Chinatown Revitalization
Years(s): 2024 to present
Location: Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Development strategy, conceptual design, property owner outreach
Client: Emerging Markets Development Corporation
Status: Ongoing 
ZUS is the urban planning and design lead in a multidisciplinary team working in collaboration with the City of Fresno, Chinatown property owners, and the Kresge Foundation. This team is exploring ways to overcome decades of disinvestment by approaching infrastructure, infill development, and historic preservation in a collective, coordinated, and strategic manner that centers current stakeholders and the neighborhood’s cultural legacy to promote revitalization without displacement.
Sierra-San Joaquin Jobs Initiative
Years(s): 2025 to present
Location: Fresno, Madera, Kings, and Tulare counties
Role: Consultant
Duties: Zoning analysis, policy analysis, land use strategy, agency outreach
Client: Central Valley Community Foundation
Status: Ongoing 
As part of the S2J2 climate resilience initiative, ZUS conducted a regional zoning analysis across four Central Valley counties to assess where utility-scale solar development is currently permitted, developing a regional zoning categorization system for development standards and zoning districts. ZUS also assisted staff from the California Department of Conservation creating maps used to evaluate the intersection of zoning regulations with prime farmland, groundwater recharge areas, and energy transmission infrastructure. This work informs a coordinated strategy to guide solar development in ways that support California’s climate and energy goals while protecting the region’s agricultural economy.
Tract 6211 Duplexes
Years(s): 2025 to present
Location: Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Development strategy, entitlements
Client: Christensen Construction
Status: Under review
ZUS assisted the project developer with a strategy to maximize the allowable about of housing on this infill site in a High Opportunity Zone utilizing State legislation such as SB 9, AB 68, and SB 897.
The Roos
Years(s): 2024 to present
Location: Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Land use strategy, design feedback, entitlements assistance
Client: Fresno Housing Authority
Status: Entitled 
(Project design and rendering by Mogavero Architects)
The Roos will be a 126-unit housing project at the corner of Fulton and Merced streets in Downtown Fresno. It is the first phase of a larger plan to create a mixed-income node of housing at the north end of the former Fulton Mall. The project is centered around a podium-level courtyard. The ground floor will be activated by residential porches on Merced Street and by the main lobby, retail spaces, and community uses on the Fulton Street side. The Roos name was inspired by ZUS’s historic research on the site, which uncovered the fact that this corner was home to the Roos Bros. department store in the early 20th Century.
Tower District Specific Plan Update
Years(s): 2022 to present
Location: Fresno, CA
Role: Sub-Consultant
Duties: Land use strategy, outreach, design guidelines
Client: WRT / City of Fresno
Status: Public review draft 
The Tower District is a special place within the City of Fresno, with a long history and distinctive architecture and urban form. While much of Fresno was designed around the automobile, the neighborhoods of the Tower District were originally designed around public transit and pedestrians, which makes them unique compared to areas that were built later with the automobile as their central focus. In the late 1980s, Tower District residents became increasingly active in protecting the future of their neighborhood. This began with the opposition to an inappropriate suburban-style building proposed for the area, which led to the development of the Tower District Specific Plan, adopted in 1991. This document was intended to preserve the essence of the Tower District while facilitating compatible infill development. The plan is being updated to reflect current needs and development trends, and to make it more compatible with Fresno’s current General Plan and Development Code.
Links:
Zoning Presentation (at the 1:03:00 mark)
Public Review Documents
Golden Charter Academy
Year(s): 2023 to 2025
Location: Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Entitlements, pre-development
Client: Golden Charter Academy
Status: Under construction
Golden Charter Academy provides a unique environmental educational experience for children in grades TK-8th in Fresno. Zack Urban Solutions helped them attain their goal of a new campus near the Fresno Chaffee Zoo by handing all entitlements, which included a Planned Development Permit in order to allow for an unconventional yet exemplary design for a small urban infill site. This work included successfully overcoming two appeals to the project.
Links:
The Fresno Bee: Students at Fresno charter school get real-life lesson in how government really works
Fresnoland: New public charter school campus near Fresno zoo set for July 2026 completion
Infill Housing
Years(s): 2022 to present
Location: Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Development strategy, entitlements
Client: AWC Holdings
Status: Design development
(Conceptual design and rendering by Zack Urban Solutions)
ZUS assisted the project developer with a strategy to maximize the allowable about of housing on this small infill site near the Blackstone corridor and Old Fig Garden utilizing State legislation such as AB 68, and SB 897.
