After rushing into a key vote on their city’s future, and then rescinding it, members of the San Fernando City Council have decided to slow down the planned overhaul of the downtown area and even subject themselves to a crash course in redevelopment basics. Throughout June, council members plan to tour various cineplex-anchored projects similar to the one they are considering for San Fernando, and they also plan to attend public workshops at which experts will spell out the legal and operational processes involved in redevelopment. The council’s “summer school” comes almost two months after it voted to rescind an earlier decision to enter into exclusive negotiations with V.G. Industrial to develop what is hoped to be the cornerstone of the city’s downtown redevelopment effort. City officials have said that deal was rescinded because the council’s three newly elected members didn’t understand what they were voting on at the time. Those three members Cindy Montanez, Richard Ramos and Beverly DiTimaso joined the council in March. Despite the council’s intention to get up to speed, one source close to the now-rescinded V.G. Industrial deal said concerns persist about the council’s inexperience and about whether a similar about-face might occur when a new council is elected four years from now. City officials and council members said they don’t believe there will be any long-term fallout over the rescinded vote. The council originally voted on April 5 to negotiate exclusively with Burbank-based V.G. Industrial, which is proposing to develop a retail project anchored by an 18-screen Sanborn Theatres multiplex and 100,000-square-foot La Curacao department store. But two weeks later, the council rescinded that decision in a 3-2 vote and reopened the process to other developers. Since then, Pueblo Contracting Services and Pacific Development Partners have jointly submitted a competing proposal to the city that calls for a 10- to 12-screen multiplex paired with coffee shops and retail stores. City Administrator John Ornelas admitted that staff and council members should have reviewed the process before moving forward in April. “In hindsight, we probably should have done that,” Ornelas said. “The idea was that there was a window of opportunity (to deal with V.G. Industrial), so we should move forward.” Ornelas conceded that no pressure had been exerted by V.G. Industrial, but the decision was made to move quickly into exclusive negotiations because in the past, developers had not expressed much interest in San Fernando. The previous council already had been moving forward on the V.G. Industrial proposal, Ornelas said, so the new council members were subsequently rushed to get it approved. After the vote, however, they had a change of mind, realizing they weren’t clear on the process. “These things happen with a new council,” Ornelas said. Sev Aszkenazi, vice president of Pueblo Contracting, said San Fernando has a “good council” and he’s glad they voted to slow down, educate themselves and reopen the process to other bidders. “(The downtown redevelopment effort) is a very important opportunity for the city to reinvent itself,” Aszkenazi said. “In the end it won’t matter that 60 days were lost in an effort that will be 50 years in planning and development. It’s not significant.” New council member Montanez said the council plans to vote on a development plan by the end of summer. “I understand the urgency to get this project done,” Montanez said. “It’s crucial to the revitalization plan.” The envisioned theater-anchored retail project is indeed being viewed as the cornerstone to San Fernando’s revitalization effort. The city is pushing to fill vacant space along its main drag, San Fernando Road. Ornelas and Montanez said they are hoping the council’s change of heart does not leave a bad taste in developers’ mouths. “I think developers realize it’s in the best interest of everyone to move a bit slowly,” Ornelas said. In late May, council members began mapping out the strategy for getting themselves educated on how to best redevelop their 2.4-square-mile city. The training will include tours in June of theater projects in nearby communities, such as Burbank’s Media Center, Ventura’s downtown, the Kaleidoscope entertainment complex in Mission Viejo and Cinemapolis, a Sanborn Theater project in Anaheim Hills. The purpose of the tours will be to show council members how other areas have tackled parking setups, food areas and traffic issues, Ornelas said. “It’s really to get a good sense and flavor of how development is put together,” Ornelas said. In late June, a redevelopment workshop has been scheduled to teach council members about everything from taxes and financing to legal requirements. Another workshop will focus specifically on retail and theater developments. “We’re getting them familiar with all issues related to city government,” Ornelas said. “I assume they know very little.” City staff also will train the council on the ABCs of City Hall and how the city runs, beyond just redevelopment issues. The council is also working on future redevelopment plans. In late May, it attended a retail conference in Las Vegas, where members attempted to convince other developers and retailers to undertake projects in downtown San Fernando.
