What is Downtown San Fernando?

Downtown San Fernando is the City of San Fernando’s historic heart and center. At just over 2 square miles in size, the City of San Fernando is geographically small but has a historically significant presence in the San Fernando Valley. Long inhabited by Gabrieliño and Tataviam Native Americans prior to European arrivals, San Fernando traces its roots back to the 1797 dedication of the Mission San Fernando Rey de España. Spurred by the construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad, San Fernando became the first city in the San Fernando Valley in 1911. Anchored primarily by San Fernando Road (home to the historic San Fernando Mall) and Maclay Avenue, Downtown San Fernando continues to be a vibrant center of commercial activity today. With walkable blocks and a historic charm that is felt in its buildings, architecture, and streetscape, Downtown San Fernando’s intimate, small-town feel welcomes residents as well as visitors.

What is the Downtown Master Plan?

The City of San Fernando is currently developing a Master Plan for Downtown San Fernando. Identified as one of the priorities in the City’s 2022-2027 Strategic Goals, the Downtown Master Plan will help guide the future development and revitalization of the City’s historic downtown area, which encompasses approximately 60 city blocks or 185 acres around San Fernando Road and Maclay Avenue. While the City’s ultimate goal is to facilitate the long-term success of Downtown San Fernando as a thriving, vibrant, and resilient destination for both locals and visitors, the objectives of this planning effort will be to:

  • Study Downtown San Fernando;

  • Engage the San Fernando community;

  • Develop a community-driven vision for Downtown San Fernando; and

  • Recommend strategies for how to implement the community’s vision.

What is a master plan and why does Downtown San Fernando need one?

A master plan is a document that establishes the vision, or desired future state, of a specified area. Informed by community input, a master plan contains a conceptual layout of future development and improvements within the specific area and is accompanied by goals and recommended strategies for how to achieve the community’s vision. Generally, a master plan is used by a City to guide future actions, such as changes to land use and development regulations, capital improvement projects, and other City programs to enable change.

Although development in Downtown San Fernando is currently regulated by both the City’s General Plan (1987) and the Corridors Specific Plan (2017), the downtown has experienced significant change in the past few years that may require a different approach to the future than what is already established in these two documents. Some of those changes include the lasting impacts of COVID-19, climate change, the housing crisis, a shift to working from home, and the growing prevalence of online retail and app-based dining, among others. As a result, the City wishes to work with the community and stakeholders to establish a new vision for Downtown San Fernando that will help guide future development and revitalization and enhance its economic vitality, livability, and sense of place.

What will be the final outcome of this project?

For this effort, the City is embarking on a 3-phase process:

  1. PHASE 1 will consist of analyzing the downtown, including identifying potential issues and opportunities across the broad topics of land use, mobility, economics, real estate, parking, the built environment, and the public realm. In this phase, the City will engage the community for their concerns, ideas, and aspirations for the future.

  2. PHASE 2 will consist of developing and testing a number of different scenarios for the future of Downtown San Fernando. The community will again be engaged in this phase for their input and preference on each of the scenarios.

  3. PHASE 3 will consist of refining the community’s preferred scenario for the future of Downtown San Fernando. The resulting outcome will be a Downtown Master Plan, a planning document that will contain the community’s vision of the downtown and an action plan for how best to achieve that vision. The Master Plan will be used by the City to guide future actions, such as changes to land use and development regulations, capital improvement projects, and other economic development programs to help revitalize Downtown San Fernando.