Commercial Corridor Performance Parking Plan
Year(s): 2022 to 2024
Location: Arlington, VA
Role: Sub-Consultant
Duties: Performance-based pricing advisor, drafting of ordinance language
Client: Eleven-X/County of Arlington
Status: Pilot underway
Drawing on Dan Zack’s experience in launching the nation’s first experiment in performance-based on-street parking, ZUS advised Eleven-X and the County of Arlington on parking policy, the peculiarities of performance-based parking, and technological integrations. ZUS also crafted the draft ordinance which allowed the performance-parking pilot to take place and which codified its parameters.
Links:
Staff Report and Ordinance
Performance Parking Pilot Home Page
Small Developer Training
Location: Nationwide
Role: Faculty
Duties: Provide instruction on successfully navigating zoning codes to small developers
Client: Incremental Development Alliance
Status: Ongoing
Flyer
Downtown Fresno Infrastructure Strategy
(Conceptual designs and renderings by Zack Urban Solutions)
Location: Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Land use strategy, outreach
Client: Central Valley Community Foundation
Status: Land use analysis and public outreach
Promotional Video
The Palms Apartments
(Initial and final designs by Crawford Architecture and Planning, SB 9 concept and 3-D renderings by Zack Urban Solutions)
Location: Clovis, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: SB 9 Alternatives analysis, rezone, General Plan amendment, entitlements
Client: Stallion Construction and Development
Housing Type: Market-Rate Multifamily
Status: Rezone/GPA Complete, entitlements submittal under development
Press Coverage
Fulton/Amador Mixed Use Project
(Conceptual design and rendering by Zack Urban Solutions)
Location: Downtown Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Preliminary site planning, planning entitlement processing
Client: 9th & C St, LLC
Housing Type: Market-Rate Multifamily
Status: Pre-Application Review Complete
Airport District Tactical Urbanism Concept
(Conceptual design and rendering by Zack Urban Solutions)
Location: Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Preliminary site planning, planning entitlement processing
Client: Helping Others Pursue Excellence
Status: Conceptual design and pursuit of funding
Infill Housing
(Conceptual design and rendering by Zack Urban Solutions)
Location: North Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Alternatives analysis, conceptual site planning, entitlements
Client: Details coming soon!
Housing Type: Market-Rate SB 9 Duplexes
Status: Entitlement submittal under development
iCREATE at the Bank of Italy
Location: Downtown Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Site selection, feasibility analysis, entitlements
Client: Central Valley Community Foundation
Status: Pre-Development
iCREATE Explainer Video
Press Coverage of Grant Award
High-Speed Rail Station Design
(Rendering from California High-Speed Rail Authority)
Location: Fresno, Merced, Hanford, and Bakersfield, CA
Role: Sub-Consultant
Duties: Public outreach, coordination with local agencies, land use planning support
Client: ARUP and Foster + Partners
Status: Kick-Off
Press Release
Capacity Analysis for Mixed-Use Text Amendment
(Rendering by Zack Urban Solutions)
Location: Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Analyze housing capacity on a sample site with and without the proposed amendment
Client: City of Fresno
Status: Adopted
Hacienda Housing Expansion
(Conceptual design and rendering by Zack Urban Solutions)
Location: West/Central Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Preliminary site planning, planning entitlement processing
Client: RH Community Builders
Status: Pre-Application Review Complete
Pre-Application Packet
Infill Housing
(Conceptual design and rendering by Zack Urban Solutions)
Location: North Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Alternatives analysis, conceptual site planning
Client: Details coming soon!
Housing Type: Market-Rate SB 9 Duplexes
Status: Pre-Development
Ashlan Inn Housing Conversion (Affordable Multifamily)
(Design by the Vernal Group)
Location: West/Central Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Assistance with building permit processing and offsite requirements
Client: 4278 Ashlan, LLC
Housing Type: Affordable Multifamily
Status: Building Permit Under Review
Infill Housing
(Conceptual design and rendering by Zack Urban Solutions)
Location: West/Central Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Alternatives analysis, conceptual site planning
Client: Details coming soon!
Housing Type: Market-Rate Multifamily
Status: Pre-Development
Infill Housing
(Conceptual design and rendering by Zack Urban Solutions)
Location: Blackstone Corridor, Fresno, CA
Role: Consultant
Duties: Alternatives analysis, conceptual site planning, entitlements
Client: Details coming soon!
Housing Type: Market-Rate Multifamily
Status: Pre-application review complete