City’s Major Projects & Programs | City of San Fernando

CITY'S MAJOR PROJECTS & PROGRAMS

Below, please find an updated listing of many of the completed, current, upcoming, and ongoing projects throughout the City of San Fernando along with contact information for the department that oversees each project.

Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance Update

Development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) provides affordable rental housing opportunity within a residential neighborhood. The City’s Accessory Dwelling Unit regulations were revised in 2017. Since then, the State has passed multiple laws to remove constraints to the development of ADUs.

In fall, the City will start the process of updating the ADU ordinance to align with state regulations and to ensure the City’s continued efforts in promoting affordable rental housing opportunity. Objective design standards will be included to balance the needs of preserving the existing single family character with minimizing the impacts of increasing residential units. Update to the ADUs regulations will promote the City’s Strategic Goal 3, “Preserve Beautiful Homes and Neighborhoods” while accommodate new residential units in the City.

More information on the ADU Ordinance update process will be available at: SFCITY.ORG/Community-Development/#Planning.

CONTACT

Community Development Department
(818) 898-1227 | CommunityDevelopment@sfcity.org

Agenda Meeting Mangement

Research Agency Meeting Management software programs to streamline and automate the process of preparing and creating Agenda Packets and creation of minutes for finalization.

Present demonstrations to the City Manager
Present staff report to City Council for approval

CONTACT

City Clerk Department
(818) 898-1204 | CityClerk@sfcity.org

City GIS Program Development: Mapping City Infrastructure

The City in collaboration with the California State University at Northridge (CSUN) Center for Geographical Studies (CGS), have been working to digitize and map City infrastructure and land uses. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, faculty and students at CSUN, the City is working to identify and track existing sewer, water, street trees, light poles, and traffic light infrastructure in an effort to facilitate City staff’s ongoing access and maintenance. In addition, the GIS Program will facilitate the update of the City’s zoning and land use maps and will lead to a publicly accessible web-based interactive maps and search of City GIS data.

Work on this project is ongoing, but publicly accessible GIS data will be online by end of 2022.

CONTACT

Public Works Department
(818) 898-1227 | PublicWorks@sfcity.org

City-wide Copier Replacement Project

Research and analyze existing copiers, procure replacement copy machines to consolidate contracts and maintenance agreements under one contract to include the Police Department’s equipment.

Plan implementation and onboard process of new equipment, including staff training.

Identify each Department’s needs and inventory
Publish/advertise a RFP
Present request to Award Contract to the City Council for approval

CONTACT

City Clerk Department
(818) 898-1204 | CityClerk@sfcity.org

Chat with the Chief

At noon on the first Wednesday of every month, the San Fernando Police hosts the “Chat with the Chief” meeting in the San Fernando City Council Chambers. This event is an opportunity for all community members to gather and share their thoughts or suggestions with the Chief of Police about police related community issues.

More information may be found here: SFCITY.ORG/SFPolice/#Chat-With-The-Chief

CONTACT

Office of the Police Chief
(818) 898-1250 | COP@sfcity.org

Climate Action & Resilience Plan

In 2021, the City received a $50,000 grant from Southern California Gas Company to prepare a Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP). The CARP will provide a roadmap that outline specific activities that the City will undertake to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to climate change. The CARP will be completed in two phases. Phase I will use the $50,000 grant to conduct a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Vulnerability Assessment. Phase 2 will be completion of the CARP that will build upon the information gathered in Phase I. Phase 2 will focus on identifying specific activities that the City can achieve with relatively greatest emission reductions in the most cost effective manner, and include measures/actions related to climate adaptation and resilience.

More information on the CARP process will be available at: SFCITY.ORG/Community-Development/#Planning.

CONTACT

Community Development Department
(818) 898-1227 | CommunityDevelopment@sfcity.org

Community Policing & Neighborhood Watch

The men and women of the Police Department are dedicated professionals vested in achieving the highest quality of life for the community. To this end, the Police Department couples its three-minute average response time with an emphasis on community policing through its comprehensive community engagement programs including Neighborhood Watch and Business Watch. The Police Department uses a collaborative partnership approach with community stakeholders to make San Fernando a safe and enjoyable place to live, work, and visit.

