Currently, two construction projects are underway in San Fernando:

• CVS Pharmacy: located at the corner of San Fernando Mission Blvd and San Fernando Rd.; and
• Los Angeles County Mental Health Facility: located at the corner of Brand Blvd. and First St.

CVS PHARMACY

LOS ANGELES COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY

In observance of Cesar Chavez' Birthday, City Hall will be closed on Thursday, March 29, 2018 and Friday, March 30, 2018  (City Hall is closed every other Friday, when a holiday falls on that Friday, the regular closure day moves to Thursday). All emergency services will remain operational .

In 2016, California voters passed Prop 64, also known as the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana (AUMA).

Prop 64 legalized the non-medical use of cannabis by persons 21 years of age and over, with certain restrictions, and provides for industry licensing and establishes standards for marijuana products. It allows for state and local regulation and taxation of marijuana businesses. Most of the revenue from such taxes would support youth programs, environmental protection, and law enforcement.

On September 18, 2017, the San Fernando City Council adopted an Urgency Ordinance to expressly prohibit all medicinal and adult-use commercial cannabis activities throughout the City, excluding medicinal-only cannabis deliveries originating from qualified licensed retailers located outside of the City. See below for complete text of the Ordinance.

In January 2018 and February 2018, the City hosted a series of four community workshops to listen to residents' concerns about cannabis. In case you missed the workshops, you may view them via the City's Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/thecityofsanfernando).

In addition to hosting the workshops, the City has added a Cannabis Kiosk and survey to the City website that includes cannabis related information that pertains to the City of San Fernando ( http://ci.san-fernando.ca.us/cannabis-industry/ ). Take our survey and let us know what you think about the Cannabis Industry and whether it should come to San Fernando.

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In preparation for this special election, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) has requested to use City facilities for various activities:

• Inspector Supply Pick-Up (March 24, 2018): Between the hours of 7 am and 5 pm, County personnel will be using the parking lot (behind City Hall) to load election supplies onto the vehicles of Inspectors (i.e., poll workers responsible for running their specific polling location).  Sixty-one Inspectors will pick up their supplies during this time frame.  City Hall will not be open; the County is only using the parking lot.

• Election Day (April 3, 2018):

• Polling Locations (6 am to 9 pm): Las Palmas Park, Recreation Park, and Rudy Ortega Sr. Park (formerly Heritage Park).

• Regional Distribution Center (6 am to 8 pm): One 16 ft. truck with emergency election supplies will be parked at the corner of First St. and Maclay Ave.  Throughout the day, poll workers may pick-up election materials and supplies from the designated supply truck.

• Check-In Center (6 pm to 12 am): The County will again use the back entrance to City Hall to allow Inspectors to drop-off their supplies after the polls close.  Three 24 ft. trucks will arrive and set up for the collection of all election supplies and live ballots.  For traffic and safety control purposes, Inspectors are instructed to pull-up while County staff unloads their vehicles.  Throughout the evening, Los Angeles County Sheriffs will pick-up the ballots and have them delivered to the RR/CC headquarters in Norwalk.

Community preservation officers help keep San Fernando beautiful by enforcing the City's zoning code, housing code and property maintenance regulations. Data provided below illustrates efforts in code enforcement and graffiti abatement.

TOTAL CITATIONS ISSUED	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC	JAN	TOTAL
Illegal Converted/      Habitable Garage	1	3	1	3	1	1	2	12
Illegal Second Unit	1	1	1	2	0	0	0	5
Building Code Violation	2	9	5	12	5	1	8	42
Property Maintenance	10	11	11	13	11	6	9	71
Commercial/Inoperable      Vehicle	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Business License/      Occupancy	47	21	7	16	10	13	12	126
Illegal Signage	0	0	1	6	4	5	7	23
Vehicles Parked on      Unpaved	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
NPDES      (Unlawful Deposits)	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	3
Accessory Dwelling      Units	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Animal Control	0	0	1	0	3	1	0	5
Walls and Fences	3	5	3	7	9	0	1	28
Graffiti	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	5
Inspection Upon      Resale	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	4	3	4
TOTAL (MONTH & YEAR)	65	52	30	60	43	32	46	325
GRAFFITI ABATEMENT (SQ. FT. COVERAGE)	6,680	6,680	5,438	9,955	13,110	11,230	4,920	58,013
VALUATION OF CITATIONS BILLED	$4,235	$6,160	$6,820	$5,665	$3,080	$825	$1,430	$28,215

The City will hold a public hearing on March 6, 2018, to consider a zone text amendment amending the Municipal Code to provide added clarification regarding how to calculate lot area within R-1 residential zones. Interested members of the public are encouraged to attend the meeting on March 6, 2018, at 6:30 pm, in Council Chambers, located at 117 Macneil St.

