New Costco in northwest Fresno put on hold by city council

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Fresno City Council is pausing the approval of a new Costco site in Northwest Fresno.

On Thursday, the council was set to vote on relocating the Costco on West Shaw to Herndon Avenue and Riverside Drive, three miles north of the current location.

Council Member Mike Karbassi represents the area of the proposed new site. He says he was uncomfortable with how Costco representatives handled their presentation.

"I think there were a number of standard questions we asked them that they were not prepared to answer today. And I'm not going to vote for an item until a company as great as Costco comes to us with the factual answers, I was really surprised by that," said Karbassi.

How delivery trucks get in and out of the area is an area of worry for Karbassi, but the concerns didn't stop there.

"There are going to be impacts on traffic. For example, you have homes across the street on Riverside Drive. Even though they knew when they bought their homes, they knew there could be a commercial business, we still want to do our part to mitigate any negative impact," said Karbassi.

The new big box retail space would include 32 gas pumps, more than 800 parking spots, and a 4,800-square-foot car wash. That's in addition to the nearly 230 thousand square foot warehouse building.

RELATED: Fresno City Council to hold public hearing for proposed Northwest Costco location

Fresno resident Desiree Ledezma was excited about the new Costco, but after Thursday's meeting, she was disappointed.

"It was kind of like a little bit of a bubble burst when I found out, oh, we hear they're going to create so many jobs, but it was really just a relocation, which was a little lost in translation," said Ledezma.

The lease for the West Shaw location ends in September 2025. City Council President Annalisa Perea asked Costco officials what they would do if the city council didn't approve the relocation.

Costco representatives said they didn't have a backup plan.

Still, Karbassi is confident they will be able to work out a deal.

"We want this to be successful. We want this to be a place where the neighbors can shop. They can go and work there if they want a job. But we have to ask tough questions up front to make sure it works for this city and the neighborhood," said Karbassi.

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