tape, but red carpet.”
Editorial Director Lauren Barisic
Photographers Jaime Dillmore & Fabiola Ramirez