If you are interested in participating in the Police Department’s community policing efforts and/or Neighborhood Watch and Business Watch meetings, additional information may be found here: SFCITY.ORG/SFPolice/#Neighborhood-Business-Watch

CONTACT

Police Department | Sergeant Courtney James Chiasson
(818) 898-1254 | CJChiasson@sfcity.org

Digitized Records Management

In April 2021, the City of San Fernando adopted its 2022-2027 Strategic Goals with one of the goals being “Focus on Community First”. Since the City’s incorporation in 1911, records management and retention of all legally required legislative records (i.e. ordinances, resolutions, and minutes) are in paper formats. The City acknowledges recent industry wide technology developments and best practices advances in digital records management and seeks toward improving the City’s use of technology. This will enhance customer service by ease of access to public documents, improve efficiency and provide transparency.

Expand existing software program abilities through SAIRA-City search engine
Research Records Management Software Programs

CONTACT

City Clerk Department
(818) 898-1204 | CityClerk@sfcity.org

Economic Development

The City of San Fernando is working with Target Corporation on a façade improvement and interior remodel of the old Sam’s Club building located at 12920 Foothill Boulevard. This will be an approximately 103,000 square foot Target store, and it is scheduled to open in summer of 2023.

Other economic development efforts include developing programs such as façade improvement and outdoor dining to revitalize the downtown area to retain and attract new businesses. Other efforts include reaching out to new businesses, and working with the Chamber of Commerce, San Fernando Mall Association, and the Valley Economic Alliance to market San Fernando.

Economic Development efforts will be available at: SFCITY.ORG/Economic-Development/

CONTACT

Community Development Department
(818) 898-1227 | CommunityDevelopment@sfcity.org

Financial Transparency

The City understands our responsibility as stewards of the community’s financial resources and the need for greater transparency as to how those resources are used. In order to demonstrate the City’s commitment to transparent government and open communication, the City has included the City budget and expenditures on its new website that can be accessed and downloaded by the community.

CONTACT

Finance Department
(818) 898-7307 | Finance@sfcity.org

Homelessness in San Fernando

The City of San Fernando finds itself in a unique position with a relatively small homeless population and the ability to make a real impact to reduce homelessness in the City through person-centered homelessness solutions. To this end, the City understands the need to take a more measured and strategic approach to address the significant gaps in resource, services, and capacity to address homelessness. To develop a strategic roadmap to “get to zero,” the City prepared a 5-Year Homelessness Action Plan in 2022. As part of this process, the City of San Fernando engaged a diverse set of stakeholders, including city staff, regional entities, homeless service providers, healthcare providers, government entities, and community members.

The Homelessness Action Plan lays out tangible steps that the City and its partners can take over the next five years to move towards a system where homelessness is prevented whenever possible and ensure that, if homelessness does occur, it is rare, brief, and non-recurring. The Homelessness Action Plan is strategically aligned with regional plans and frameworks to ensure regional coordination and integration.

The Plan focuses on the following four key strategies.

Strategy 1: Develop City’s Capacity to Better Prevent and End Homelessness
Strategy 2: Address the Access, Shelter, and Service Needs of People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness
Strategy 3: Expand Equitable Access to Permanent Housing
Strategy 4: Focus on Root Causes to Prevent Homelessness

In addition to developing the Homelessness Plan, the City participates in the San Fernando Valley Council of Governments Homeless Coalition efforts, Service Planning Area 2 homeless service providers monthly meetings, and the Northeast Valley Homeless Task Force.

San Fernando Police Department personnel and representatives from the County of Los Angeles Department of Mental Health (LA DMH), Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA), Los Angeles Family Housing and other homeless service providers have conducted monthly outreach through the City’s Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST).

The City continues to work for greater coordination at a regional level between the County, municipalities, metropolitan planning organizations, and the various council of governments to create a comprehensive planning effort to allocate resources and address the existing needs of our homeless population.

