Page 1 - Sanger Herald 1-24-19 E-edition

Stanley wins scoring honor
Looking for a home
Biggest little church
page 8A
Sports 1B
Lifestyles 3B
WeeklyNewspaper
Sanger(FresnoCounty)CA93657 50¢ (taxincluded) Concern and confusion
over state ordered rezone
Demand from state, not developers, required rezoning
To be
UPDATED
The city council and the school board have special meet- ings this week after the Herald goes to press.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. on Wed., Jan. 23 and the school- board will meet at 7 p.m. on Thurs., Jan. 24.
Check the Sanger Herald Facebook page and the Herald website - www.thesangerherald. com - for updates on the follow- ing stories:
School board will try to select new
member
Open meeting 7 p.m. on Thursday
New councilmember
Esmeralda Hurtado is scheduled to replace sister Melissa
6 p.m. on Wednesday
Council will seek input on possible
new projects
Hoping for grant money
6 p.m. on Wednesday
Council to consider new Measure S
member
Mike Montelongo may replace James Miser
6 p.m. on Wednesday
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
Apparently there were quite a few surprised people in Sanger when they recently received a notice, with a map like the one at right, that said a parcel of land near them was going to be rezoned.
The rezoning is being done because of a demand from the state, not because of a de- mand from developers who want to build on the rezoned parcels. However, judging from a flurry of phone calls, texts and emails to the Her- ald not everyone was aware of that.
The city is simply attempt- ing to comply with Califor- nia's housing element law which required that Sanger find a total of 63 acres spread somewhere within the city limits that could be rezoned to accommodate "affordable housing."
The zoning change had to take place because California says so, even though there likely are no plans to build anything on the property in the near or maybe even the distant future, according
to Sanger's senior planner David Breltic.
If the city had failed to comply with the law it could have paid a costly penalty in the form of lost grants with money that flows through the state on its way to cities that
do comply.
Actually, the city is play-
ing catch up because it's more than two years behind when it comes to the amount of land the state wants to be zoned for "Residential-High Density."
The planning commis- sion was told by Brletic, that there aren't many empty par- cels of land within the city limits that could be rezoned to meet the standards of the state mandated "Housing Ele- ment." The commission spent several meetings looking at and analyzing potential par- cels before finally deciding onthe onesshowninredon the map that went out with the notice.
The next steps to getting in compliance with the state mandate were scheduled to take place at the special 6 p.m. city council meeting on Wed., Jan. 23. That's when the council held a public hearing and likely followed up by: declaring that the rezoning creates no negative
impact on the environment; adopted a resolution approv- ing an amendment to the General Plan; and adopted an ordinance that changed the zoning designations.
Or, the council may have decided not to approve the proposed changes and told the planning commission to come up with a new set of proposals.
The Herald went to press
before the meeting took place and will post an update about the outcome on the Herald Facebook page and the Herald website at www. thesangerherald.com.
The reporter can be con- tacted by email at sangerher- ald@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald during business hours at(559) 875-2511.
Police cite clerks who sold alcohol to minors
Dick Sheppard/Sanger Herald
The photo above is a staged sim- ulation of a decoy operation in which minors ask to buy alcohol from vendors in order to check compliance with ABC rules.
By Sgt. Joshua Johnson
Sanger Police Department
Sanger police cited two clerks for selling alcohol to minors.
Thecitationsweretheresult of "Minor Decoy" and "Decoy Shoulder Tap" operations con- ducted over the weekend.
Ceremonial swearing
in and community
forum this Friday
Herald staff report
State senators Melissa Hurtado and Anna Cabal- lero will participate in a joint community swearing in ceremony and community forum from 6-8 p.m. on Fri., Jan. 25 a the Carpentar Local 701 building, 1361 North Hulbert Ave. in Fresno.
Members of the Sanger High School NJROTC will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
SenatorsHurtadoandCaballerowillbeavailable after the ceremony to participate in an open forum about Central Valley issues.
Hurtado, from Sanger, was elected in November to represent the 14th Senate District, which encompasses parts of the southern Central Valley, including parts of Fresno and Bakersfield.
The Minor Decoy Opera- tion involves minors who work under the direct supervision of officers. Minors attempted to
Prior to being elected to the state senate, Hurtado was a Sanger city councilmember.
See CITATIONS, page 6A
SANGER HERALD: A MID VALLEY PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER • (559) 875-2511 • www.thesangerherald.com
A bigger map on page 7A shows which parcels the planning commissioners consid- ered and which ones they finally decided to rezone to comply with the state "Housing Ele- ment."
purchase alcohol from 13 retail licensees in Sanger.
Those who sold to the minors face a minimum fine of $250 and/or 24 to 32 hours of commu- nity service for a first violation. In addition, the Department
of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) will take administrative action against the alcoholic beverage license of the busi- ness. Thatmayincludeafine,
a suspension of the license or the permanent revocation of the license.
In addition, Sanger officers and ABC investigators con- ducted a Decoy Shoulder Tap Operation that targets adults who purchase alcohol for people less than 21 years of age.
Under the program, a minor under the direct supervision of an officer or investigator will stand outside a liquor or conve- nience store and ask patrons to buythemalcohol. Theminor indicates, in some way, he or she is underage and cannot purchase the alcohol. Adults who agree to purchase alcohol for the minor are arrested and cited for fur- nishing alcohol to the minor.
Melissa Hurtado
THURSDAY
JANUARY 24, 2019
VOL 130 NO. 4
2 sections, 14 pages
CLASSIFIED 5B LEGALS 6,7B BUSINESS DIRECTORY 8B LIFE STYLES 2B OBITUARIES 2A OPINION 3A SPORTS 1B POLICE LOG 2A WEATHER 8A