Please join the Community Development Department in welcoming Samuel Dominguez, who has been hired as a planning intern. Samuel is currently a senior at Cal State University, Northridge where he is studying urban studies and planning, with an emphasis on housing. Samuel began his new role on February 26, 2018. We're glad to have Samuel on board!

On February 13, 2018, at 11:05 am, the business owner of Crafted and Company Barber Shop (located in the 200 block of South Brand Blvd) reported a possible marijuana grow to the rear of his business in an adjacent space.  San Fernando Police Department (SFPD) Officers responded and discovered a small scale marijuana grow operation. The grow contained approximately 260 immature plants in a single room with a total of nine lights and three carbon filters.  Further investigation revealed a much larger adjacent room that appeared to be under construction to grow marijuana plants.  SFPD Detective Robert Gallegos obtained a search warrant that was executed later that afternoon. Code Enforcement, Building and Safety, and Southern California Edison was also called in to assist with the investigation and the collection of evidence. 

On February 16, 2018, SFPD Detectives and ABC Agents conducted a citywide Minor Decoy Operation focusing on ABC on-sale establishments. The operation consisted of deploying minor decoys to nine ABC establishments in an attempt to purchase or be furnished alcohol.  During the operation, a total of three misdemeanor citations were issued for furnishing alcohol to a minor decoy under the age of 21 years, a violation of California Business & Professions Code 25658.

On February 23, 2018, SFPD Detectives and ABC agents conducted a citywide Shoulder Tap Operation. The combined efforts resulted in three violators and three misdemeanor citations issued for purchasing alcohol and then furnishing to a minor decoy under the age of 21.

On February 25, 2018, at 1:15 am, SFPD received multiple 9-1-1 calls reporting a large number of vehicles participating in a street race in the area of Hubbard Ave. and Fourth St.  SFPD Officers responded to the area and located several vehicles accelerating at a high rate of speed and engaging in a street race.  

As officers arrived, several suspect vehicles fled the location and drove through the solid red light at Hubbard Ave. and Fourth St. Officers pursued the vehicles and encountered over 200 vehicles blocking the entire intersection of Hubbard Ave. and Glenoaks Blvd. 

SFPD Officers observed fresh tire impressions throughout the intersection and multiple pedestrians running in the street.  SFPD Officers attempted to disperse the crowd. A suspect threw a large piece of concrete at an Officer. SFPD Officers requested assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) who sent several patrol cars and their air ship. SFPD Officers located the suspect who threw the rock and he failed to stop upon their command.  The suspect  fled on foot and attempted to escape by entering the rear compartment of a vehicle that was fleeing the scene.  SFPD Officers made contact with the suspect and took him into custody for assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and facilitating/aiding a speed contest.  The driver of the fleeing vehicle was determined to be unlicensed and was cited for unlicensed driver,  facilitating/aiding in a speed contest and his vehicle was impounded. 

No SFPD Officers were injured during the incident. Further investigation revealed several YouTube videos of the incident had been posted. SFPD Detectives are currently working with the LAPD Street Racing Taskforce to identify other participants. If you have additional information regardint this incident, please contact SFPD at 818.898.1267.

On February 22, 2018, the City received two bid proposals for the design of a stormwater infiltration system to be placed underneath the ballfield at Recreation Park. Staff will review the proposals and make a selection in the coming weeks. The infiltration system would serve a 423 acre drainage area and recharge groundwater sources with approximately 200 acre foot of storm water annually. This project is partially funded by the State Waterboards' Proposition 1 Funds and must comply with all the requirements of the Proposition 1 Grant program.  The City of Los Angeles will  also provide funding for the project in the amount of $130,000.

Bids are scheduled to be opened on March 1, 2018 for the CDBG San Fernando Road Street Improvement Project. Work will include concrete repairs including sidewalk, curb and gutter and access ramps, Asphalt Rubber Hot-Mix (ARHM) overlay of a quarter mile of street and traffic striping along San Fernando Road between West City Limit And South Huntington Street. Funding for this project is through the Community Development Block Grant.

Bids are scheduled to be opened on March 1, 2018 for the HSIP Traffic Signal Improvement Project. The project includes traffic signal modifications at nine intersections. The project consists of the installation of larger signal heads, additional street lighting, and protected left-turn phase signals. Funding for this project is through the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans). The following intersections are included in the project:

• First St. at Hubbard Ave.
• First St. at N. Maclay Ave.
• San Fernando Rd. at N. Brand Blvd.
• San Fernando rd. at N. Maclay Ave.
• San Fernando Rd. at Hubbard Ave.
• Truman St. at Wolfskill St.
• Truman St. at N. Brand Blvd.
• Truman St. at N. Maclay Ave.
• Truman St. at Hubbard Ave.

