Page 1 - Sanger Herald 1-31-19 E-edition

Apaches stuff Bullard
Looking for a home
Election process explained
page 8A
Sports 1B Lifestyles 3B
WeeklyNewspaper Sanger(FresnoCounty)CA93657 50¢ (taxincluded) Council orders do-over of rezoning effort
Dick Sheppard/Sanger Herald
Adrian Villarreal echoed the requests of residents who attend- ed the Jan. 23 city council meeting to turn down a controver- sial affordable housing rezoning proposal and send it back to the planning department.
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
It only took the city council a few minutes to agree with dozens of obvi- ously frustrated residents who spoke during a public hearing about a pro- posed rezoning project at the Jan. 23 city council meeting.
The council unanimously agreed
to turn down a request from the city's planning department to rezone several sites within the city for affordable hous- ing.
Mayor Frank Gonzalez admonished the planners to work with the planning commission to reconsider the sites to be rezoned and to do a better job of involv- ing and communicating with the public.
Adrian Villarreal was applauded by a standing room only group of residents in the council chamber when he ac- cused planners of not doing a good job because they were rushing to finish
the rezoning project by a state ordered
deadline in January.
"We [city residents] shouldn't have to
pay the consequences of bad planning because you [planners] got a late start on the project," he said.
It was obvious from public comments that many in the audience knew the rezoning effort had been ordered by the state as long ago as 2016 and the city hadn't gotten the planning commission involved until October of 2018 after the state threatened the city with sanctions.
City planners were attempting to comply with the state'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."
So many acres had to be rezoned because the city had fallen more than two years behind in its compliance with the state law.
The zoning changes had to take place because California said so, even
though there are no present plans to build anything on the sites proposed to be rezoned. That's what Sanger's senior planner David Breltic told the planning commission and development director Tom Navarro echoed to the city council at its Jan. 23 meeting.
The state could now declare Sanger in noncompliance with the law and attempt to enforce a building morato- riam on the city. It could also stop grant money flowing through the state to the city.
The City of Huntington Beach is be- ing sued by the state for noncompliance.
Governor Gavin Newsom said, “Cit- ies and counties are important partners in addressing this [affordable] housing crisis, and many cities are making Herculean efforts to meet this crisis head-on. But some cities are refusing to do their part to address this crisis and willfully stand in violation of California
See COUNCIL, page 6A
Plannersadmonishedtodoabetterjobof communityinvolvement
It was a week of "Raise your right hand and repeat after me ..."
Dick Sheppard/Sanger Herald
State senators Anna Caballero and Melissa Hurtado are ceremonially given the oath of office by Justice Rosendo Peno.
Dick Shepppard/Sanger Herald
Esmeralda Hurtado was sworn in on Jan. 23 to replace sister Melissa as a city council mem- ber.
Dick Sheppard/Sanger Herald
Richard "Rick" Duran was sworn in on Jan. 24 to replace Marcy Masumoto as a school board member
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
California's youngest State Senator Melissa Hurtado of Sanger and State Senator An- na Caballero of Salinas were cheered by a packed house of enthusiastic supporters when they were sworn in by Justice Rosendo Peno on Jan. 25 in Fresno.
It was a ceremonial event for family, friends and other Fresno area fans because both Hurtado and Caballero were officially sworn in on Dec. 3 in Sacramento by state Supreme Court Justice Tani Cantil-Sakuye.
Hurtado and fellow Democrat Caballero are the first Latinas to represent the Valley in the state Senate.
Hurtado, a former Sanger city councilmember, repre- sents the senate's sprawling 14th district which stretches from Fresno to Bakersfield and covers all or parts of 19 cities.
Caballero represents the 12th state Senate district which includes all of Merced, nearly all of Madera county and part of Fresno County.
Hurtado told the frequent- ly cheering and applauding audience at the Carpenters Local 701 hall in west Fresno that she began her journey to the state Senate in 2016 when she ran for city council in Sanger, hoping to make a dif- ference at the city level with health care and jobs.
Caballero praised the car-
penters union for hosting the event, mentioned the benefits of high speed rail and led the mostly Hispanic crowd in a "Si se puede" chant.
The Sanger High School NJROTC color guard posted colors and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Except for city council member Esmeralda Hurtado, Senator Hurtado's younger sister, mayor Frank Gon- zalez and Brandon Vang of the school board were the only officials from Sanger
to attend the Friday evening event in Fresno.
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.
City council and school board
have different rules for seating
appointed members
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
When Esmeralda Hurtado was sworn in on Jan. 23 as a city council member representing council district 1, the process of replacing Melissa Hurtado on the council had been com- pleted. Esmeralda will now serve out the remainder of her sister's term through December of 2020.
When Richard "Rick" Duran was sworn in on Jan. 24 as a "provisional" Sanger Unified school board member representing trustee area 4, the process of replacing Marcy Masumoto on the board had just begun.
The school board, unlike the city, has an automatic 30 day "appeal" policy, dictated by the Education Code. A legal notice published in the Herald today sums it up, "Unless a petition calling for a special election containing a sufficient number of signatures is filed with the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the provisional appointment, it shall be an effective appointment for all purposes. This Notice is intended to fulfill the requirement of Education Code §5092. Any questions about this notice should be directed to Susan Joneson at (559) 524-6521."
Duran's term will also be through December of 2020.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerherald@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald during business hours at(559) 875-2511.
Duran did his homework
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Sanger's hometown hero Tom Flores is finally a final- ist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame! It's about time! He should have been enshrined in the hall years ago!
Let's all be by the TV at 6 p.m. this Saturday, Feb.
2, watching the "NFL Honors" program on CBS. That's when the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019 will be revealed - the night before Super Bowl LIII.
We wish you well Tom! You deserve to be enshrined with the rest of the pro football greats on Aug. 3, in Can- ton.
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
The Herald reported in an earlier edition on the qualifications of Esmeralda Hurtado who was appointed to the city council to replace her sister Melissa who was elected to the state senate.
It might have concerned some that Rich- ard "Rick" Duran was the only applicant for the Trustee Area 4 position left vacant when Marcy Masumoto was elected to the Fresno County Board of Education.
However, it's likely that concern would have quickly evaporated while watching the calm, buttoned down Duran, sitting in
See DURAN, page 6A SANGER HERALD: A MID VALLEY PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER • (559) 875-2511 • www.thesangerherald.com
Tom will be a special guest at the 2019 Sanger High School Athletic Hall of Fame banguet on May 4 at the communitycenter.Ticketswill goonsale soon.
Hurtado was selected by the council from among six applicants for the position.
THURSDAY
JANUARY 31, 2019
VOL 130 NO. 5
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