CONTACT

Police Department | Sergeant Courtney James Chiasson
(818) 898-1255 | CJChiasson@sfcity.org

Housing Assistance

In January 2022, the City Council provided direction to establish a Housing Coordinator position to administer housing-related services and programs. The Housing Coordinator will be the point of contact for community members to learn about available housing assistance programs and services, homeless outreach services, and other housing-related services. The hiring process for the Housing Coordinate is anticipated to start in July 2022. Once the Housing Coordinator is hired, the City will re-establish the City’s first-time homebuyer loan program to assist first time homebuyer with down payment assistant, and a rehabilitation loan program to help existing homeowners renovate their homes. The City will also explore other programs and services to support affordable housing in the City.

Information about available resources provided by the County of Los Angeles and non-profit organizations relating to affordable housing, rental assistance, tenant/landlord services, homeless services, etc. are available at: SFCITY.ORG/Housing-Community-Resources.

CONTACT

Community Development Department
(818) 898-1227 | CommunityDevelopment@sfcity.org

Housing Element & Safety Element Updates

The City is wrapping up its 2021-2029 Housing Element and Safety Element update over the next couple of months. The Housing Element and Safety Element are two chapters in the City General Plan that guides the future growth of the City. The Housing Element and Safety Element update process serves as an opportunity to update housing and land-use strategies to reflect changing needs, resources, and conditions.

The Draft Housing Element is being revised to address comments from the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), and will be presented for adoption by the City Council and for certification by HCD this summer.

To meet the City’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation of 1,795 new housing units, the Draft Housing Element proposes a mixed-use overlay in existing commercial corridors along South Brand Boulevard and San Fernando Mission Boulevard. The proposed mixed-use overlay helps protect existing residential neighborhoods by not increasing density in residential neighborhoods. The overlay approach helps preserve existing residential neighborhood characters while directing developments to commercial corridors that can accommodate the demand for additional density to meet the RHNA allocation.

The Safety Element has been updated to address wildfire and climate adaptation as required by Senate Bill 379 and Senate Bill 1035. The Draft Safety Element identifies existing hazard conditions such as geological, flood, fire, water demand, hazardous materials and climate change vulnerability. The Draft Safety Element update provides goals and policies that aim to address each hazard conditions.

The Draft Housing Element and Safety Element are available at: SFCITY.ORG/Community-Development/#Housing-Element-Update.

CONTACT

Community Development Department
(818) 898-1227 | CommunityDevelopment@sfcity.org

Junta con el Jefe de Policia

Held the second Wednesday of every month and similar to “Chatting With The Chief,” “Junta Con El Jefe” is an opportunity for our Spanish-speaking community stakeholders to gather and share their thoughts or suggestions with the Chief-of-Police about police related community issues.

More information may be found here: SFCITY.ORG/SFPolice/#Chat-With-The-Chief.

CONTACT

Office of the Police Chief
(818) 898-1250 | COP@sfcity.org

Metro Light Rail Project - San Fernando Station

In December 2020, the METRO Board certified the Environmental Impact Report For the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, which will enable Metro to begin pre-construction work on the first 6.7-mile segment between the “G” Line (Orange) in Van Nuys to San Fernando Road in Pacoima. Subject to additional funding, a second, 2.5-mile segment will extend the line along the San Fernando rail right of way north to the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink Station.

Metro will continue to study the second segment through San Fernando after receiving new stakeholder comments during the Final EIS/EIR’s public review period. Staff will coordinate closely with the Southern California Regional Rail Authority — the agency that operates the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line — and the City of San Fernando to address concerns mainly related to shared track and railroad crossings along San Fernando Road.

The first phase of the project through Van Nuys began major construction in 2022 and is scheduled to open by 2028. When complete, the new Valley light rail line will make it easy to connect between Metro’s G Line, Metrolink, Amtrak and numerous east-west Valley bus lines.