A number of field renovations are underway or have recently been completed.

• Pioneer Park: Final touches were performed at Pioneer Park including fresh field fix, along with other field-related repairs to render the fields ready for the new season. 

• Las Palmas Park: Baseball field renovations and the installation of the home run fence at Las Palmas Park is in progress and will be ready for the new season starting March 3, 2018.

Join the Public Works Department in congratulating Richard De La Pena on his recent promotion to Facilities Supervisor II. Richard as joined the City in 2006 and begin his new role on February 19, 2018. Congratulations Richard!

Recently, the Billiard Room at Las Palmas Park was renovated. The walls were patched, a fresh coat of paint was added, in addition to a new floor.

Before

After

The City and Republic Services held the first quarter 2018 Bulky Item Drop-Off Event on February 17, 2018.  A total of 99 vehicles made the trip to Parking Lot 6N resulting in 11.74 tons of material filling eight 40-yard roll-off bins, which equates to 23,480 lbs. of bulky items and 20 mattresses.  Goodwill Industries reports it collected 2,210 lbs. of electronic waste, 1,072 lbs. of CRT (tube TV's) and 348 lbs. of paper for recycling.  A big thank you to all who participated for making this such a successful event!

The project work is currently on hold. Staff anticipates delivery of luminaries, bus shelter and bench by the  end of March 2018. The Tree People will host a community event on April 14, 2018  and invite the public to assist with planting trees along this corridor. Project completion is tentatively scheduled to be completed by May 2018.

On February 20, 2018, the City Council approved adding additional street segments to the Annual Street Resurfacing Project, which includes the following streets:

• Harding Ave. (First St. to Fifth St)
• Second St. (Alexander St. to Harding Ave.)
• Third St. (Alexander St. to Harding Ave.)
• Harps St. (First St. to Fourth St.)
• Library St. (Orange Grove Ave. to N. Maclay Ave.)
• Fermorre St. (Fourth St. to Fifth St.)
• N. Workman St. (Fourth St. to Fifth St.)
• N. Huntington St. (Fourth St. to Library St.)
• Newton St. (Fourth St. to DeGarmo St.)

Concrete work was completed on February 17, 2018. Contractor has completed sprinkler repairs and lowering manholes in preparation of the grinding phase. Grinding is tentatively scheduled to begin on March 1, 2018 and be completed by March 5, 2018. Upon completion of the grinding operation, the contractor will commence paving these streets. The Project is  tentatively scheduled to be completed by end of March 2018.

The installation of EV charging stations at five City-owned parking lots was completed on February 15, 2018.  One dual-port station was installed at each of the following locations:

• P arking Lot No. 1 (City Hall; 117 Macneil St.)
• Parking Lot No. 2 (Second level of parking structure at Bank of America; southeast corner of Truman St. and Brand Blvd.)
• Parking Lot No. 4 (southside of Truman St, between Brand Blvd, and Maclay Ave.)
• Parking Lot No. 5 (southside of Truman St. Between Maclay Ave. and San Fernando Mission Blvd)
• Parking Lot No. (southside of Celis St., between Brand Blvd. and Maclay Ave.)

The construction phase of the CNG Station Improvements Project kicked-off on February 13, 2018 and is scheduled for completion in May 2018.  At this point, all old equipment has been removed and necessary trenching completed.

During construction, agencies and residents with CNG fueled vehicles are being directed to Transit Systems Unlimited, located at 8976 Laurel Canyon Blvd. to meet their fueling needs.

On February 26, 2018, at approximately 1 pm, NBC Dateline interviewed Michael Connelly, the author of several books and the creator of the Amazon TV Show, "Bosch" as well as the movie "Lincoln Lawyer". Mr. Connelly  was inspired by visiting San Fernando's old jail and seeing the old police files stored in the old jail.

The interview was also filmed in the old jail. The story will be aired sometime in April 2018 on NBC Nationwide.

The story is a positive profile on Mr. Connelly and his fictional character, Detective Harry Bosch. Mr. Connelly has written several books featuring Harry Bosch as a Reserve Police Detective for San Fernando Police who works cold cases. The books have made it to the top of New York's Best seller's list and Mr. Connelly has sold nearly 65 million books worldwide.

Fun for the whole family! Join us for a FREE workshop where you'll learn important bike safety skills.

DATES:	March 17, 2018
TIME:	10 am to 2 pm
LOCATION:	Las Palmas Park 505 S. Huntington St, San Fernando
INFO:	www.SFStreetFest.com

Don't miss the San Fernando Street Festival on March 31, 2018!  Bike, skate, rollerblade, walk, dance, eat, shop, and play in car-free streets!  This family-friendly event will also host the spring Jamboree!