Council awards design contract for Carlos Street Green Alley; designers to hold community workshops

The San Fernando City Council authorized a contract to advance design work on the Carlos Street Green Alley project and heard that the selected firm will lead multi-step community engagement before finalizing plans.

Councilmember Victoria Garcia asked for assurance that the design team would follow the neighborhood'driven approach promised in earlier outreach; City Manager Nick Kimball and Public Works staff said the procurement is intended to secure a design consultant who will attend community meetings and produce several design concepts for public review. Public Works staff said the consultant's proposal includes at least three new community workshops and targeted outreach to neighbors directly affected by the project.

Councilmember Patty Lopez reported she had personally canvassed downtown businesses and residents about alleys and trees and stressed that longstanding local requests should inform the project list. Public Works staff said the earlier work was conceptual and that the design phase will focus on feasibility and detailed community-informed options.

At roll call the motion to award the contract passed. The transcript records the vote as two affirmative votes and two abstentions; the mayor had recused herself from the item and was not in the chamber at the time of the vote. Staff will return with final design proposals after completing outreach and concept development.