City of San Fernando Unveils its Blueprint to Attract Business

SAN FERNANDO —  City officials hope a 12-year “Vision Plan” announced Friday will enhance its image and bring in new businesses to attract local and regional consumers.

“What we’re doing is committing to bring in services--whether it’s family dining, retail or movies--that residents have long asked for,” said San Fernando Councilman Silverio Robledo, who is also the city’s acting mayor. “Our residents have always had to go out to other communities to get those services.”

Two years ago, the city contracted a private firm, San Juan Capistrano-based PDS West, to devise a strategy to improve economic development.

Following a lengthy study of San Fernando’s demographics and retail void, PDS designed a commercial revitalization plan, which was approved in recent weeks by the Chamber of Commerce and City Council. The plan will serve as a guideline for what officials hope will eventually be 400,000 square feet of retail development within the city’s 2.4 square miles.

“It’s tremendous and exciting news for this city,” said City Administrator John Ornelas at a news conference Friday morning in front of Lopez Adobe. “We’ve talked about this for a long time and now we have a plan.”

Ornelas said a major movie theater chain has already signed a letter of intent to build an 18-screen complex in San Fernando.

A developer and site have not been chosen, however, and Ornelas would not reveal the chain’s name.

“We will know more in the next 40 days,” he said.

The first step in implementing the new development plan is scheduled to begin in two weeks, with a gateway project that will include the construction of a large concrete “City of San Fernando” sign, pillars and landscaping at the city’s east entrance on San Fernando Road.

“It will be a groundbreaking, symbolic of what’s coming,” said Saul Gomez, San Fernando administrative services manager. “Hopefully that’s new business blood injected in the city.”

It hasn’t been easy for this tiny city, with a population of 22,580 mostly working-class Latinos, to attract big businesses.

City officials have talked for years of bringing in a bookstore, coffee shops and even a mall, but San Fernando’s only big retailer is JCPenney.

Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles City Development Corp., said getting national retailers will be difficult for San Fernando because it is a small area with limited resources.

“Also, the demographics work against it,” said Kyser, whose nonprofit organization does economic research on cities throughout the county. “National chains do not understand the Hispanic market. The per capita income tends to be lower, but they don’t understand [these] are extended-family households with very good buying power.”

National retailers or grocery chains would do well in the city, Kyser said.

“Sooner or later it could still happen in San Fernando,” he said.

City officials hope it’s sooner. Ornelas said Friday that a major retail chain, which he wouldn’t name, has shown interest in developing a 1,000-square-foot outlet within the city.

“There’s no agreement yet, just interest,” he said. “But that’s the first step.”