In her speech, Swearengin highlighted how the city is sometimes the biggest obstacle to downtown development.
"Our biggest barrier to revitalization is the fact our very laws, our own local laws are written in such a way as to discourage investment in the urban poor. It's a really, really backwards situation. Instead we need to make downtown Fresno the easiest place in Fresno, in fact the San Joaquin Valley to develop high quality projects," said Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin.
Swearengin compared downtown Fresno's effort to similar successful efforts in San Diego and Pasadena.
Swearengin says in ten years she envisions a downtown Fresno where more people are living, buildings are revitalized, and a place that attracts festivals and other events.