More information on the Metro Light Rail Project – San Fernando Station may be found at: https://www.metro.net/projects/east-sfv/

CONTACT

Administration Department
(818) 898-1202 | CityManager@sfcity.org

Mixed-Use Overlay - Zoning Code & Specific Plan 5 Amendments

In summer, the City will implement the first phase of the Housing Element by amending the Zoning Code and Specific Plan 5 to establish a Mixed-Use Overlay for the housing opportunity sites identified in the Housing Element. The proposed Mixed-Use Overlay will help meet the City’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation of 1,795 new housing units by 2029, and will also bring several benefits to the City. The proposed Mixed-Use Overlay will create flexibility for existing commercial properties to create a live-work environment that will:

Help increase foot traffic to support local businesses.
Reduce the need for vehicle travel by bringing residents and visitors to one location to live, work, eat, shop, and play.
Bring shared community spaces to help foster interaction amount community members.

The proposed Mixed-Use Overlay will address the City’s housing needs, help promote sustainability, and encourage economic development.

More information on the Mixed-Use Overlay process will be available at: SFCITY.ORG/Community-Development/#Planning.

CONTACT

Community Development Department
(818) 898-1227 | CommunityDevelopment@sfcity.org

Open Street Event: Coming to San Fernando in 2023

In May 2023, the City will host the Northeast Valley Community Street Festival Open Streets Event. The event turns 7.5 miles of public streets into an urban playground, void of motorized vehicles, linking the communities of Sylmar, Pacoima, and the City of San Fernando via a major thoroughfare and the Mission Bike Trail. The route includes Bledsoe St., San Fernando Rd., Maclay Ave., and Van Nuys Blvd. Five activity hubs will feature bike/ pedestrian safety workshops, physical challenges, art, nutrition demos, and active transportation awareness. The hubs are West Lakeside Street Park, Sylmar Metro Link Station, San Fernando City Hall, Bradley Ave. Plaza and Pacoima Neighborhood Hall. The Northeast Valley Community Street Festival will be held between the hours of 10:00 am and 1:00 pm.

CONTACT

Recreation & Community Services Department
(818) 898-1290 | Recreation@sfcity.org

Park Improvement Projects

LAYNE PARK REVITALIZATION PROJECT

The Layne Park Revitalization Project is expected start construction in August 2023. The project calls for the building a soccer filed, restroom facilities, a basketball court, renovating the playground, landscaping and adding picnic tables.

PIONEER PARK PLAYGROUND RENOVATION PROJECT

The Pioneer Park Playground Renovation Project will replace the existing dilapidated play equipment with new ADA accessible inclusive play equipment. In addition, the project will add shading and an outdoor exercise equipment area to the footprint. The expected start date for construction is September 2023.

LAS PALMAS PARK REVITALIZATION PROJECT

The Las Palmas Park Revitalization Project will construct a new splash pad, tennis court, and multi-purpose field. New field lighting will be added and the ball diamonds will be renovated. Other renovations will include the playground, picnic shelters restrooms and the learning center. The Department will be hosting Focus Group meeting to gather community input on the design of these park amenities. The initial Focus group meeting will be Held on May 14, 2023 at Las Palmas Park between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm.

CONTACT

Recreation & Community Services Department
(818) 898-1290 | Recreation@sfcity.org

Red, White, and Lights

The Recreation and Community Services Department will host the Red, White and Lights Event on Saturday, July 2, 2022 as a kick off to the 4^th of July Holiday. The festivities will be held in the San Fernando Mall between Brand Blvd. and San Fernando Mission Blvd. The event will include live entertainment, game booths, artesian crafts and food vendors. The Red, White and Lights event festivities start at 6:00 pm and culminate with a LASER LIGHT SHOW at 9:30 pm.

CONTACT

Recreation & Community Services Department
(818) 898-1290 | Recreation@sfcity.org

Road Resurfacing Information

PICO STREET RESURFACING PROJECT

The City will be repaving Pico Street between Brand Blvd. and San Fernando Mission Blvd. This work will include reconstruction of sidewalk, curb and gutter, drive approaches, and curb ramps along the limits of the project. The project will be under construction between April and June of 2022.

