Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Downtown Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Downtown San Fernando market divides merchants; council backs Celebration Expo, agrees to split April market costs and ask ad hoc for review
Summary
After hours of public comment both supporting and opposing the San Fernando Outdoor Market, the council voted to co‑sponsor the March 16 Celebration Expo and to provide partial support for the April market while directing the Mall Association MOU ad hoc and ICON CDC to finish a merchant survey and report back.
The San Fernando City Council spent more than an hour on March 3 on competing public testimony over the Downtown San Fernando Outdoor Market and a separate Bridal Celebration Expo, hearing merchants and residents who alternately urged the council to keep the market and others who said the monthly market harms brick‑and‑mortar businesses.
Council voted 5–0 to co‑sponsor the Celebration Expo set for March 16 and to waive the city’s normal application and street‑closure fees for that single event. Deputy City Manager Kanika Kieth told the council the city holds roughly $212,000 in a business‑improvement account (the mall association fund) that is intended to support retail promotion inside the mall district.
Public comment split sharply. Christina Bernal, president of the Mall Association and a mall merchant, said the outdoor market draws thousands and that the association has used revenue to hire outreach teams and marketing support. "The outdoor market is a community driven event…We’ve created a destination," Bernal said. Several small business owners, including Lupita Gonzales and other bridal‑shop owners, said the market repeatedly forces merchants to close early, reduces customer parking and has reduced their Saturday sales. "We have had losses up to between $5,000 and $6,000 in losses, especially on Saturdays," Lupita Gonzales told the council.
The council also approved a motion — 4 votes in favor, 1 opposed (Council Member Victoria Garcia) — to provide a partial cosponsorship for the April market. Under that action the city will cover about half of the permit/closure cost for the April 26 market by deducting the city’s labor cost from the mall association fund and waiving the remainder; staff will subtract the city labor reimbursement (about $6,972) and the mall association account will cover the remainder. The council directed the Mall Association MOU ad hoc to meet with merchants who submitted a petition opposing the market and to have ICON CDC finish and share a merchant survey. ICON CDC told the council it is conducting a citywide survey of mall merchants and will share results when it finishes.
Why it matters: The market has become a significant weekly draw for the downtown but merchants say it creates parking loss and trash problems on merchant business nights. Council members said they wanted a near‑term accommodation while city staff and the ad hoc collect data and propose longer‑term solutions.
What happens next: Staff will document the April funding arrangement, the ad hoc will meet with mall stakeholders and ICON CDC will finish its merchant survey; council asked staff to keep the merchant petition and interview notes confidential where requested and to return to council with recommendations.
