Sarah Pilibos, president of Stephen Investments, speaks out against the name change in an April 27, 2023 press conference. Photo by Ben Hensley

Thursday morning saw the latest in the Kings Canyon Boulevard renaming saga, with a new group “1 Community Compact” hosting a news conference at Fresno City Hall prior to the scheduled city council meeting.

1 Community Compact, a joint coalition of community representatives from southeast, southwest and south-central Fresno, argue that the council deliberately withheld information regarding the renaming of Kings Canyon to Avenida Cesar E. Chavez, also referred to as Cesar Chavez Boulevard.

Several representatives from the affected regions, including Pastor B.T. Lewis of Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church, Abdulyab Ali, manager at Ventura Supermarket as well as Fresno District 6 Supervisor Garry Bredefeld (who cast the council’s lone “no” vote on the item on March 9), spoke to fellow Fresno residents and the media, raising concerns about the council’s handling of the name change.

“We believe that the March 9 vote by our city council to change the name of California, Ventura and Kings Canyon avenues to Cesar Chavez Boulevard can and should be reversed,” said Lewis. “Our city council has the power to unring this bell and begin the healing process in our city.”

Lewis outlined eight problems faced by south Fresno residents about the change, including the divisiveness of the decision, the intentional misleading of community members and the lack of consideration of the cost of the project to local businesses and residents.

“There are many ways to honor Cesar Chavez if they want to,” Bredefeld said during the press conference. “Renaming 10.2 miles of roads that have their own historical significance is just simply wrong.”

Bredefeld said the decision could be reversed if another council member steps up to bring the item back into discussion.

Sarah Pilibos, president of Stephen Investments, which owns 17-acres of commercial space on Kings Canyon between Willow and Winery avenues, said the name change will affect the more than 40 businesses leasing the property.

“It is an affront to our business owners, tenants, operators, franchisees, the employees there and the customers there that have absolutely no idea that the identity of that location is being eradicated without any consultation, without any communication whatsoever,” Pilibos said.

Pilibos said that notification was not offered, and that the property owned by Stephen Investments is a growth area.

“Right now we are on the precipice of a new recession,” she said. “Our tenants just overcame COVID. Last year was the beginning of a year of normal business after two years of being shuttered involuntarily.”

After local resident Cruz Gonzales and Rev. Lewis reiterated claims presented at the press conference during public comment at Thursday’s council meeting, District 3 Supervisor Miguel Arias fired back, refuting multiple claims made earlier that morning and during public comment.

“Many people have submitted several different options and the council selected to honor the original proposal [from] 30 years ago,” Arias said during the meeting. “In my view, this is simply an attempt to set a new standard when recognizing a Latino hero in our community and I don’t think that is fair, just or equitable in a city this diverse.”

Contrary to complaints, Arias said that the item was properly handled, including budget allocations for the name change, as well as community involvement, consideration, transparency and planning.

The decision to rename the street was finalized on March 9.