CITYWIDE SLURRY SEAL PROGRAM

The City is actively working to repair our local streets. A slurry seal program is currently being developed to resurface streets throughout residential and commercial areas in the City. The program will start in Summer 2022 and continue through Fall of 2023.

Maps and schedules showing anticipated work areas will be available in June 2022.

CONTACT

Public Works Department
(818) 898-1227 | PublicWorks@sfcity.org

San Fernando Citywide Parking Management Master Plan

In 2021, the City of San Fernando completed a Citywide Parking Management Master Plan that provided comprehensive recommendations and best practices for managing the City’s parking resources, including residential on-street parking, commercial on-street parking, and off-street parking in parking lots along the City’s major commercial corridors. Additionally, the Parking Management Master Plan provides parking data at a point-in-time for all on-street parking in the City and off-street parking lots in major corridors.

More information about the Parking Management Master Plan, as well as a copy of the Plan, may be found at: SFCITY.ORG/SFParkingStudy

CONTACT

Administration Department
(818) 898-1202 | CityManager@sfcity.org

San Fernando Valley Mile Run / Dia de los Muertos

The San Fernando Valley Mile Run will provide an avenue for runners to compete against one another and their personal best. The fastest runners who complete the one-mile run will be acknowledged a future city Council meeting. The route will start on 8^th street and end on 3^rd Street along Maclay Avenue. The run will be held in conjunction with the Dia de Los Muertos Celebration on October 29, 2022. The Run will be held from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm and the Dia de Los Muertos festivities will held from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The festivities for the Dia de Los Muertos include traditional family Alter, live entertainment, artisan crafts and food vendors.

CONTACT

Recreation & Community Services Department
(818) 898-1290 | Recreation@sfcity.org

Senate Bill 9 Ordinance

Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) allows a single-family lot to be subdivided into two lots and development of two-residential units per lot. An Interim Urgency Ordinance was adopted on January 18, 2022 and extended on March 1, 2022 that includes a set of restrictive temporary regulations to minimize the initial impact of SB 9 and to help preserve the character of single-family residential neighborhoods, while allowing the City to establish permanent regulations.

On February 14, 2022, the interim regulations were presented to the Planning and Preservation Commission. The Planning and Preservation Commission expressed an interest in revising the interim regulations to include additional standards for a proposed permanent ordinance. The City is studying whether there are standards that better balance the limitations of Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) with the City’s objectives for ensuring that residential development in the City is properly managed in the best interests of the public health, safety, and welfare.

The City encourages public participation on drafting the proposed permanent ordinance. Please email your comments or suggestions to CommunityDevelopment@sfcity.org or call (818) 898-1227.

CONTACT

Community Development Department
(818) 898-1227 | CommunityDevelopment@sfcity.org

Sewer System Maintenance

The City continues to take an active approach to the maintenance and operation of its sewer system. This includes sewer cleaning, television inspections of sewer lines, regular maintenance functions, and flow monitoring to analyze sewer flow data. The department purchased a new combination vacuum/jetting sewer truck that can more efficiently clear and maintain the sewer lines in the City. An assessment of the City’s sewer mains is currently underway and new sewer master and maintenance plans will be completed by the end of 2022. A contract will be awarded by June 2022 to perform regular sewer line camera inspections throughout the City to help with maintenance hot spots, as well as inform future capital infrastructure plans.

CONTACT

Public Works Department
(818) 898-1227 | PublicWorks@sfcity.org

Sidewalk Repair Program

The City will be bringing a concrete contractor on board by June 2022 to begin work on repair broken/lifted sidewalk, missing sidewalk, damaged curb and gutter, driveway approaches, and curb ramps throughout the City. This is a 5-year program that promotes walking as a primary mode of getting around in the City.

Maps and schedules showing anticipated work areas will be available in June 2022.

CONTACT

Public Works Department
(818) 898-1227 | PublicWorks@sfcity.org

Signage & Striping Program

The City will be bringing a contractor on board by June 2022 to start the replacement of old traffic, parking, and wayfinding signage throughout the City. They will also be painting streets with new pavement markings, including lane and stop limit lines, crosswalks, and advance warning language, such as “STOP AHEAD”. This is an annual program that promotes safe vehicular and pedestrian travel.

