With a unanimous vote in closed session at its Tuesday meeting, the Clovis City Council and Desiree Martinez reached a settlement agreement, ending years of litigation over the city’s land use policies and availability of affordable housing.

Martinez brought the case, Desiree Martinez v. City of Clovis, with the help of Central California Legal Services (CCLS), the Public Interest Law Project (PILP), and the Law Office of Patience Milrod to urge Clovis to plan and zone for housing for people of all income levels.

The city lost the case in court, then definitively lost on appeal in April 2023. The matter had appeared on the city’s closed-session agenda repeatedly for months, with no explanation from the council until Tuesday’s meeting.

Read the full story by Rachel Youdelman and Fresno Documenters in Fresnoland here.