Maps and schedules showing anticipated work areas will be available in June 2022.

CONTACT

Public Works Department
(818) 898-1227 | PublicWorks@sfcity.org

Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Ordinance

In April 2022, the City Council will consider a Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Ordinance that balances the needs of protecting the health of non-smokers with the needs of individuals who smoke due to recreational uses, addiction, or otherwise. The Ordinance will propose phasing out smoking in all multi-unit housing in the City over a period of five years. The ordinance will propose phasing out smoking outside all detached multi-unit housing and inside all attached multi-unit housing properties during the first year, and phasing out designated outdoor smoking in five years.

Once the Ordinance is adopted, the City will work with non-profit organizations to provide educational resources for smoking cessation and property owners to compliance with Ordinance. Education resources will be available on the City’s website

CONTACT

Community Development Department
(818) 898-1227 | CommunityDevelopment@sfcity.org

Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Methodologies & Toolbox

Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) hired Arup US Inc. (Arup) to develop a comprehensive technical assessment tool to help cities in the San Fernando Valley Council of Governments (SFVCOG) region accommodate the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation assigned to the region. The comprehensive technical assessment tool will include methodologies and toolbox for calculating Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), in which cities in the SFVCOG region can use to locate new housing units in area that would reduce the region’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

San Fernando is one of the four member jurisdictions in SFVCOG (cities of San Fernando, Glendale, Burbank, and Santa Clarita) and will be collaborating with SFVCOG to develop the VMT methodologies and toolbox that are tailored for San Fernando.

CONTACT

Community Development Department
(818) 898-1227 | CommunityDevelopment@sfcity.org

Water System Projects

UPPER RESERVOIR REPLACEMENT PROJECT

The City of San Fernando is replacing one of the City’s Reservoirs, located at 13655 Foothill Blvd., in Sylmar. One of two reservoirs at the site will be demolished and a new reservoir will be built in its place. The second reservoir is in good working order and will not be affected.

The City received state funding to assist with the Project, which is needed due to damage sustained by seismic activity. This damage has reduced the capacity of storage space within the Reservoir and compromised the facility’s overall integrity. Completing this project will ensure the resiliency of the City’s water system.

The project will be under construction between May 2022 and December 2023.

SAN FERNANDO REGIONAL PARK INFILTRATION PROJECT

Construction of an underground infiltration project at Recreation Park will begin in May 2022. The project will divert stormwater that is normally discharged into the Pacoima Wash and redirect it to an underground storage and infiltration area below the baseball field at the Park. As part of the diversion process, new storm lines will be installed along sections of Jessie Street, 5^th Street, and Park Avenue. Overall, the project will divert approximately 130 million gallons of stormwater from entering the Pacoima Wash and will infiltrate this water to recharge regional groundwater basins. This would provide sufficient water to satisfy the daily needs of over 3,500 people in the region.

The project will be under construction between May 2022 and September 2023.

WELL NO. 3 NITRATE TREATMENT PROJECT

Construction and installation of a new nitrate treatment system will enable the City to have all of its groundwater wells operational for the first time since 2007. The City installed the first nitrate removal system in 2018 and will be using the same technology to treat groundwater at Well 3. This, along with the completion of the upper reservoir replacement project, will bring resiliency and redundancy to the water system and ensure the City can be 100% water independent going into the future.

This project will be complete by the end of 2022.

CONTACT

Public Works Department
(818) 898-1227 | PublicWorks@sfcity.org

CONTACT US

City Manager’s Office	(818) 898-1202	CityManager@sfcity.org
City Clerk	(818) 898-1204	CityClerk@sfcity.org
Community Development	(818) 898-1227	CommunityDevelopment@sfcity.org
Finance	(818) 898-1212	Finance@sfcity.org
Personnel	(818) 898-1220	Personnel@sfcity.org
Police	(818) 898-1267	Police@sfcity.org
Public Works	(818) 898-1222	PublicWorks@sfcity.org
Recreation & Community Services	(818) 898-1290	Recreation@sfcity.org

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